Please keep in mind that I am a layman. I’m just a regular guy with a blog. I have no authority over anyone in the Catholic Church, nor do I want it, so everything I say here is just a suggestion and nothing more. I think it’s important for we Catholics to develop a solid Catholic identity. The current crisis in the Catholic Church is (at its root) a crisis in leadership. We simply do not have enough leaders in the Catholic Church, as too many men who have been appointed as “leaders” have sold themselves out to modernist, marxist and homosexualist ideology. Still more of these appointed “leaders” are just weak men, emasculated by the times, and while they may be doctrinally orthodox on paper, they have no courage to stand up for it. Of course, we all saw what happens to bishops who stand up for the truth with Bishop Joseph Strickland, of Tyler, Texas. He dared to stand up for the truth, and look what happened to him. He was fired by Pope Francis and his diocese was taken away from him. He remains a Catholic bishop, in full communion with the Church, but he is without a diocese. As for us, however, in the laity, we don’t have to worry about such things. What has changed for us is that our leaders used to give us good direction which fostered Catholic identity. Today’s leaders don’t do that. So we have to do it ourselves, and that’s how things fall apart. That said, however, guys with blogs (like me) can make suggestions, and some Catholics will incorporate them into their observance of Lent. So in this scattered and limited way, we can still maintain a remnant of Catholic identity, until Our Lord finally liberates us from this present darkness.
Traditionally speaking, Lent is supposed to be serious business for Catholics. Sadly, our current leadership has minimized the bare requirements for Lent. We are, however, free to go beyond that, and as serious Catholics we probably should. With that in mind, I’m going to make three suggestions for Lent, and you can do with them whatever you like.
Suggestion 1: Real Abstinence and Fasting
Currently, the Church only requires abstinence from all meat (except seafood) on Fridays during Lent and Ash Wednesday. Fasting is considered one large meal and two smaller meals, and it is only required on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. Also, traditionally, some people give up certain things or activities for Lent. This is not required, but it’s something that is usually done.
Excluding the appropriate medical considerations for those who can’t fast, let’s take it up a notch. Let’s not worry so much about giving up certain things or activities for Lent. Let’s go back to something more traditionally Catholic.
Suppose we extend the meatless Fridays to all year round, like they used to do in the Church. Then, during Lent, we increase those meatless days to every weekday (minus Sunday). So, for example, we would wake up every morning during Lent, and observe the pescatarian diet. For those who don’t know, the pescatarian diet is a diet that follows the principles of a vegetarian diet plus seafood. The word pesce (pronounced: pesh-eh) is Italian for “fish.” It comes from the Latin root: pisces (pronounced peesh-ees). The English word pescatarian makes the “c” hard, so it’s pronounced as pesk-eh-TAIR-ee-an. In the pescatarian diet, you can eat all the fish you want and all the underwater crustaceans you want, but no other meat. Of course, healthy fruits and vegetables are always good, along with milk and egg products as appropriate. We would do this every day during Lent, except Sundays, when we can eat whatever we want. The pescatarian diet is an incredibly healthy diet, that can achieve lower cholesterol and triglyceride levels, so it’s probably physically healthy for most of us to do it for a short time every year no matter what, but Lent affords Catholics a grand opportunity. The spiritual benefit, however, far exceeds that. Depriving one’s self of all meat (except seafood) will catch up to us in time. We will start to feel it. And we will start to crave other meats. That’s the denial, and it is this denial of self that puts us in a place more prepared to commune with God.
As for fasting, the modern Church requires a very modest fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. Suppose, however, we take that up a notch, and truly fast (eating nothing) on those days, whenever it’s medically safe to do so. For example, if you work a manual job, it would not be a good idea to do a total fast on a work day. You might become too weak and pass out on the job. That’s not good. Maybe one could consider doing something different that works better with this kind of job. A modified fast of some kind might be more appropriate to keep one’s strength up.
Beyond this, one could choose to do more fasting during Lent, as one sees fit. For example, fasting until noon was a common Medieval practice for Catholics during Lent. Fasting until 3 pm was also popular. Fasting on all Fridays and Saturdays during Lent was the norm in the Catholic Church up until the modern changes. Again, I want to stress here, that fasting can be no food, or some food, provided it’s not as much as you usually eat. We all have different tolerances and medical issues, so the Church provides guidelines for how to fast (one regular meal and two smaller meals), but we are free to do more as we are able and willing. In all cases of fasting, it’s important to stay properly hydrated with water, but beverages such as unsweetened coffees or teas are acceptable. Juices are up to the individual. Staying away from highly sugared drinks would probably be a good idea, and that might include some juices. Small children and the elderly (as well as the infirm) are exempt from fasting of course. And everyone is exempt from fasting on Sundays in Lent, and throughout the year. Sundays are days of celebration of the Lord’s resurrection, no matter what time of year it is. So fasting really isn’t appropriate on Sundays.
Suggestion 2: Pray the Rosary
If you’re not into the habit of praying the rosary, this is a good chance to start. If you want to make it just a Lent thing, that’s up to you. I have written a tutorial if you need a refresher (click here). For those who already pray the Rosary, every day, and it’s nothing new for you, consider adding a daily Stations of the Cross, or a daily Chaplet of Divine Mercy, whichever works better. For active people, who are always out and about, the Chaplet of Divine Mercy offers simplicity because it’s designed to be done on regular rosary beads. Of course, there is also the Jesus Prayer Rosary, which is modeled after the Jesus Prayer Rope in the Eastern Catholic Churches. There are also other Rosary devotions that can be done during Lent. I’ve written a tutorial on this (click here).
Beyond that, prayer is so vitally important in a Catholic’s life, that it should never be restricted to the liturgy of the Mass, or private devotions such as the Rosary. We should always feel free to just talk to God, respectfully but informally, at any time during the day or night. Lent is a time to talk to God more often. So do that. Maybe you like talking to God while you’re taking a walk, or driving to work, or while you’re doing housework. Or sometimes, we may sit alone, in quiet places, with lit candles, and talk to God in this setting. Lent would be a time to focus on this more often, in addition to private meditations such as the rosary, for example.
Suggestion 3: Spiritual Reading
Lent is your grand opportunity to do some spiritual reading, and the top level spiritual reading for any Catholic is the New Testament of the Bible. It ranks above everything else, every other book, every other series, everything. The New Testament is the single most Catholic book in world history. I personally recommend the Ignatius Catholic Study New Testament in either paperback or kindle, because this is the cheapest way to get it. Amazon, whether you like the company or not, is also the cheapest retail outlet I can find. You can get the paperback here, or the kindle version here. If you prefer to pay more, by going directly to the publisher, you can do so here. Both the paperback and kindle (ebook) should be convenient enough to carry with you most places during Lent. I recommend starting with Matthew, and reading all the way through to Revelation, as you are able. No, you don’t have to finish it during Lent. The study notes, included in the Ignatius Catholic Study New Testament are the reason why I recommend this Bible above all others. They will enrich both your Catholic faith, as well as the knowledge of Scriptures. Ignatius Press also publishes a whole Bible with the same study notes. It’s called the Ignatius Catholic Study Bible, but it’s currently only available in hardback and leather, it’s considerably more expensive, and it’s currently out of stock. You can get on the waiting list though.
Conclusion
Regardless of whatever you try to do for Lent, I encourage you to go above and beyond the minimum standards of the Church. At the same time, however, I discourage you from going too far, and making things so difficult that you cannot realistically keep Lent. It has to be something you can do. It can be a challenge on the one hand, but it has to be realistic on the other hand. Use your common sense. Overall, Lent should be something we look forward to, as an opportunity to get closer to Our Lord, and identify with his 40-day fast in the wilderness. We are not Jesus, and a servant is never greater than his master, but we can do shorter fasts, accompanied by abstinence from meat (minus Sundays) for the liturgical 40-days of Lent.
Shane Schaetzel is an author of Catholic books and he is an Evangelical convert to the Catholic Church. His articles have been featured on LifeSiteNews, The Remnant Newspaper, Forward in Christ, and Catholic Online. You can read Shane’s books at ShaneSchaetzel.Com
