Given Christianity’s cultural dominance in the U.S., most people understand that Lent is the ancient holy season when faithful Christians give up something pleasurable — chocolate, say, or alcohol, or red meat — for 40 days. The truly devoted, however, also choose to fast, abstaining from food, water, or both, as part of their journey towards Easter’s spiritual renewal.
Once one decides to fast during Lent, myriad questions necessarily ensue. What type of fast — individual, or corporate? Give up food, a special activity or a creature comfort? If it’s food, should one include or exclude water? When should the fast take place?
Fortunately, Word In Black has gathered a few simple definitions and guidelines that can help.
Prayer and Fasting
Although Lent is familiar to most Christians, the practice of fasting — usually defined as the avoidance of consuming food for a prescribed amount of time — and prayer are traditions in other faiths. It is an annual feature of Ramadan, Islam’s holy month of worship, but it’s also a tradition in Buddhism. Hinduism, and Taoism.
The idea is to eliminate, if relatively briefly, anything that could distract from the discipline required for the spiritual journey from Ash Wednesday to Easter. The goal is to replace it with the strength and belief to endure.
Generally, faith leaders teach congregants that some failures to abide by Christ’s teachings can be remedied only through prayer and fasting. In Christianity, fasting generally falls into four, mostly self-explanatory categories: total, dry, intermittent and sanctified.
Different Kinds of Fasting
Total fasting is abstaining from all food for a period of time, while dry means abstaining from food and water. Intermittent fasting requires maintaining a strict schedule of meal times, while sanctified fasting allows one meal each day after 6 p.m.
Then there’s the decision whether to take on an individual fast, where one sacrifices on one’s own, or a corporate fast, where a faith family or community endures the fast together.
Sometimes, faithful Christians can’t or would prefer not to give up food for a period of time. An alternative show of sacrifice and devotion is to sacrifice certain favorite foods, nettlesome habits or pleasurable activities during Lent.
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That means 40 days without chocolate, or wine. Some use the time to quit smoking, or cursing, or eating fast food. It could be 40 days without shopping, except for essentials. Some choose to sacrifice social media; others deny themselves television shows or movies.
Other Christians, meanwhile, add meaningful things to their lives for Lent rather than subtract food or guilty pleasures: more time with family or loved ones, more volunteer hours in the community, more prayer, journaling or self-reflection. Making Lent meaningful is often an individual choice.
5 Books About Lent by African Americans
With so much to consider, it can be helpful to consult some of the latest books on the subject. All of them listed here are written by African American authors.
1. “Lent: The Season of Repentance and Renewal”
by Esau McCauley
Part of a series, “Fullness of Time,” that explores the seasons of the church calendar, this book declares that Lent “is inescapably about repenting,” but not about despair. The season, the author writes ”is about turning away from our sins and toward the living God. A season dedicated to repentance and renewal should not lead us to despair; it should cause us to praise God for his grace.”
2. “Tarry Awhile: Wisdom from Black Spirituality for People of Faith“
by Selina Stone
Chosen as The Archbishop of Canterbury’s Lent Book for 2024, Churchtimes says Tarry Awhile “makes the wisdom of Black spiritualities and faith available for all people.” Focused on 7 themes — darkness as a place of encounter with the divine; the unity of all things; movement, belonging and migration — the book describes spirituality as moving “in unexpected ways; quiet contemplation as essential to spiritual growth; healing in community; and weeping that turns to joy.”
3. “Lent of Liberation: Confronting the Legacy of American Slavery”
by Cheri L. Mills
In a bold pairing of Christianity and America’s original sin, Lent of Liberation offers a devotion for each of the 40 days of Lent, weaving the history of slavery into each one. The devotions are written in the voice of a formerly enslaved person who escaped through the Underground Railroad.
4. “This Here Flesh: Spirituality, Liberation and the Stories That Make Us”
by Cole Arthur Riley
The author assigns readings to highlighting the sacredness of Black embodiment. “From the womb, we must repeat with regularity that to love ourselves is to survive,” she writes. “I believe that is what my father wanted for me and knew I would so desperately need: a tool for survival, the truth of my dignity named like a mercy new each morning.”
5. “Were You There?: Lenten Reflections on the Spirituals”
by Luke Powery
The author harnesses the power of traditional African American spirituals to enrich the Lenten experience. Each selection includes the lyrics of a spiritual, the author’s reflection on its meaning, a relevant passage from scripture and a prayer.
