Do we actually believe in the idea of having fish on Fridays as a form of self-mortification or solidarity with those who have less? Or do we look at it more like paying our taxes — giving up the least possible amount?

Fasting, in addition to being obligatory on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, remains a common Lenten practice for many. But there are nuances to fasting that are not always well-known.

Without the Carmelite Prisoners’ Interest Organization, “I would still be suffering in the prison because I had no money to hire the services of a lawyer,” Chisom Eze said. “I had thought my life would end in prison until Capio saved me.”

The pope will visit Kinshasa and Goma, Congo and Juba, South Sudan, joining Anglican Archbishop Justin Welby of Canterbury and the moderator of the Presbyterian Church of Scotland.

President Joe Biden told reporters on Ash Wednesday that earlier in the day he met with a cardinal for prayer and ashes—and revealed what he has given up for Lent.

When victims and survivors of sexual abuse are blamed, marginalized, stigmatized or silenced, they can be traumatized all over again. The Archdiocese of Regina is trying something new in its work with survivors.

We know that nothing stays the same, yet we live as though nothing ever changes.

“The rhythms of old age are an indispensable resource for grasping the meaning of life marked by time,” Pope Francis said in his general audience, and so spending time with our elders is not just a “waste of time.”

Ash Wednesday isn’t a holy day of obligation, but in English-speaking countries, it still has a powerful draw even for Catholics who are otherwise non-practicing.

Reflections on Scripture, prayer, fasting and almsgiving.