Currently, the Catholic Church encourages a single meal on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, with two smaller meals if necessary. Individuals should not eat meat on these days. The only other restriction is on Fridays during Lent where individuals are encouraged to not eat meat.

Of course, for those with health issues or are pregnant or nursing, participation is exempt. And the fast is aimed at those between the ages of 18-59. Participation is not a means of salvation, but it is a discipline that has proven beneficial for many.

So, what should we do?

I am not going to prescribe one way of Lent or another. I am not of the Catholic tradition, and feel at liberty to make the rules that fit for me and my family. Ultimately, this activity is between me and God. I should give up what I feel led to give up, more or less than what we see prescribed.

I will tell you my own hope for this year’s Lent.

I would like to see a movement of people fasting during lent in a manner similar to the older versions of fasting in the early church. I am an active runner, so fasting everyday seems a lot. But I will be fasting twice a week in the manner conducted in the early church. That means I will be abstaining from breakfast and lunch on Wednesday and Fridays. I will also be abstaining from meat on these days.

Sundays will be a feast day. Not that it will be an extraordinary amount of food, but we will invite people into the feast. I hope to involve other people into the season of lent, creating mini-Easter events every Sunday.

Lent should be a time of stripping away the distractions of life and also taking on the celebration of new life in Jesus Christ. We should not only take on the disciplines of taking away, but the disciplines of adding to.

We want to increase prayer, increase Bible study, increase community, and decrease dependence on the things of this world. So, join me in a study through the Gospel of Mark, where I will have some guiding thoughts for your prayer and devotion. Then, let’s commit to times of getting together. For meals, but also for prayer.

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