(United States Conference of Catholic Bishops headquarters building in Washington D.C.)
WASHINGTON - Bishop David L. Ricken of Green Bay, Wisconsin, chairman of the Committee on Evangelization and Catechesis of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), offers "10 Things to Remember for Lent" as the Church prepares to begin the season with Ash Wednesday of February 22:
1. Remember the formula. The Church does a good job capturing certain truths with easy-to-remember lists and formulas: 10 Commandments, 7 sacraments, 3 persons in the Trinity. For Lent, the Church gives us almost a slogan - Prayer, Fasting and Almsgiving - as the three things we need to work on during the season.
2. It's a time of prayer. Lent is essentially an act of prayer spread out over 40 days. As we pray, we go on a journey, one that hopefully brings us closer to Christ and leaves us changed by the encounter with him.
3. It's a time to fast. With the fasts of Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, meatless Fridays, and our personal disciplines interspersed, Lent is the only time many Catholics these dayts actually fast. And maoybe that's why it gets all the attention. "What are you giving up for lent? Hotdogs? Beer? Jelly beans? It's almost a game for some of us, but fasting is actually a form of penance, which helps us turn away from sin and toward Christ.
Read the complete list of "10 Things to Remember for Lent">