Lent: Forty Days of Prayer, Fasting & Almsgiving
Lent is the Church’s great penitential season — the forty days from Ash Wednesday to the threshold of Easter in which the whole Church turns back to God through prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. It is, above all, the season of confession: the time the Church sets aside each year to be reconciled and made ready for the celebration of the Resurrection.
What Lent is
Lent (from an old word for “spring”) recalls the forty days Christ fasted in the wilderness, and the forty years Israel wandered toward the promised land. It begins on Ash Wednesday, when the faithful are marked with ashes and told, “Repent, and believe in the Gospel,” and runs for forty days (not counting Sundays) to Holy Thursday, when the Sacred Triduum begins. Its color is violet; its three traditional pillars, named by Christ himself in the Sermon on the Mount, are prayer, fasting, and almsgiving (Matthew 6).
Fasting and abstinence rules
The Church’s minimum Lenten discipline is concrete:
- Fasting (one full meal, two smaller ones, nothing between) is required on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday for adults from 18 to 59.
- Abstinence from meat is required on Ash Wednesday, Good Friday, and every Friday of Lent for everyone 14 and older.
- Beyond the minimum, Catholics traditionally “give something up” for the whole of Lent — a real, daily self-denial that keeps the season present.
- Almsgiving — giving to the poor — is the third pillar, and the one most easily forgotten.
Confession and the Easter duty
Lent is the season of confession. The Church’s precept — the “Easter duty” — binds every Catholic to receive Holy Communion at least once during the Easter season, and since one must be free of mortal sin to receive worthily, this carries with it the obligation to confess (CCC 2042). Practically, this means that every Catholic should go to confession during Lent or Eastertide. Parishes schedule abundant confession times and communal penance services through the season. Prepare well with an examination of conscience, and if it has been years, take Lent as your invitation to return after a long time away.
A Lenten examination of conscience
Lent is the natural time to make a thorough examination — not the quick nightly kind but the deep one that walks every commandment slowly. Use the Ten Commandments examination for thoroughness, or the seven deadly sins to find the root that keeps recurring. The point of Lenten penance is not self-improvement but conversion: turning the whole of the heart back toward God.
Lenten prayers and devotions
- The Stations of the Cross — the great Lenten devotion, walked in churches on Fridays, following Christ from condemnation to the tomb.
- The Seven Penitential Psalms and the Miserere (Psalm 51), the Church’s oldest prayers of repentance.
- Daily Mass and extra prayer — the first pillar; Lent is a time to add, not only to subtract.
Frequently asked
When is Lent and how long is it?
Lent begins on Ash Wednesday and lasts forty days (Sundays are not counted) until the evening of Holy Thursday, when the Sacred Triduum begins. The dates move with Easter, but Lent always falls across late winter and early spring.
What are the Catholic fasting and abstinence rules for Lent?
Fasting (one full meal and two smaller ones) is required on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday for adults aged 18 to 59. Abstinence from meat is required on Ash Wednesday, Good Friday, and every Friday of Lent for everyone aged 14 and older. Many Catholics also take on an additional penance for the whole season.
Do I have to go to confession during Lent?
The Church requires confession of mortal sin at least once a year and reception of Communion during the Easter season — the 'Easter duty' (CCC 2042). In practice this means every Catholic should go to confession during Lent or Eastertide. It is the most important confession of the year for many people.
What should I give up for Lent?
Beyond the required fasting and abstinence, choose a real, daily self-denial that turns your heart toward God — and consider pairing it with something added, such as daily prayer, the Stations of the Cross, or almsgiving. The aim is conversion, not merely willpower; giving up what genuinely has a hold on you is more fruitful than a token sacrifice.
Confess. follows the liturgical season automatically — the right color, today’s Gospel, the saint of the day, and a season-aware examination of conscience — so the whole year of grace is on your phone. Free, on-device, no account.
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