Ash Wednesday Is This Week – Here’s What The Church Says You Should Try To ‘Give Up’ For Lent

Today is Fat Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday and the start of the Lenten season in the Catholic Church. If you usually give up something for Lent, the Church is suggesting that you 'give up' different things this year:

1. Don’t remain indifferent - The Church says there is a temptation in this world to be indifferent to our neighbor and ignore their needs. You could 'give up' some time to visit an elderly neighbor to give them some company, or maybe you could volunteer at a food bank to help your neighbors in need get the food they need.

2. Pray - During Lent, the Church says you might give up some of your time to pray a little more than usual, or do something like say a daily rosary and really mediate on the prayer to bring your heart closer to God.

3. Fasting - This type of fasting is to not feel better about yourself or restart your New Year's diet. The Church says fast and donate that money to a charity to help others who might be in need.

4. Help the Poor - This isn't about giving money to charity, it's about helping someone who might need some other type of help. Perhaps you're a lawyer. You could donate your time to Legal Aid and help someone with a legal problem for free. Maybe you're a doctor. You could donate your time to an organization that sees people without insurance or access to medical care.

5. Evangelize - The Church says Lent is the perfect time to spread the good news of the Lord and helping others see the joy it brings to you and helping them see that they could also get comfort and peace from the Word of the Lord.

The Church says they know that you probably won't be able to do more than a couple of these things during the Lenten season, but instead of giving up chocolate or alcohol, give of yourself to help your fellow man during this Lenten season.