Skip to content
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Youtube
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest

Welcome to Blessed is She, where we love Jesus & you.

Free U.S. Standard Shipping On Orders $75+

Shipping FAQ Contact Live
Search
  • Content
  • Shop
  • Community
  • Experiences
  • About
Blessed Is She
Account Search Cart
  • Content Toggle menu
    • Devotions
      Devotions
    • Blog
      Blog
    • BIS Member Community
      BIS Member Community
    • Podcast
      Podcast
    • Free Resources
      Free Resources
  • Shop Toggle menu
    • By Category Toggle menu
      • Accessories
      • Apparel
      • Books & Studies
      • Cards & Booklets
      • Home & Wall Decor
      • Jewelry
      • Journals
      • Planners
      • Rosaries
      • Stickers
    • Featured Toggle menu
      • New
      • Best Sellers
      • Month of Mary 💙
      • Gifts for Mom 💕
      • Planners 📒
      • For Men
      • For Kids
      • Gifts
      • Sale
      • Start a Return
    • 2025-2026 PLANNERS
      2025-2026 PLANNERS
    • SHOP ALL
      SHOP ALL
  • Community Toggle menu
    • Blessed Brunches
    • Regional Groups
    • Small Group Studies
    • Blessed is She Membership Community
    • College Students
    • Retreat
  • Experiences Toggle menu
    October 10-11, 2025

    The New Retreat

    Join us as we let God bring our dry bones back to brand new and vibrant life.

    register
  • About Toggle menu
    • What's New
    • About Blessed is She
    • Staff + Writers
    • Support Blessed is She
Left
  • Content Toggle menu
    • Devotions
      Blog
      BIS Member Community
      Podcast
      Free Resources
  • Shop Toggle menu
    • By Category Toggle menu
      • Accessories
      • Apparel
      • Books & Studies
      • Cards & Booklets
      • Home & Wall Decor
      • Jewelry
      • Journals
      • Planners
      • Rosaries
      • Stickers
    • Featured Toggle menu
      • New
      • Best Sellers
      • Month of Mary 💙
      • Gifts for Mom 💕
      • Planners 📒
      • For Men
      • For Kids
      • Gifts
      • Sale
      • Start a Return
    • 2025-2026 PLANNERS
      SHOP ALL
  • Community Toggle menu
    • Blessed Brunches
    • Regional Groups
    • Small Group Studies
    • Blessed is She Membership Community
    • College Students
    • Retreat
  • Experiences Toggle menu
    October 10-11, 2025

    The New Retreat

    Join us as we let God bring our dry bones back to brand new and vibrant life.

    register
  • About Toggle menu
    • What's New
    • About Blessed is She
    • Staff + Writers
    • Support Blessed is She
Planners 📒
Catholic Academic Liturgical Planner // Mini Layout
Left Right Quick buy
Catholic Academic Liturgical Planner // Mini Layout
€49,95
Catholic Liturgical Academic Planner // Big Layout
Left Right Quick buy
Catholic Liturgical Academic Planner // Big Layout
€53,95
Litany of Humility Magnetic Bookmarks – Catholic Prayer-Inspired Page Markers for Bible, Journals & Devotionals
Left Right Quick buy
Litany of Humility Magnetic Bookmarks – Catholic Prayer-Inspired Page Markers for Bible, Journals & Devotionals
€13,95
Catholic Wall and Desk Calendar 2025 with liturgical dates
Left Right Quick buy
Catholic Wall and Desk Calendar 2025
€13,95
Digital 2025 Catholic Liturgical Planner
Left Right Quick buy
Digital 2025 Catholic Liturgical Planner
€23,95
Planner Page Digital Download - Blessed Is She Digital Download
Left Right Quick buy
Planner Page Digital Download
€4,95
Academic Planner Accessory Bundle - Blessed Is She
Left Right Quick buy
Planner Accessory Bundle
€44,95
Planner Stickers - Blessed Is She Stickers
Left Right Quick buy
Catholic Planner Stickers
€13,95
Notepad // Pure In Heart - Blessed Is She Accessories
Left Right Quick buy
Notepad // Pure In Heart
€7,95
Magnetic Bookmarks // Pure In Heart - Blessed Is She Accessories
Left Right Quick buy
Magnetic Bookmarks // Pure In Heart
€13,95
Shipping FAQ Contact Live
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Youtube
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
Our 2025-2026 Liturgical Planners are here ✨
Welcome, we're so glad you're here 💜

The Lent Diet

the purpose of lent

I remember sitting in the dining room of my sorority house one day as I ate lunch. A few of my sorority sisters were standing around, and I was paying much more attention to whatever I was eating than to what they were saying. My ears perked up though when I heard one of them say the word “Lent.”

I had been leading a Bible study in my sorority for a while, and I was always hoping for more girls to join. These particular sisters of mine had never come to Bible study, so I was pretty surprised, and quite honestly thrilled, to hear them talking about Lent. My excitement turned to sorrow, however, as I overheard the rest of their conversation.

“I’m going to give up sugar so I can get ready for my trip to Cabo over Spring Break.”

“I’m cutting out bread—I really need to lose a few. And maybe I’ll go to the gym every day, too.”

It devastated me to hear these women, my friends, talk this way. It didn’t upset me as much that they were planning on superficially adopting the religion I practiced for 40 days, but I was unsettled by the way in which the beauty and hope of the Lenten season had been reduced in their minds to the coldness and restrictiveness of a diet.

A Lent Diet?

I don’t blame these women at all. The world in which we live makes this sort of warped view of fasting almost impossible to avoid. How can we possibly untwist dieting from the concept of self-denial for a greater good? And how can we combat lies that we aren’t good enough as we are, that our bodies need to look a certain way in order for us to be successful, wanted, or loved? The falsehoods spoken to us by diet culture are deafening.

When Lent rolls around, it can somewhat seem like everyone becomes a Catholic, not for the purpose of spiritual growth or deepening their relationship with Jesus, but instead as an excuse to diet in a way that is publicly accepted and even celebrated.

Turning Lent into a diet isn’t just something that happens among non-Catholics either. There is a strong temptation for those of us who are Catholic to make the season about ourselves instead of about God.

Not only can this misuse of Lent inhibit our capability to receive the graces God wants us to experience during this time, but attributing spiritual significance to our successes and failures at dieting is downright dangerous. Doing so opens the door for us to judge ourselves—our worth and our goodness—based on how well we adhere to the restrictive rules we’ve set for ourselves. And this is not what Lent is about.

 

Closeness and Conversion

The season of Lent should be a time during which we experience a new closeness to Jesus Christ as we remember the sacrifice He made for all of humanity through His Passion and Death. Through this season, we have the opportunity to learn more about God’s infinite love and mercy and to enter more fully into the personal relationship He desires with each of us.

It is a chance also to understand ourselves better, to grow in humility as we come to recognize and confront our human weakness, and to invite God into those spaces where we need grace to overcome our shortcomings. Unfortunately, instead of being reaffirmed in our authentic identities, we can easily end up at Easter feeling dejected after devoting all of our energy toward the pursuit or maintenance of a false identity: our image.

What about Fasting?

For many of us, dieting has impaired our ability to see fasting as anything more than a means to a selfish end. When we think of denying ourselves of any type or amount of food, our minds can be quick to snap to the end goal. How can I use this to my advantage? What’s going to make my body look the best by the end of this?

But our attempts to control the physical outcome of our efforts only get in the way of our ability to receive the graces God can work through them. Instead of growing in appreciation for the blessings we have, we become focused on our lack of satisfaction with our bodies. Instead of realizing our profound need for Him, we become self-reliant.

This Lent could be different.

Being Truly Transformed

Jesus is extending an offer for each of us to come to Him as we are. Some of us might be in a place where fasting dietarily is not an option.

I urge you, when considering your Lenten fast, to ask Jesus where He wants to meet you and to seriously think about your motivations. If any part of you is tempted to turn fasting into dieting, choose differently. Remember that Lent is not about restricting under the guise of holiness. It is about becoming more you, not becoming less of you.

And if you, like my well-intentioned sorority sisters, are not Catholic or are new to this whole Lent thing, why not explore its true meaning? I guarantee the results will be far more significant than those of any diet.

At the end of Lent this year, who do you want to see when you look in the mirror? A “successful” dieter, or a more whole version of you?

 

The Lent Diet #BISblog //Click to tweet Twitter

 

Erica Carnohan is a Southern California-based content creator, website developer, and burrito enthusiast. She enjoys having deep conversations over strong cups of coffee, evangelizing through the media, and creating digital art. You'll either find her reading on the beach or playing in her backyard with her four pet chickens.

Blessed is She - Blessed Is She
About Blessed is She
View other posts from the author

GET YOUR PLANNER
SAINTLY SOAP
TUNE IN WEEKLY 🎧
SUPPORT THE BIS MISSION
Share
  • Facebook Share on Facebook
  • Twitter Share on Twitter
  • Pinterest Pin it
February 15, 2021 — Blessed Is She
Tags: Author_BlessedIsShe BLOG health lent LIVES prayer
Left Older Post Back to Blog Newer Post Right

Left What's New Right

View all
Cover of Abide in His Love Gospel of John study guide
Left Right Quick buy
Catholic Bible Study: The Gospel of John // Abide in His Love
€27,95
Saintly Soaps
Left Right Quick buy
Saintly Soaps
€13,95
Catholic Academic Liturgical Planner // Mini Layout
Left Right Quick buy
Catholic Academic Liturgical Planner // Mini Layout
€49,95
Catholic Liturgical Academic Planner // Big Layout
Left Right Quick buy
Catholic Liturgical Academic Planner // Big Layout
€53,95
Litany of Humility Magnetic Bookmarks – Catholic Prayer-Inspired Page Markers for Bible, Journals & Devotionals
Left Right Quick buy
Litany of Humility Magnetic Bookmarks – Catholic Prayer-Inspired Page Markers for Bible, Journals & Devotionals
€13,95
Hardcover Eucharist study guide with full-color pages
Left Right Quick buy
Gift // Study on the Eucharist
From €16,95
Immaculate Heart of Mary Stud Earrings
Left Right Quick buy
Immaculate Heart of Mary Stud Earrings
€27,95
Morning Joy Mug
Left Right Quick buy
Morning Joy Mug
€12,95
Catholic women's virtual mentorship program - The Well Overflow by Blessed is She
Quick buy
The Well // Overflow
€73,95
Litany of Humility Print Set (3-piece)
Left Right Quick buy
Litany of Humility Print Set (3-piece)
€13,95
Come Holy Spirit Print (11x14)
Left Right Quick buy
Come Holy Spirit Print (11x14)
€13,95
Chapstick Set
Left Right Quick buy
Jesus is the Balm Lip Balm // 3-pack
€11,95
Catholic Wall and Desk Calendar 2025 with liturgical dates
Left Right Quick buy
Catholic Wall and Desk Calendar 2025
€13,95
Miraculous Medal Earrings // Silver
Left Right Quick buy
Miraculous Medal Earrings // Silver
€32,95
Morning Star 40oz water bottle
Left Right Quick buy
Morning Star 40oz water bottle
€25,95
Women's Gold Crucifix Necklace
Left Right Quick buy
Women's Gold Crucifix Necklace
€37,95
Gold Monstrance Locket
Left Right Quick buy
Monstrance Gold Locket
€38,95
Monstrance Silver Locket
Left Right Quick buy
Monstrance Silver Locket
€38,95
Hand-Lettered Hail Mary Poster (11x14)
Left Right Quick buy
Hand-Lettered Hail Mary Poster (11x14)
€13,95
catholic cross earrings
Left Right Quick buy
Dainty Cross Stud Earrings // Gold
€16,95
Welcome to Blessed Is She

Blessed is She is a sisterhood of women who want to grow in their relationship with Jesus Christ through their Catholic faith.

Blessed Is She
Quick links
  • Support BIS
  • Subscribe to the Devos
  • About Us
  • FAQ
  • Contact
  • Affiliates Program
  • Wholesale Login
Social
  • YouTube
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • Amazon
American Express Bancontact Diners Club Discover JCB Klarna Maestro Mastercard PayPal SOFORT Union Pay Venmo Visa
  • Privacy Policy
  • Shipping & Returns
  • Terms of Service
© 2025 Blessed Is She. Powered by Shopify
To Top