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.”

In Lent, we fast, we pray and we give to the poor. God does not love us more for doing these things. God cannot love us more. So why do we bother?

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.

A Reflection for the Thursday after Ash Wednesday

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.

In a time when smartphones are rarely more than a hand-reach away, more people are considering a 40-day break from social media as a deeper Lenten sacrifice.

“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.”