Many real Christians do TRUE FASTS, not the watered down Catholic nonsense
For those interested: Lent, for Catholics, is not "watered down Catholic nonsense". The "fast
and abstinence" days are Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, meaning that with one's fast, one should also abstain from meat. All Fridays in Lent are days of abstinence, although many Catholics choose to abstain from eating meat every Friday throughout the year. Jesus gave up his very self for us on Friday, therefore Catholics are encouraged to practice self-denial on Fridays, commemorating Jesus' sacrifice for us.
Giving up something like a Mars bars is a child's fast for those under 14 who are not required to fast. The recommended fast for others is one regular meal with two smaller meals which together do not pass the size of the regular meal.
The purpose of Lent is to draw closer to Christ. It can be described as training with the training goal not the date of a running marathon, but to find oneself closer to Jesus on Easter Sunday. Throughout history the Catholic Church has taken this training seriously. The purpose of the fast during Lent is not a smaller pants size. Further in some monasteries and abbeys care was taken to provide each person with their own portions of food to remove the competitive aspect of a fast--who can fast best. Those who asked to continue this fast after Lent were told no, that outside of Lent the regular fasts on Wednesdays and Fridays would suffice. Again, this removed any competitive/prideful aspects when fasting.
Fasting from food
and giving up/fasting from something else during Lent has long been a practice of many Catholics. What is it that has been drawing one away from Christ or certainly does not bring one closer to him? Give up one thing and replace that thing with something else. (Less screen time, more prayer time, for example. This prayer time can include a variety of things: Helping around the house, going for a walk to reflect on the beauty of God's creation, and spending time in total silence--whatever one needs to remove what blocks one from Christ and allows him deeper into one's heart.
Lent includes additional prayer and study time. One of my own favorites are the Sermons of St. Francis de Sales, but there are many, many spiritual readings for this. It also includes reflection on how Lent is proceeding, and whether something needs tweaked. For example, perhaps reading St. Francis de Sales just isn't doing it, feel free to choose something else: CS Lewis, Teresa of Avila, Thomas Merton....and on and on.
Lent is also a time of alms giving: Time, Talent Treasure.
Is it too much to ask that non-Catholics Christians refrain from calling Catholic observance of Lent "nonsense"? To Catholics, it is a serious and holy season.
