What shall I do at lent??

Question

This is a serious question, what are christians supposed to do properly through lent (apart from giving up chocolate) I really want to know please???

Answer 1

Pray, think and reflect. Reflect on the example and teachings of Jesus and connect with God. Lent is a time when Christians remember Jesus' suffering and meditiation in the wilderness for 40 days. Thus, fasting and meditiation are recommended for those who believe. It is also a time to remember and help the poor and hungry.

Answer 2

A while ago we used to give up all food and only have one meal a day (and two smaller ones, which together musn't make up the larger meal). Nowadays you can give up anything you want, doesn't have to be food it can be going clubbing if you go quite frequently, or giving up smoking etc etc...it's also customary to give up meat every friday in lent and ash wednesday (tomorrow). As for the fact of giving up something for lent, lots of people state oh i'm giving up chocolate and crisps and sweets and last for about a week. Instead it's best to give up one small thing that you will miss but is reasonably achievable. The Bible also states that you must still prsent yourself well during Lent and don't dress down so that others think you are sacrificing yourself and are miserable. You're also supposed to refrain from telling everyone what you have given up for Lent.

Answer 3

The highlight of the year for Christians is Easter, the day when our Lord rose from the dead. Lent is a forty-day season of preparation for Easter. Lent always begins on Ash Wednesday.
Why 40 days? Because, Jesus fasted and was tempted in the wilderness for 40 days. Lent, then, is our time of fasting, prayer, temptation, and repentance. Lent is not required anywhere in the scriptures, but it has been a custom, which Christians have practiced for most of the last two thousand years.
In many languages, the word "Lent" actually means "fast". This is where the custom of giving something up for Lent originated.
However, just to confuse things, Lent is actually 46 days long rather than 40 days. Why? Because the 40 days of Lent are supposed to be days of fasting, which means days of discipline and self-restraint. But Sunday, the Lord's Day, should never be a day of fasting, but a day of celebration! So each Sunday, we suspend our Lenten disciplines and celebrate. Lent is 40 "fasting days" spread out over a total of 46 days beginning on Ash Wednesday.
The focus of Lent was always three-fold:
1. It was a time to prepare new converts for baptism through intensive classes and instruction.
2. It was a time for long-standing Christians to review their lives and renew their commitment to Jesus Christ.
3. It was a time for backsliders to be restored to the faith.
In every case, it is a time for serious, disciplined self-examination, a time spent in intensive prayer and repentance before the Cross of Calvary. Put simply, Lent is a time to examine ourselves carefully. Here are some questions upon which you might meditate and pray during Lent:
-Am I sharing gladly what I have with others, especially strangers and the poor?
-Do I have a gracious and patient attitude with others, especially those who irritate me?
-Do I feel the power of connection to God and the church in corporate worship?
-How is my devotional and prayer life progressing? Am I listening to God more and complaining less? Is it time for a change or a growth in my Bible study and prayer life?
-What are the lurking sin problems, which still plague me?
-Am I as thoughtful and forgiving of family as others or do I take out my frustrations on them?
-Do I speak up for the maligned and oppressed, or do I remain silent in order to remain popular?

Answer 4

Many denominations (eg. Catholics, Protestants, Baptists) have different requirements for what they expect out of their parishioners. Catholics have taught fasting from meat on Ash Wednesday and every Friday during Lent. Others believe in the complete fast, while still others believe in just giving up something. Finally, others might give up say buying lunch and give that money they don't spend to a charity.

The important thing, I feel, is to reflect and prepare on the ultimate sacrifice Jesus gave for the world. The giving is suppose to help us focus more on Him. I plan to do a complete fast (no food, only water) for Ash Wednesday and every Friday for Lent. Each person should do what they feel they are being led to do, though.

Answer 5

JC gave a great answer. Make the Lord's path to your heart straight. Bishop Timothy Dolan gave a wonderful Lenten reflection on how if Lent had a patron saint, it would be John the Baptist:

"In the high-priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness; and he went into all the region about the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, 'The voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth; and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.'" - Luke 3:2-6

Answer 6

Lent is a time for prayer, fasting and almsgiving as a means of purification and repentence.

Pray more.
Abstain from something you enjoy as a way of uniting yourself with the sacrifice that Jesus made for us.
Increase the amount of charitable work that you do.

There are some very good resources online to help you have a very productive Lent. They are either daily, twice a week, or weekly meditations:

http://www.americancatholic.org/Newsletters/CU/ac0207.asp
http://www.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/Gillick-Lent/
http://www.franciscanradio.org/Retreats/Lent/archive.asp?lang=en&cycle=C

Answer 7

In Western Christianity, Lent is the period (or season) from Ash Wednesday to Holy Saturday. In Eastern Christianity, the period before Easter is known as Great Lent to distinguish it from the Winter Lent, or Advent (known in Greek as the "Great Fast" and "Nativity Fast", respectively). This article tends to discuss Lent as understood and practiced in Western Christianity.

Easter always falls on a Sunday between March 22 and April 25, roughly corresponding to early spring in the Northern Hemisphere. Ash Wednesday, which may fall anywhere between February 4 and March 10, occurs forty-six days before Easter, but Lent is nevertheless considered to be forty days long, due to the fact that Sundays in this season are not counted among the days of Lent. The traditional reason for this is that fasting was considered inappropriate on Sunday, the day commemorating the Resurrection of Jesus.

Easter celebrates the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, while Lent is a time of preparation for Holy Week. Holy Week recalls the events preceding and during the crucifixion, which occurred in the Jerusalem of the Roman province Judea, circa AD 30.

There are traditionally forty days in Lent which are marked by fasting, both from foods and festivities, and by other acts of penance. The three traditional practices to be taken up with renewed vigor during Lent are prayer (justice towards God), fasting (justice towards self), and almsgiving (justice towards neighbor). Today, some people give up something they enjoy, and often give the time or money spent doing that to charitable purposes or organizations.

Lent does not always involve sacrifice, but rather an offering. For some Christians, giving time to tutor, devoting more time to someone, or working for a non-profit organization is more of a sacrifice than sacrificing food, sex, or a common luxury. It is also common for many Christians who are not obligated to participate in Lent to not observe Holy Days and other traditional practices.

Many Christians who are not obligated to participate by their Church do so willingly. Although the degree of participation varies greatly from merely giving up eating candy to living on bread and water. The participants will often pray or fast to seek what God's will for them is in regards to Lent.

Answer 8

Serious answer - Christians fast through Lent - in other words, they go without all food, from now til Easter (40 days), unless they are ill, elderly, etc. At least, they used to, but now you can give up anything which means a lot to you.

Answer 9

You can give up something or add on something like reading the Bible and praying the Rosary everyday. Go to the Stations of the Cross every week and don't eat meat on Fridays. The reason you're doing this is because you're sacrificeing for Jesus as he did us. He went out in the dessert for 40 days and nights and starved for 40 days and nights.

Answer 10

The Orthodox Church abstains from all meat, dairy, fish, alcohol, etc. throughout Lent.