Sometimes our biggest challenge is to approach Lent positively. Self-denial and penance don’t come easily to us but the Church invites us to do penance – to interrupt the usual comforts of life, to rediscover in prayer the saving love of God, and to practice charity and justice towards those in need. The Lord walks with us and helps us to discover new life, a fresh way of seeing things. Lent lasts from Ash Wednesday until the Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday.
Church custom favours fasting and abstinence from meat and this applies on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. Under normal circumstances, those who have completed their 18th year and have not yet begun their 60th year are to fast and those who have completed their 14th year are to abstain.
Lenten penance isn’t just about us but something we do in the name of the Church and of the world. Church teaching leaves room for our own responsible choices and so we need to decide carefully what is most appropriate for our own circumstances and growth in the Christian life. Some practical ideas for Lent are as follows:
(a) Prayer Mass attendance; family prayer; a visit to a church or chapel; reading the Bible; making the Stations of the Cross; praying the Rosary – or simply praying more carefully.
(b) Self-denial – giving up some things we like, such as meat, sweets or dessert, giving up entertainment to spend time with the family, limiting food and drink. We could make donations to those in need, perhaps through Project Compassion or Vinnies.
(c) Helping others giving special attention to someone who is poor, sick, elderly, lonely or overburdened. We could be more charitable, even ‘fasting’ from anger and unhelpful talk or thoughts about others!
(d) Building up the Body of Christ – for example, receiving Holy Communion during the Lenten or Easter Seasons and receiving the Sacrament of Reconciliation.