We are about to enter into one of the major seasons of our liturgical year: The Season of Lent. What is Lent? Lent is the period from Ash Wednesday to Easter Sunday, during which Christians purify themselves by praying, fasting, repenting of their sins, and making changes and sacrifices in their lives. The final week of Lent is called Holy Week; during this period, observant Christians reflect specifically on the last days of Jesus Christ's life. Ash Wednesday is the beginning of the Lenten season and will start on this Wednesday, February 13. It is a time of repentance and fasting for 40 days in preparation for the resurrection of Jesus Christ. We mark this period by a sign: the sign of ashes. It is NOT the ashes that are important. It is participating in the liturgical services in which ashes are distributed that are the most significant. The ashes are a sign to help us develop a spirit of humility and sacrifice. By our participating in the liturgical celebration of Ash Wednesday, we set a direction for our lives to reform our lives by the Gospel message. Ashes are created from the palms used in last year’s Palm Sunday season and followers will receive the sign of the cross marked on their foreheads by the ministers that help with this. This period between Ash Wednesday and the Easter Triduum – not counting Sundays – is a time of serious fasting. What is fasting? Fasting is a path to peace and happiness. Fasting, the practice of abstaining from food or drink for meals, days, and even weeks at a time, is one of the most powerful ways we have of becoming closer to God and finding true joy. Self-denial leads to a greater sense of wholeness. Christians have fasted for thousands of years. But you don't have to simply fast from food. Many Christians today are creative about fasting, and Lent, can be a time of shedding whatever is standing between you and God. Here are some additional options and ways to fast, and pray about how God would have you draw closer to him during this important season. Fast from the media and/ or people. The Franciscan friar and priest, Richard Rohr, often takes to a hermitage during Lent, devoting 6 weeks to nothing but silence, prayer, reflection, and study. That's not possible for many of us, but there are other ways to separate oneself for a season. Say "no" to social events. Stay off or at least reduce the email and social media. What about fasting from sex, dating, or money? Fast from money by living only on what you need. Pay your bills on time and purchase enough food to eat three squares a day, but wipe out every unessential. What about fasting from workaday lunches, workouts, reading, driving or talking and texting? What about watching the kind of trash you create and make it less? Fill in your fast with perhaps one more thing. And only you know what it is. There is something in your life that is good and nourishing and just fine, but is that the very thing you need to sacrifice to God? There can be a lot to fasting that is more than food. Are there other areas of fasting that you could consider doing for the Season of Lent?