This video was made in preparation for The Great Fast, our upcoming Lenten program. To learn more, please click here.

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When we fast, we make a concerted effort, body and soul, to turn towards God. This means turning from those things that might impede us from loving Him more fully. 

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It’s a noble practice, but that doesn’t make it an easy one! Indeed, good Mother that She is, the Church has long recognized that we are more likely to succeed in our Lenten efforts if we “brace ourselves,” as it were, by preparing our hearts and minds for the Great Fast ahead. 

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Enter: the forgotten season of Pre-Lent. 

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We’ve lost much of this tradition in contemporary Catholicism, but in years past the Church put great emphasis on the time from Epiphany to Ash Wednesday. This is a time to begin making room for God in our lives. It is a time to begin balancing the rigor of our Lenten fast with the realities of our day-to-day lives. And, yes—as Mardi Gras enthusiasts will note—it is even a chance to celebrate those things that we are going to give up, and to recognize that all good things come from God.

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In this short video, Fr. Ambrose and Fr. Claude (a native of New Orleans and one of those aforementioned Mardi Gras enthusiasts!) discuss the Scriptural precedent, the historical context, and the contemporary relevance of Pre-Lent.