Lent is an great opportunity to go deeper with God. Reflecting before his Passion and Resurrection, Catholics traditionally follow the three pillars of Lent:
The first Lenten pillar is prayer. As Christians, prayer is a central part of every Catholic observance but lent is a great time to go deeper. The pillar of prayer calls us to reflect on Christ’s sacrifice, to pray for our fellow neighbors, and to strengthen and enrich our own relationship with God.
Fasting
The Church requires all Catholics from ages 14-59 to fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. As long as you are in good health, this means that you should only eat one full meal, plus two smaller meals that do not equal a full meal.
Abstaining
Another powerful invitation to grow in your spiritual life is abstaining from meat. Catholics age 14 and older do not eat meat on Ash Wednesday and all Fridays during Lent, including Good Friday. Instead of meat many Catholics choose to eat fish—which is why many parishes around the country have fish fries or soup suppers on Fridays during Lent.
Almsgiving is traditionally thought of as the act of giving money to charity. However, just like with fasting, there are many ways to satisfy this obligation. While monetary contributions are one method of giving alms, there are many other activities and sacrifices that we can take part in to even more fully participate in Lenten Almsgiving and preparing our hearts for Jesus. Giving of ourselves through time, effort, and other personal resources are all forms of generosity that fall under almsgiving. The idea is to live Christ’s example out in the world.