MSI Press Blog

  Lent can be a beautiful season of renewal, but for someone who lives with binge eating or a binge‑restrict cycle, it can also feel like a trap disguised as holiness. The Church speaks of fasting, sacrifice, and self‑denial; the disordered mind hears diet culture, control, and the promise of finally “fixing” oneself. It’s a dangerous overlap. Many Catholics give up sweets, snacks, or entire food groups during Lent. For someone with a binge‑eating pattern, that kind of abstinence doesn’t lead to holiness. It leads to the familiar spiral: restrict, white‑knuckle, binge, shame, repeat. One writer described how she used to treat Lent as “yet another diet,” hoping each year that the season would finally force her body into submission. Instead, she gained weight, lost peace, and missed the point entirely. Mental‑health professionals echo the same warning. Lent is a time when unusual food behaviors—skipping meals, avoiding certain foods, pushing through hunger—are socially accepted, ev...

  For Catholics, Friday has always carried the echo of the Passion. It is the day Christ offered His life, and the Church invites the faithful to mark that day with a small, tangible act of penance. Historically, that act has been abstaining from meat —not because meat is sinful, but because it was considered a festive, celebratory food. Giving it up became a simple, communal way to remember the cost of love. Fish entered the picture not because it is holier, but because it is not meat in the canonical sense. In the ancient world, fish was ordinary, humble, and accessible. Choosing fish instead of meat was a way of choosing simplicity over luxury, restraint over indulgence, and remembrance over routine. Even today, the Friday fish fry—whether in a parish hall or a family kitchen—carries that quiet invitation to remember Christ’s sacrifice through a small act of solidarity. Fasting vs. Abstinence: Two Different Practices Catholic tradition distinguishes between fasting and abs...

  Walk into a parish hall on a Lenten Friday and you’ll often find the same scene: steaming pots of soup, simple bread, people chatting softly, kids running underfoot, and a sense of gentle community. But why soup? And why Fridays? The answer is beautifully simple—and deeply rooted in the spirit of Lent. 1. Fridays are days of communal sacrifice During Lent, Catholics abstain from meat on Fridays as a small act of solidarity with Christ’s sacrifice. It’s not about dieting; it’s about choosing simplicity so the heart can pay attention to what matters most. Soup—humble, nourishing, and meatless—fits the day perfectly. It’s a meal that reflects the Church’s call to detachment and simplicity during this season . 2. Soup suppers turn fasting into fellowship Lent can be a solitary journey, but it was never meant to be lonely. Parish soup dinners transform a day of penance into a moment of community: sharing a simple meal supporting one another in the Lenten journey creating s...