LIBBY: Hey, Kai, uh, what's up?
KAI: Well, Libby, I really want to do Lent right this year,
you know?
LIBBY: All right, take a seat, let's get started.
KAI: Oh no, no sitting or reclining for me during Lent,
it's far too comfortable.
Also no solid foods, no clothing fresh out of the dryer,
no electronics--
LIBBY: Whoa, hold on, that might be a little too extreme.
I mean, no electronics?
KAI: Oh no, I've already failed.
LIBBY: Well maybe now you won't feel too guilty
about sitting down.
KAI: I feel guilty about everything.
(upbeat music)
LIBBY: Hi, I'm Libby.
KAI: And I'm Kai, welcome to Catholic Central.
LIBBY: When most people think about Lent,
they think about something they have to give up,
but Lent is so much more than that.
KAI: Lent is a time to help us grow spiritually
and prepare to celebrate Easter.
The word Lent comes from the Anglo-Saxon word lencten,
which means spring, a time when the days start to lengthen.
So we can look at Lent as a time of lengthening,
or stretching ourselves spiritually.
LIBBY: But it's not extreme stretching
as in Cirque du Soleil.
KAI: It's more like a journey that God invites us on
in order to grow closer to Him.
Throughout the year,
the Catholic Church has different seasons,
which are all meant to help us celebrate
and grow in our relationship with God.
LIBBY: Can you imagine what life would be like
if we never celebrated Christmas or Easter?
KAI: Or National Taco Day.
(fiesta music)
LIBBY: Yum.
All great feasts require preparation
to fully appreciate them
and almost every major religion has a similar time
of preparation and purification.
KAI: Even secular society has it's own traditions.
At New Year's, you can find people giving up everything
from unhealthy food, to everything they did the night before.
LIBBY: The first mention of Lent was found in
325 A.D. at the church's Council of Nicea.
It's the same council that gave us the Nicene creed,
which all Christians profess.
KAI: At the council, Lent was mentioned as a time of 40 days
between Ash Wednesday and Easter.
It was a time of spiritual preparation
for adults who were converting to Christianity.
At the end of the 40 days, on Easter,
they'd be baptized.
LIBBY: Eventually other Christians wanted in
to support the new converts, but also because
they recognized their own need for ongoing
penance and conversion.
KAI: At the Council of Nicea,
the word used for Lent was tessarakonta,
which in Greek, means 40.
LIBBY: But not to symbolize the mini-midlife crisis
we all have during Lent.
KAI: No, remember 40 is a significant number in the Bible.
During the flood with Noah,
it rained 40 days and 40 nights.
After leaving Egypt, the Israelites wandered
in the wilderness for 40 years
and Jesus spent 40 days in the desert,
fasting and being tempted by the devil
before starting his public ministry.
LIBBY: And what do all of those have in common?
KAI: Destruction, confusion, suffering?
LIBBY: Yes but also these were times of preparation,
that's what Lent is.
Just like training for a Spartan race,
Lent is a time to train spiritually.
COACH LIBBY: Pray harder!
C'mon Kai, squeeze those arms!
Let's go, get in the game!
Faster fasting, c'mon twinkle toes!
Do it for the poor!
KAI: We do that by renewing our focus
on three common practices.
Prayer, fasting and alms-giving.
LIBBY: First prayer, Christians are encouraged to pray
every day anyway but Lent is a time to re-focus
our prayer life and maybe even add a little more to it.
KAI: For instance, you could add a few minutes
to your prayer time each day,
attend Mass more frequently, or learn a new prayer
you've been putting off, like the Rosary.
LIBBY: Conveniently, we have episodes on the rosary,
praying with the Bible or the Mass,
so you can't make excuses.
KAI: Next is fasting.
Catholics fast on Ash Wednesday,
which is the first day of Lent
and on Good Friday.
That means you can have one full meal
and two smaller meals or snacks
that don't equal a full mean,
even if you piled them on top of each other.
LIBBY: On Ash Wednesday and Fridays during Lent,
Catholics also abstain from meat.
KAI: That means no cheeseburgers, chicken
or the ultimate sacrifice, bacon.
LIBBY: Catholics can eat fish on Fridays.
KAI: There are a few reasons why.
Throughout history, meat was considered a luxury
but fish was not 'cause there was a ton of it.
So Catholics practice eating fish on Fridays
as a way to deny themselves the deliciousness of meat,
and show solidarity with the poor.
LIBBY: Also, Catholics give up meat on Fridays
in order to honor the sacrifice of Jesus,
who gave up his flesh for us on Good Friday.
KAI: Over time, abstaining from meat on Fridays
became a generally accepted act of penance
in the Christian community.
LIBBY: Fun fact, in the 1960's, McDonalds added the
Filet-O-Fish because burger sales dropped during Lent.
So if you've ever enjoyed a Filet-O-Fish,
on behalf of Catholics everywhere, you're welcome.
KAI: Besides abstaining from meat on Fridays during Lent,
throughout the 40 days, Catholics also give up
something good that they normally enjoy.
It's another way to show their commitment to God.
LIBBY: And it's a way to honor Jesus' command to deny ourselves,
take up our cross and follow Him.
A lot of people give up candy or chocolate.
KAI: But really, it can be anything you choose.
Say you're addicted to TV,
especially shows where the people finally get
a kitchen of their dreams,
not that I'd know anything about that.
LIBBY: Either way, it's okay.
One person's sacrifice is no better than another's,
it's a personal choice.
But whatever it is, it's meant as a way to remind ourselves
that we are in a season of preparation.
KAI: It's always about God, not about us or our own effort.
LIBBY: In addition to prayer and fasting,
the third common practice during Lent is alms-giving.
And alm refers to food, money, or some other material goods
given to the poor as an act of charity.
So during Lent, we try to add an extra activity
that will help or bless someone.
KAI: It could be volunteering at a soup kitchen,
visiting the sick, writing letters to someone in prison,
or just performing a kind act.
LIBBY: You could also combine fasting and alms-giving,
like skipping a meal and giving the money you saved
to a local food pantry.
KAI: And I for one, am planning to make sure
that I spend 55 minutes of every hour in prayer,
down at the cafeteria, inside of the prison,
where I pay the prisoners to let me volunteer --
LIBBY: Whoa, whoa easy there.
The point of all of this is not to make ourselves suffer
or show how spiritual we are,
it's to help ourselves grow in our relationship with God.
KAI: But what happens if someone forgot that it's a Friday
and enjoyed a juicy, bacon cheeseburger.
Is Lent ruined?
I'm asking for a friend.
LIBBY: Don't beat yourself up about it.
If we fail, it's just another reminder
that we still need God's grace in our lives.
KAI: Good point, Libby. Like if you get a flat tire,
you don't just slash the other three tires,
you fix the flat and then get back on the road.
LIBBY: The point of Lent is to take the focus off of ourselves
and put it on God, to remember the ultimate sacrifice
Jesus made for us on the cross
and to thank Him for it.
KAI: So to recap, Lent is the 40 day period
between Ash Wednesday and Easter,
the time when Catholics practice prayer,
fasting and alms-giving.
LIBBY: Those are things we should try to do anyway
throughout the year.
KAI: But Lent is a special opportunity to help us
re-prioritize and get back on track spiritually,
to prepare to celebrate Jesus' resurrection.
COACH LIBBY: Listen up.
As with all training regimens,
keep your eyes on the prize, no pain, no gain
and move it or lose it.
(blows whistle)
KAI: If you want to learn more about how not to lose it
during Lent, check out our website
at catholiccentral.com.
LIBBY: I'm Libby.
KAI: And I'm Kai, see you next time.
(upbeat music)
- Traffic lights, how many traffic lights
did I go past when I was coming here today,
I can't get out of bed in the morning
without just feeling, where are you going?