Lent Quote

"Our fasting isn’t about denying ourselves as a sort of punishment, and it isn’t even
about food. We fast from television, food, video games, computers, and other simple everyday indulgences so we can literally hunger for God. Our fasting also puts us in touch with those whose hunger is never filled because they live in poverty. Finally, our praying and fasting lead us to action.”

—Tony Alonso, Return to the Lord: Praying and Living Lent

Lent Intro

When we hear the word “Lent,” many people automatically ask one another what they plan to “give up” for this time of year.

Before your mind starts racing over whether or not you can live without chocolate or TV, we invite you to take a minute or two now to remind yourself of the “reason for the season.”  

Traditionally, Lent represents 40 days of prayer, fasting and self-denial to remind the believer of Christ’s intensive time of prayer and fasting leading to His sacrificial death before we celebrate His victorious Resurrection on Easter Sunday.

The three traditional practices to be taken up with renewed vigour during Lent are prayer (justice towards God), fasting (justice towards self), and almsgiving (justice towards neighbour). Today, some people give up a vice of theirs, add something that will bring them closer to God, and often give the time or money spent doing that to charitable purposes or organizations.

We invite you to use our Lent study guides to help your church and church youth group during these 40 days of fasting and reflection and encourage you to action towards justice on behalf of the children and communities across the world that live in hunger and poverty every day of the year.

Click on the links to the right to download our free Lenten Study Guide and Youth Lent Activity Guide today!