* Prayer—In prayer, we encounter and walk with God. During the Lenten season, we are encouraged to make opportunities for individual and common prayer. Opportunities for prayer can include attending Mass, praying the liturgy of the hours, praying within the family, visiting a chapel, prayerfully reading the Bible, reciting the rosary, or praying before the Blessed Sacrament.
* Fasting—By refraining from eating, we signify our oneness with the Lord, acknowledge our need for conversion, and give witness to our solidarity with those less fortunate. Catholics who are eighteen years and older and in good health are bound until their fifty-ninth birthday by the obligation to fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. Traditionally, the canonical obligation of fasting has been understood in the Church as the taking of only one full meal a day.
* Almsgiving—This penitential practice entails giving money or other resources for the benefit of those in need. One possible source of this money is that which has been saved from fasting or other means of self-denial.
* Abstinence—In the United States, this penitential practice consists of refraining from the consumption of meat. The Latin Church's requirement of abstinence binds Catholics after they have celebrated their fourteenth birthday, and it is practiced on Ash Wednesday, Good Friday, and the Fridays during Lent. Pastors and parents are encouraged to see that children who are not bound by the obligation to fast and abstain are led to appreciate an authentic sense of penance.
* The Practice of Charity "Which Covers a Multitude of Sins" (1 Pt 4:8)—Motivated by love for God and for one's neighbor, we express solicitude through various works for those who are in need, especially the poor, the sick, the underprivileged, the aged, the lonely, the imprisoned, the discouraged, the bedridden, and the overburdened.
* Works of Mercy—Through charitable actions (see p. 7) we express compassionate care for others by easing their burdens and attending to their bodily and spiritual needs.
* Penitential Rite at Mass—This is part of the Introductory Rite of the Mass, following the entrance song and greeting, and preceding the Gloria and opening prayer. The rite's invitation to repentance enables us to express readiness to hear the Word of God, celebrate the Eucharist, and receive the Eucharist with a humble and contrite spirit.
* Eucharistic Fast—The eucharistic fast is an ancient custom whereby we prepare to receive holy communion and thereby show due reverence for the sacrament. Latin Catholics who are in good health are required to abstain from any food or drink, with the exceptions of water and medicine, for at least one hour before receiving holy communion.
* Asceticism—The practice of asceticism is a discipline based on self-control and self-denial that helps an individual or a community attain spiritual goals. This discipline is exercised with the aim of achieving greater freedom for self-giving in love. In this way, we seek to imitate the self-emptying of Christ.
* Mortification—In general terms, mortification refers to the radical self-denial and wholehearted giving of oneself to God that Jesus called for when he told his disciples, "Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me" (Mt 16:24). More specifically, mortification is a form of ascetic discipline that involves denial of some kind of enjoyment in order to gain a greater detachment from one's desires. The goal of mortification is fullness of life, not death—freedom, not enslavement.
* Sacrifices—Joining ourselves to Christ's sacrifice, we freely give up time, energy, leisure, and other goods for the sake of others.
* Examination of Conscience—Through this prayerful and reflective process, we review the state of our spiritual health and identify those areas of our lives and of our relationships where we are not acting in a truly Christian manner and where reform is needed. Christians are encouraged to make a brief examination of conscience before retiring for the night.
* Spiritual Direction—Under the guidance of a spiritual director, a person is led to a deeper understanding of his or her relationship with God. Personal weaknesses and strengths are identified in view of their effect on spiritual growth.
* Stations of the Cross—This popular devotional practice was developed in order to permit those who could not make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land to follow in the steps of Jesus along his journey from judgment to burial. Catholics throughout the centuries have paused to pray the stations of the cross, especially during the Lenten season.
* Pilgrimages as Signs of Penance—For centuries the Church has promoted the practice of pilgrimage as a means of atoning for sin and as an aid to personal conversion and holiness. Pilgrims, who journey to a specific holy place to commemorate a certain event, pause to reflect upon where they have been and where they are going along their journey in faith. Pilgrimages mirror symbolically the pilgrim nature of the Church, which is on a continuous journey to the new and heavenly Jerusalem.
But I’ll bet that if a few people start doing it, it’ll catch on again, esp. if they are on fire with love for Jesus. Fire spreads fast. 
God bless everyone in the whole world.
I might start abstaining from meat, seeing as it’s only a matter of time before I’m obligated to.
. I would adapt to no meat on Fridays, and it could be a good way to talk about what Jesus did for us on the occasions where I needed to explain the need to abstain. From my most recent experience of abstaining from cookies during lent, I did experience spiritual benefit and greater discipline in other areas of my life. I think a regular practice of penance on Fridays would be beneficial. Though I pray that people become informed on the reason and personal benefit and don’t see it as just an oddity or smugness of Catholicism.