I am wearing ashes right now. And I must say I find the calling of it "a silly blob of ashes" more than a bit offensive. It is a wonderful reminder to the individual wearin it of his own faith, as well as providing an opportunity to witness to people regarding ones faith. I would say that is important to fast during this time. The reason one fast is due to the fact that Christ fasted in the desert during this time for forty days. The word Lent comes from the Teutonic word for forty. By fasting during this time, it encourages us to be like Christ and reflect on God.

Fasting is a very personal and private thing between you and God. (But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to men that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.  Matthew 6: 17-18)  I believe that you should be called to fast, not fast because other people are doing it, or you feel like you should.  Nor should we do it as a ritual at specific times of the year.  If it isn't from God, it is a waste of your time.  I believe it's like anything else, if you go before God in that decision, the blessing isn't there.  
I believe that fasting can take on many forms.  Last year I did a leadership study that included a fast from negativity for 40 days.  It was powerful and made me re-evaluate the use of my words and thoughts...and it made me feel closer to God because I had to turn to Him for healing from my negativity. 
So, should you give up something for Lent?  Is there an issue that God is trying to get you to look at?  Maybe it would be a good idea for all of us to fast from something that is getting in the way of our relationship with God.......

We move through Lent from ashes to the baptismal font. We dirty our faces on Ash Wednesday and are cleansed in the waters of the font. We embrace the need to die to sin and selfishness at the beginning of Lent so that we can come to fuller life in the Risen One at Easter.

When we receive ashes on our foreheads, we remember who we are. We remember that we are creatures of the earth ("Remember that you are dust"). We remember that we are mortal beings ("and to dust you will return"). We remember that we are baptized. We remember that we are people on a journey of conversion ("Turn away from sin and be faithful to the gospel"). We remember that we are members of the body of Christ (and that smudge on our foreheads will proclaim that identity to others, too).

Renewing our sense of who we really are before God is the core of the Lenten experience. It is so easy to forget, and thus we fall into habits of sin, ways of thinking and living that are contrary to God's will. In this we are like the Ninevites in the story of Jonah. It was "their wickedness" that caused God to send Jonah to preach to them. Jonah resisted that mission and found himself in deep water. Rescued by a large fish, Jonah finally did God's bidding and began to preach in Nineveh. His preaching obviously fell on open ears and hearts, for in one day he prompted the conversion of the whole city.

From the very beginning of Lent, God's word calls us to conversion. If we open our ears and hearts to that word, we will be like the Ninevites not only in their sinfulness but also in their conversion to the Lord. That, simply put, is the point of Ash Wednesday!

May you all have a very Blessed Lent and a Joyous Easter.

Being a Christian simply means that you are a follower of Christ. Anyone who has accepted Jesus Christ as their saviour is a Christian, regardless of their denomination.

As for lent, I was also raised catholic. Growing up I would usually give up some kind of junk food. There was one year in my early 20's when I gave up alcohol (only to become a much heavier drinker later).

My opinion is this; If God is compelling you to give something up, it's probably because He is trying to tell you that He doesn't want that in your life. What I'm trying to say is that if you can go the full 40 days of lent without something, why stop there? Give it up permanently.

I know from experience that God will bless you eliminate the bad things in your life. When I gave up alcohol and gambling, I found the Lord.

When I gave up secular music, I found that not only do I love Christian music, but I enjoy listening to music now more than any time in my life. Even more than the years that I was a musician and playing in rock bands.

When I gave up my old friends who were always causing me to back slide, God blessed me with great Christian friends who have become the best friends I have ever had.

I could go on but you get my point. Give up the negative things in your life and see how God will bless you.

2 For day after day they seek me out;
       they seem eager to know my ways,
       as if they were a nation that does what is right
       and has not forsaken the commands of its God.
       They ask me for just decisions
       and seem eager for God to come near them.

3 'Why have we fasted,' they say,
       'and you have not seen it?
       Why have we humbled ourselves,
       and you have not noticed?'
       "Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please
       and exploit all your workers.

4 Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife,
       and in striking each other with wicked fists.
       You cannot fast as you do today
       and expect your voice to be heard on high.

5 Is this the kind of fast I have chosen,
       only a day for a man to humble himself?
       Is it only for bowing one's head like a reed
       and for lying on sackcloth and ashes?
       Is that what you call a fast,
       a day acceptable to the LORD ?

6 "Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
       to loose the chains of injustice
       and untie the cords of the yoke,
       to set the oppressed free
       and break every yoke?

 7 Is it not to share your food with the hungry
       and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—
       when you see the naked, to clothe him,
       and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?

 8 Then your light will break forth like the dawn,
       and your healing will quickly appear;
       then your righteousness [a] will go before you,
       and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard.

 9 Then you will call, and the LORD will answer;
       you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.
       "If you do away with the yoke of oppression,
       with the pointing finger and malicious talk,

 10 and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry
       and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,
       then your light will rise in the darkness,
       and your night will become like the noonday.

 11 The LORD will guide you always;
       he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land
       and will strengthen your frame.
       You will be like a well-watered garden,
       like a spring whose waters never fail.

 12 Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins
       and will raise up the age-old foundations;
       you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls,
       Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.

 13 "If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath
       and from doing as you please on my holy day,
       if you call the Sabbath a delight
       and the LORD's holy day honorable,
       and if you honor it by not going your own way
       and not doing as you please or speaking idle words,

 14 then you will find your joy in the LORD,
       and I will cause you to ride on the heights of the land
       and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob."
       The mouth of the LORD has spoken.


Sara, I am so unqualified to speak of Lent in light of how it is practiced among some of the brethren. In light of Isaiah 58 I think the idea is to close our mouths and open our eyes instead of what we usually do, close our eyes and open our mouth. Not only see GOD but those around us. Listen more than we speak, to GOD, to others.

Now this seems simple enough. But set aside time to actually do it and you quickly find what a sacrifice it is, how it goes contrary to what we usually do. Normally, we carefully screen who and what we let in to where we live (in our heart). But when we give up the right to guard the door, to open it and let others in, people will come. There will be problems, misunderstandings, heartache, and Jesus. Joy and sorrow, hurt and healing, and Jesus. We will be humbled, we will be strengthened, we will be blessed and a blessing, to others, and Jesus.

When I give up something seeking a benefit for me I will get what I deserve. When I give up something so others will benefit I will get what I do not deserve. Whether this is done within Lent or not, it is good for the soul from time to time to refocus.

.....peace.....

Fasting does not necessarily mean you don't eat anything. There are as many different kinds of fasts are there are people. I don't do a total fast because of a health issue but I do "give something up" when I feel prompted to. And it has to be a sacrifice or it means nothing. It has to be a denial of something I enjoy. For some people that could be TV or some other special activity.

Many people on MyChurch fasted and prayed recently for a variety of different needs. My choice was to do a liquids-only fast. At other times I have given up snack foods or desserts. 

My advice would be to pray and listen to your heart and follow through on what is there. (BTW, just for your information, I don't have a Catholic background.)

thank you so much guys for all the great advice.

I grew up Baptist and it was something that was never talked about.  When I started to sit in at mass with my wife, I heard the Catholics talk about it.  Before and after I converted to Catholicism (very long, deep story in which I met Christ for the first time) my wife always annoyed me with asking, "So what are you giving up for lent?".

But after a few years the concept of fasting really grabbed my attention because I kept finding it in the New and Old Testaments. I took a class in fasting at a local methodist church and was just completely floored by what I learned and what I experienced.  

The value of a fast is that we stop filling up on stuff.  Giving up something for Lent is a small fast, but it can still be very effective.  By halting the flow of stuff into us, we start to see how much of our existance is shaped that one thing.  A frequent thing we do without realizing it is to attempt to meet our own needs by filling up on stuff: a snack, a drink, a video game, a habit, a style of music, whatever. 

Frequently we get annoyed at first.  But a Christian is prompted to say, "Hey!  Wait a minute.  Why is this so important?  What need I am really trying to satisfy?  Why am I not looking toward God to fill this need?

In identifying these questions and looking introspectively for these answers, we begin to dig up some rather uncomfortable aspects of our existance.  So we acknowledge the issue, we ask for forgiveness, and we look for related areas of our lives that need to be cleaned out. 

So in short, in giving up something for Lent, we hope, leads to repentance and thus a stronger relationship with Jesus Christ.

Another way to look at it is that giving up something for Lent the first step in Spring cleaning for the soul.

Gene

simple as this.....if lent aint in the bible then dont worry sister.