• Look for the Lenten series every Thursday during Lent.
• Fasting can include giving up meat, eating less food, or giving up a bad habit.
• There has been a recent trend to add something to one's routine instead of abstaining from something.
• The purpose of fasting is to exercise faith and grow closer to God.

With the beginning of Lent on Ash Wednesday comes the start of another Catholic tradition: fasting.

Fasting, along with prayer and almsgiving, make up the three pillars of Lent.

Fasting usually means eating very little or no food, but it also refers to the practice of giving something up for Lent, said the Rev. John Laurance, a theology professor.

During Lent, the only two days Catholics between the ages of 18 and 59 are required to fast are Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, Laurance said. When fasting, only one regular meal and two smaller meals are eaten, he said. No snacks can be consumed between meals, Laurance said.

Fasting allows us to experience poverty and hunger in a physical way, making it easier to understand Jesus when he said, "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled," Laurance said.

People used to fast before a big celebration to put them in the right mindset for the party, he said. Since Easter weekend is a three-day celebration of Christ's death and resurrection, fasting occurs before this celebration as well, Laurance said. Over time the Lenten fast developed into a 40-day ordeal.

Fasting can also refer to refraining from meat products, said Anne Mulgrew, assistant director of Campus Ministry. These meat products exclude eggs and fish, she said.

According to Mulgrew, the fishing industry struggled in the Middle Ages. Instead of letting the industry collapse and fisherman become impoverished, the Church allowed fish to be eaten on Fridays during Lent, she said.

Abstaining from an activity or giving up a particular food is a popular Lenten practice among Catholics. In his 2009 Lenten message, Pope Benedict XVI wrote, "May every family and Christian community use well this time of Lent, therefore, in order to cast aside all that distracts the spirit and grow in whatever nourishes the soul, moving it to love of God and neighbor."

Mulgrew said that if what you're doing for Lent doesn't test you or point you closer to faith, then there isn't really much of a point. It is supposed to be inconvenient because that's how you grow, she said.

Over the last five years, there has been a trend of adding something to one's life, such as volunteering more, rather than give up something, Mulgrew said.

In his message, Pope Benedict wrote that true fasting is to do the will of the Lord.

Kayla Murphy, a freshman in the College of Health Sciences, said she makes Lent a time for goals and to improve society instead of giving something up.

"It's something I can continue; it's not just a temporary thing," she said.

Murphy admits she doesn't completely understand the meaning behind fasting because it seems like everyone has different ideas about it. She has noticed differences between generations' perceptions of it and differences in the way different Catholic churches approach the topic, she said.

Mulgrew said Lent is about becoming more aware of what your faith is.

"Make it meaningful for you."