Crystal Hohenthaner, Journal staff

Bishop Blase Cupich of the Diocese of Rapid City answered these questions about Lent.

Tell me a little bit about the purpose of the season of Lent.

Lent also prepares all believers, through prayer, fasting and almsgiving for entering more fully into the dying and rising of Jesus celebrated during Holy Week and culminating with Easter, the day of the Lord's resurrection.

Explain the purpose of giving something up or fasting for Lent.

Fasting should be a part of every Christian's life, as should prayer and almsgiving. During Lent we intensify these practices of our Christian life as we move toward the renewal that Easter promises each year.

Is Lent is a man-created or church-created practice rather than a mandate from the Bible?

Lent as the preparation time for taking on the demands of Christian life is modeled in part on the 40 days that Jesus spent in the desert prior to beginning his public ministry. In the life of the Christian, the prayer, fasting and almsgiving are meant to help lead the believer to a deeper conversion and a deeper faith in the Lord who redeems us.

Does the church encourage fasting, and if so, does the church encourage a food fast or perhaps the giving up of something else?

Yes, the church encourages fasting as part of the Christian life. By practicing self-denial, we come to a deeper dependence on God and appreciate more fully how close God is to us as a nourishment and source of life that cannot be replicated by any created thing.

What are the benefits of fasting?

Fasting puts us in touch with the fact that we are created with an appetite for God. So it really does not matter what one abstains from in fasting, the important thing is to suspend the usual appetites in life that seek immediate gratification so that we can recover our deeper hunger and thirst for God and His ready grace, which brings a singular kind of satisfaction.

What would you encourage someone to give up for the season?

If some Catholic asked me that, I would first ask, what is it that you are really attached to that seems to have a hold on your life? It may be money, praise, a certain food or drink. Each person will answer that question differently, but whatever the answer, that is the starting point for making a decision about what we should do for our fasting. The point is to break the attachments that can enslave us so that we rediscover our nobility of being created for God.