Lent is a beautiful season the Church has given us to help prepare our souls to celebrate the most important event in the history of the world: the passion, death, and resurrection of our Savior, Jesus Christ. The first day of Lent is always Ash Wednesday and lasts 40 days until the Easter Triduum.

Each year, Lent is an opportunity to renew our Christian faith, and we are encouraged to use prayer, fasting, and almsgiving (the Three Pillars of Lent) as the means to grow in our relationship with God.  

Prayer: If you don’t have a daily prayer habit, Lent is the perfect time to begin. If you do, you can add a devotion or practice that will enhance your Lenten preparations  

Fasting: The Church only requires that we abstain from meat every Friday in Lent and on Ash Wednesday, and that we fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, eating only one full meal plus snacks that only add up to another meal. But fasting can be much broader than that. It may look like giving up things like gossip, your favorite coffee order, or forgoing music in the car and replacing it with prayer. The goal of “offering something up for Lent” is to turn our minds to God. So if you offer up listening to music while driving, try replacing it with prayers or with a Catholic podcast. Fast from social media, especially if you find you’re on it too much, and spend that time in prayer or talking to a friend.   ​

Almsgiving: Almsgiving reminds us of Jesus’s call to serve and connects us in solidarity with our brothers and sisters in need. It traditionally refers to helping the poor financially, but by extension, we can help anyone in need by our actions, as well.