“Forty days of pure bliss? How great!” This is a likely comment shared between a Lactobacillus acidophilus bacterium in your gut to another microbe. During Lent, when you give up sugary, highly processed foods, your gut bacteria celebrate. These gut bacteria, central to health, recognize the need to let your body do a reset and await Lent with great anticipation. 

Along with the gut microbiome, you too can be joyful, because depending on what you choose to “give up” this Lent, you could boost your immune system, improve your bowel regulation, better manage blood sugar and maybe even draw closer to God. 

Lent, the 40 days leading up to Our Lord’s passion and death, is traditionally a time of prayer, fasting and almsgiving. In addition to mandatory fasting days (Ash Wednesday and Good Friday), there is the practice of voluntary fasting or the idea of “giving up something.” A mortification of the senses through giving up chocolate or alcohol seems to be the common choice for many. 

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This year, you may consider another approach beyond giving up a food pleasure. Consider Lent as a time to take up a reset or retreat for the mind, body and spirit. You could make this time of 40 days a little different. Here are a few ideas. 

To reset your body, you can remove a food that has no value and harms the microbial ecology within, for example, drop soft drinks. The large soft drink at fast food outlets has about 80 grams of processed carbohydrates in the form of high fructose corn syrup, an unnatural amount of sugar to consume at once. 

Change what goes in your shopping cart. Remove an ultra-processed food during Lent. Besides being harmful to you, it also costs a lot of money which could be an offering (almsgiving), say to the Society of St. Vincent de Paul. 

Over these 40 days choose one recipe or try a home-made dessert with ingredients you control; even try to replace sugar with honey or maple syrup.

These mortifications are a means of taking care of the body to keep you well to serve the Lord. 

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Beyond dietary restrictions, Lent can be a time to reacquaint yourself with the Lord, to enter into repentance. Consider Confession. It is a source of grace and is transformational. It’s like cleaning the back of the car, removing things that need your attention. Attend one Mass, especially if you’ve not been in a while. Drop saying the Lord’s name or swearing casually. Pray one Hail Mary for a friend or family member. 

St. Francis de Sales suggested mortification can be more than of the senses, it can be a mortification of the mind. This could be resisting your inclination of mocking someone in thought or spoken work. When the thought first enters your mind, instantly move your thoughts away and resist the temptation to continue. When you do this, you are responding to St. Paul’s exhortation:  “…whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest,… whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely…; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things” (Phil 4:8).

If you go this way, at the end of 40 days you will have changed in some small way. 

It will take discipline but it’s not impossible. Doing nothing results in nothing. But in trying, you will work out a benefit to yourself. And, if you add praying for another person, the benefit of bringing grace into their life is unmeasurable.  

You will face difficulties, but if it is too easy than it would not be a mortification. C.S. Lewis’ Screwtape Letters speaks about lots of little tempters to pull you away from these good intentions. This will be a true test for you.

After 40 days, there will be an end result. What will it look like? Who can say, but through Lent this year, you may put yourself on a path to remove actions that separate you from God and experience repentance and restoration. 

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You will have your own ideas to prepare for Lent. If you have been away from Lenten practices, consider in 2026 a way to come back to the religious traditions within your Catholic culture. Our newest saint, young St. Carlo Acutis, encourages us. “Sadness,” he said, “is looking inward toward oneself, happiness is looking toward God.” This Lent, look toward God, cultivate your faith through a unique Lenten experience, which could include giving up chocolate. 

Plan something with the potential to provide you 40 days of difficulty, but difficulty as a source of grace, which could lead you to pure bliss.