Prayer, Fasting and Almsgiving: The Three Pillars

Three key pillars characterize the Lenten season: prayer, fasting, and almsgiving (charity).

The USCCB tells us that during Lent, “we seek the Lord in prayer by reading Sacred Scripture; we serve by giving alms; and we practice self-control through fasting.”

While most Catholics are familiar with “no meat on Fridays” during Lent, fasting and abstinence are important components throughout Lent. This may look like giving up things like gossip, your favorite coffee order, or forgoing music in the car and replacing it with prayer.

Almsgiving reminds us of Jesus’s call to serve and connects us in solidarity with our brothers and sisters in need.

Preparing for Holy Week and Easter

Lent includes Palm Sunday, which presents its own unique liturgy, featuring a procession of the congregation into the church along with, of course, the distribution of palms. It is during this service that the entire Passion story is read aloud as we begin Holy Week.

Lent technically ends on Holy Thursday as we celebrate the Mass of the Lord’s Supper, remembering Jesus’s final meal with his disciples in which he institutes the Eucharist. Following this Mass, the altar and worship space are stripped bare, and the Blessed Sacrament is processed out from the altar to a chapel.

The next day is Good Friday, the only day of the year when Mass is not celebrated (though communion is distributed at some services). Holy Saturday, the day of waiting for the joy of the Resurrection, completes what is known as the Triduum: the three days leading up to Easter Sunday.