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Lenten Abstinence 
Lenten Abstinence from all meat and all meat products is presently practiced on all the Fridays of the Lenten Season by Catholics. This practice is to keep of all Fridays as sacred days, since it was on Good Friday that the Lord sacrificed his life for all by dying on the cross.
DID YOU KNOW?
On all the Fridays outside of Lent, Catholics are still required to also abstain from meat unless, they choose to do some other act of penance in replacement. In Lent, abstinence is always required and other acts may not substitute.
The Real Way to the Cross
DID YOU KNOW? The Way of the Cross is chosen by many as part of their prayer of renewal and reconciliation during Lent.
In the early and medieval Church, Catholics tried to pilgrimage to Jerusalem “to walk the actual steps of Jesus.” This, of course, was not possible for most people, but it was always the ideal hope.
Saint Francis of Assisi, who also developed the idea of having a Christmas Crib in each home, brought the devotion of the Way of the Cross to people rather than having them never be able to pilgrimage to Jerusalem. He brought Jerusalem to them by developing the Stations of the Cross for local churches.
The number of stations (or stops along the way of Jesus) has varied over the years, (it is presently 14 stops) to reflect on the suffering and death of the Lord. Now, many years later than Saint Francis, the popular devotion is prayed regularly in almost every Catholic Church during the Lenten Fridays.
You do not have to even be in a church, Stations of the Cross can be devotionally reflected and prayed in the quietness of your personal space. You just need a booklet to prayer the journey.
Mardi Gras
Everyone has heard of Mardi Gras, which is just a “big bash” the day before Lent. Popularly, it is thought that since “we give up everything we like during Lent” that we need one day to Feast.
DID YOU KNOW?
The history is really a practical one. The strict fast of Lent was intense in the older Church. They fasted from all dairy products, eggs, and meats, people used up these products the day before—thus a Feast.
DID YOU KNOW?
The French word for “Tuesday” is Mardi, and the French word for “fat” or “rich” is Gras. Thus, the phrase Mardi Gras is used for the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday with its feasting and carnivals—as the last celebration before the fasting of Lent.
It is also been called Shrove Tuesday. This originates from the early tradition of confession of one's sins on this day in order to be “shriven” (absolved). The sinners received a penance to be performed during the Lenten time so that finally they would present themselves on Holy Thursday morning to receive the absolution.
It is also called Paczki Day—In preparation for the Lenten fasting the people of Poland would use up their lard and eggs on this day of Mardi Gras by making paczki — round sugar-coated pastries (often with filling). In recent years, the Polish custom of enjoying paczki on the Thursday before Ash Wednesday and on the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday became popular for all cultures in the United States.
The Lenten Pretzel
DID YOU KNOW?
The PRETZEL is a symbol of Lent The pretzel is a very ancient bakery item, which traditionally was eaten only during Lent. It appeared each year on Ash Wednesday and disappeared on Good Friday. It goes back to the fifth century: there is a Roman manuscript in the Vatican Library dating from that period, which shows a Lenten Pretzel.
As to the shape: it is made in the form of two arms crossed in prayer. The word bracellae, “little arms,” became in German Bretzel, then Pretzel. These early Christians ate no diary products in Lent, so the pretzel was made only of flour, salt and water: it was as simple as it could be.
Just as the pretzel was made as simple as it could be, so is our entrance into the season of Lent. During Lent the Church is asked to do one simple thing: “Turn away from sin, and believe in the Gospel” (Mk. 1:15).
Let's learn a lesson from the origin of the pretzel: we observe Lent by keeping it simple.
The 40 Hours of Lent
DID YOU KNOW?
The Lenten period of 2000 years ago was a 40 hour period of strict fasting in preparation for the celebration of Easter. No one was allowed to eat before the sun went down and when the meal was served it contained no meat, fish, eggs, milk, butter or cheese. Over the centuries, Lent grew to be 40 days and the fasting laws changed.
In fourth century Rome, Lent was a time to prepare for Baptism. The Catechumens (the unbaptized) were instructed, fasted and prayed together as they prepared to receive the Sacraments of Initiation at the Easter Vigil Service.
Penitents, who had lost their baptismal innocence, spent the entire Lent in sack cloth and ashes preparing for reconciliation with the community and with God. The emphasis on fasting began to include almsgiving and prayer. Special donations to the needy and service to the poor increase in this season.
Over the years, more and more Christians wanted to renew their own Baptism at Easter and to share in the feeling of reconciliation, and so we have the liturgical season Lent—because Catholics asked for it.
From 40 hours to 40 days, from strict fasting to prayer, almsgiving, study and family-centered prayer—Lent has changed. Its spirit remains the same, however. It was and is an effort of the Christian person to recapture the enthusiasm of his or her Baptism. It is a time of preparation, a time of rebirth, a time of awakening, the preparation to celebrate the joy of Easter. Lent ends with our evening Mass on Holy Thursday.
Today, in the third, fourth, and fifth weeks of Lent, we have the Scrutinies for those Elect (the unbaptized called by the bishop to the Easter Sacraments). These scrutinies ask that God keep the evil of the world around us from being part of the Elect. We who have already made our covenant with the Lord also need to remind ourselves of the evil that is out in the world that too often creeps into our lives.
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