Lent, a season for prayer, fasting & almsgiving, approaches
February 25, 2025
Ash Wednesday, on March 5, kicks off the 40-day Lent season, a time for prayer, fasting, and almsgiving as we prepare for Jesus’ death and resurrection.
It’s a season focused on a conversion of heart that draws us closer to God.
Receiving ashes on Ash Wednesday is a tradition rooted in the Old Testament, when one wore ashes as a sign of repentance for sins and humility before God. Ashes are created through the burning of palms from last year’s Palm Sunday.
Prayer, fasting, & almsgiving
Prayer during Lent can take many forms. One can spend time reading Scripture, attending Mass, in adoration, and praying devotions such as Stations of the Cross. Parishes are encouraged to expand the opportunities available for the sacrament of reconciliation during Lent, and some areas offer communal reconciliation services to the broader community.
On Ash Wednesday, March 5, and Good Friday, April 18, Catholics both fast and abstain from meat.
Fasting means those between the ages of 18 and 59 eat one full meal and two smaller meals that together are not equal to a full meal. (No snacking.) Exemptions include the ill, pregnant, and nursing mothers.
The norms for abstinence begin for those who are age 14 and older. Not only are Catholics called to abstain from meat on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, but to consider abstaining from other things as a way of drawing closer to God.
“We are called not only to abstain from luxuries during Lent, but to a true inner conversion of heart as we seek to follow Christ’s will more faithfully,” according to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
Almsgiving, or doing charitable acts, is a way to share not only financial resources, but to consider how we might share our time and talents.
Family-focused activities with Living Lent
Just before he began his public ministry, Jesus spent 40 days in the desert. Why would he go there? He was drawn to prayer and fasting to prepare for a big life change, to retreat, to quiet himself, to listen. He allowed himself to encounter God and let his heart be focused, nourished, and shaped for his mission.
So, too, we are invited into the desert of Lent to retreat, to quiet ourselves, to listen to God, to encounter him, to repent.
A wide range of resources for individuals and families are available in English and Spanish at dmdiocese.org/living-lent to encourage us to lean into prayer, fasting, and charity during Lent. Remove the obstacles that stand in the way of growing closer to God.
The resources include a chart you can use to create a personal/family Lenten plan, key phrases and explanations, recipes for meatless soups, a list of feast days during Lent, activities for children, and more.
CRS Rice Bowl
During Lent, Catholics have an opportunity to share their financial resources with other Catholics to be the hands and feet of Jesus helping the poor through Catholic Relief Services. Giving to CRS Rice Bowl fosters local and global solidarity and offers a tangible way for the faithful to live out their faith through prayer, fasting, and charity.
This is the 50th anniversary of CRS Rice Bowl. We have 500 rice bowls for local distribution. To get some for your parish, school, or organization, contact John Huynh, D. Min., diocesan director of Social Justice, at jhuynh@dmdiocese.org or 515-237-5006.
Of the funds that are collected, 25 percent are kept locally and distributed to organizations that work in some direct capacity with hunger and/or food insecurity. The other 75 percent is sent to Catholic Relief Services for global aid. Last year, the Des Moines Diocese distributed six grants for local needs.
Fish Fry Dinners
Many parishes and Knights of Columbus groups around the Diocese provide a meat-free meal on Fridays not only to nourish our bodies but to nourish our souls through opportunities for encounter, friendship, and community building. Often, parishes also offer prayer through Stations of the Cross before or during fish fry dinners.
