Is fasting really necessary during Lent? Short answer: yes. It is a pillar of spiritual practice as well as an important spiritual and physical preparation for Easter. Catholic experts and religious offer a guideline on why fasting is important and what are the best ways to do it.

There is no getting around fasting during Lent.

Not only is it one of the three pillars of spiritual practice along with prayer and almsgiving, but it also bookends the period of preparation for Easter.

Many 21st-century households are inundated by the noise of handheld and flat-screen technologies. Add family dynamics to that, and silence becomes a rare commodity.

Such is the experience of the Swaffords. With four children under the age of 10, Sarah and Andrew Swafford rarely have down time in their Atchison, Kansas, home near the campus of Benedictine College, where Andrew is an associate professor of theology.

Yet silence is something that the couple hasn’t stopped striving for.

The President of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue returning from Al-Azhar: dialogue is the best antidote to relativism and represents the best alternative to war.

Christians across the globe are entering Lent, the season of preparation before Easter. Starting on Ash Wednesday, the 40-day period sees many Christians partake in a season of moderation, meditation, fasting and repentance. The exercises in discipline are undertaken to allow Christians time to reflect on the life, words and sacrifices of Jesus Christ.

For those embarking on the annual Lenten journey, we've gathered 40 quotes about fasting, spiritual growth and the power of prayer.

From its earliest days, the Church has urged the baptized and catechumens to observe the threefold discipline of fasting, almsgiving, and prayer as a preparation for the celebration of Easter. Failure to observe individual days of penance is not considered serious, but failure to observe penitential days (Ash Wednesday, Good Friday, and all Fridays of Lent) must be considered serious.

“Penance, penance, penance,” cried the angel, pointing to the earth with his right hand in the “Third Secret” of Fatima.

This Lenten season is a perfect time to tie repentance into Fatima’s century-old call for penance and sacrifice.

One of the best connected figures in Rome offers guidance to the president on who to appoint as his Vatican ambassador.

President Donald Trump has yet to appoint his ambassador to the Holy See, a decision which is likely to be made soon, particularly given Trump is expected to visit Pope Francis in May.

Any foreign leader looking for advice on who to appoint as their envoy to the Vatican should look no further than Carla Powell, one of the best connected figures in Rome who frequently hosts cardinals and diplomats in her villa just outside the Eternal City.

“We must ... approach the question of the origin of evil by fixing the eyes of our faith on him who alone is its conqueror.” (CCC 385)

Some time ago the British atheist actor Stephen Fry went public with an eloquent and passionate condemnation of God for creating a world with children’s bone cancer, flesh-eating microbes and cannibalistic serial killers.

It’s a old rant, but a fair one because it brings us to ponder the nature of evil in the world.

It's tough to stay awake while praying at night—even for monks!

Insomnia. Truly no fun at all: the mind runs while the body lies paralyzed worrying about the bills, the kids, the new catalytic converter for the car, and the sad state of human affairs—the whole lot of human misery. And the “cures” for insomnia are sometimes worse than the disease: Ambien can cause stomach upset and sleepwalking; benzodiazipines can be habit-forming; acetaminophen “P.M.” is tough on the liver; Benadryl may bring on tachycardia or even high-blood pressure.

When it rests in my hands, I feel the full weight of the devotion upon my very soul.

I've always admired sturdy rosaries.

Like every Catholic, I need one that doesn't tangle while being transported in my pocket. I'd like one with a little heft to it to make me consciously slow down as I pray with them.

Though some may enjoy them, I’m not one for pretty, pastel colors for fear they'd clash with my Easter bonnet.

I wanted a rosary that was decidedly masculine.