Lent confuses me... help please

[Skyhighblue34]

I only vaguely understand that you must fast on certain days, you have to give up something for lent, and you are preparing for Easter. Anyone mind giving me the specific instructions of what to do on Lent? Or maybe post some links to sights that have it laid out plainly? I have googled some sites, but I need more specific instructions. Please help!

 

[jediliz]

Do you have something you like to eat or drink that you could fast from as a penance? Something like coffee from Starbucks, Coke or Pepsi, ice cream?

I am giving up buying chocolate bars from natural grocers, something I like to buy, but am not buying during lent.

Is there an internet game you like, such as candy crush saga, that you could forego playing during lent?

You could also pray the rosary daily, spend an hour at adoration, etc.

Hope this helps.

 

[year14]

You are not obligated to give up anything during Lent unless you want to. You are obligated to fast on Wed. and Good Friday unless you have health issues or past the age of obligation…say 65. To fast you eat one reg. meal and two smaller meals. These should be meatless, but you can have fish, eggs sea food.

For Lent try to give up bad habits or take on new, better habits-a change of life style. We do this as a sharing of the Lord’s penance of forty days in the desert and as a memorial to His crucfiction. When Lent is “over” it is not a time to go back to our old ways, but an opportunity to take up new ways and “carry the cross.”

The Stations of the Cross and adoration before the Blessed Sacrament are a couple of things you can do should you have the opportunity. Hope this helps.
P.S. I am not “new” here 'though it looks like it. I had to re-register and create a new page due to some tech. problems.

 

[pianistclare]

Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are obligatory days of fasting and abstinence for Catholics. In addition, Fridays during Lent are obligatory days of abstinence.
For members of the Latin Catholic Church, the norms on fasting are obligatory from age 18 until age 59. When fasting, a person is permitted to eat one full meal. Two smaller meals may also be taken, but not to equal a full meal. The norms concerning abstinence from meat are binding upon members of the Latin Catholic Church from age 14 onwards.

Here’s a link to all things Lenten from the US Catholic Bishops site.

usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/liturgical-resources/lent/catholic-information-on-lenten-fast-and-abstinence.cfm

Click on the topics listed under the photo of fish.
Peace.
pianist

 

[PaulfromIowa]

usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/liturgical-resources/lent/

catholic.org/clife/lent/faq.php

catholic.org/clife/lent/faq.php

newadvent.org/cathen/09152a.htm

 

[FAB]

From my weekend homily this weekend

In the early centuries of the Church as more and more people wanted to become Christian, a formal process of preparation and formation was developed that culminated with the candidate’s baptism on Easter Morning.

This process often took as long as four years and the final stage, the final forty days was a marathon of Study, fasting, scrutiny prayer and charity.

Oh for the good old days.

This forty day push was what became standard for all Catholics. The designation of Lent was assigned to it which means lengthen. It referred to the lengthening of the time of daylight, the start of a new spring, of new beginnings, which is after all the purpose of lent.

In the course of time Ash Wednesday was introduced as the times official beginning by Pope Urban in 1099 and forever linked to the moon’s cycle as when to start.

Unfortunately during the centuries Lent’s purpose jumped the track and it main focus became penance, to give up something, to do fasting.

By giving it this definition of Fasting and penance as Lent’s exclusive purpose, the real purpose has been lost.

It’s time to get it back. I say this because I think the meaning has even degenerated further with many thinking that if they just give up something for lent, the job is done.

No No my dear friends,

Lent goes back to the words of Jesus “Repent and believe in the good news” The word repeat in Greek is “metanoia” which means “a change of mind and heart”

Lent is less about penitence, fasting and giving stuff up, it is about us being transformed.

Dcn. Frank

 

[Jon_S_1]

I only vaguely understand that you must fast on certain days, you have to give up something for lent, and you are preparing for Easter. Anyone mind giving me the specific instructions of what to do on Lent? Or maybe post some links to sights that have it laid out plainly? I have googled some sites, but I need more specific instructions. Please help!

The “rules” are:

1. You must fast on good friday and ash wednesday. This means you may only eat one meal, and you can have food at two other meal times, but the food together should not equal a full meal. For me it looks like, A piece of fruit for breakfast, a piece of toast for lunch and a regular dinner (fish or vegetarian).
2. In addition one is called to abstain from meat on Fridays (Only meat that is ok is fish). In addition to friday abstinence fasting on ALL fridays in Lent is highly encouraged.

That is it, the giving up something is just a tradition not a requirement.

The themes of lent are PRAYER, FASTING and ALMSGIVING

Here is a video that describes everything about LENT in 2 mins! youtube.com/watch?v=m3L3c23MfC0

 

[GEddie]

You are not obligated to give up anything during Lent unless you want to. You are obligated to fast on Wed. and Good Friday unless you have health issues or past the age of obligation…say 65. To fast you eat one reg. meal and two smaller meals. These should be meatless, but you can have fish, eggs sea food.

For Lent try to give up bad habits or take on new, better habits-a change of life style. We do this as a sharing of the Lord’s penance of forty days in the desert and as a memorial to His crucfiction. When Lent is “over” it is not a time to go back to our old ways, but an opportunity to take up new ways and “carry the cross.”

The Stations of the Cross and adoration before the Blessed Sacrament are a couple of things you can do should you have the opportunity. Hope this helps.
P.S. I am not “new” here 'though it looks like it. I had to re-register and create a new page due to some tech. problems.

The age for required fasting ends the year one will be 59 years old (in the USA; YCMV.)

I am curtailing my participation in game threads on this system, and using the time for prayer and Bible reading. I am not “giving it up” altogether however, and that is not required.

The important thing is to do something to develop one’s relationship to God and the Church. Since our life is normally full of this-worldly concerns, that will usually mean cutting back on some of them.

ITASM.

ICXC NIKA

 

[Aramis]

It is worth noting that the rules for fasting obligation vary by diocese and by which of the 20+ churches sui iuris one is a member of.

My bishop has obligated us to no meat and no fish (byzantine ruthenian praxis is anything with a spine is “meat”) on all wednesdays and fridays of Great Fast (which is another name for Lent).

• The Fasting has several purposes:
• to remind us that we need to take control over our behaviors
• to remind us that we have many blessings
• to put us into a penitential mindset as we prepare for Easter.
• ideally, to reduce the costs of our meals and give the difference in almsgiving
• ideally, to reduce the complexity of our meals, and give the difference in time in prayer

 

[Skyhighblue34]

Thanks all, this was very straight forward and helpful.

 

[maryjk]

From my weekend homily this weekend

Dcn. Frank

Thank you for that history lesson AND for the reminding of what a wise priest once told me.

It isn’t about what you give up, it is about how you grow.