As Lent 2026 approaches, many Catholics ask themselves the same question: What should I give up this year? Choosing a Lenten sacrifice is not about finding the hardest thing to endure, but about creating space for God to work in your heart.
Whether you choose to give up a favorite food, break a bad habit, or take on a new spiritual practice, your Lenten sacrifice should draw you closer to Christ and help you live the Gospel more fully.
This guide offers ideas for meaningful Lenten sacrifices—both traditional and modern—to help you make Lent 2026 a season of true conversion.
Traditional Lenten Sacrifices
For centuries, Catholics have observed Lent by giving up certain foods and pleasures. These traditional sacrifices remind us that we can live with less and that God alone satisfies our deepest hunger.
Sweets and Desserts
Giving up candy, chocolate, ice cream, or baked goods is one of the most common Lenten sacrifices. It teaches self-control and reminds us that not every craving needs to be satisfied immediately.
Alcohol
Abstaining from beer, wine, or other alcoholic beverages can be a meaningful sacrifice, especially if you rely on it for relaxation. It challenges you to seek peace in prayer instead.
Coffee or Caffeine
For those who start every day with coffee, giving it up can be surprisingly difficult. This sacrifice can turn your morning routine into an opportunity for prayer.
Meat on All Days (Not Just Fridays)
While Catholics are only required to abstain from meat on Ash Wednesday and Fridays, some choose to give up meat entirely during Lent as an act of penance and solidarity with the poor.
Fast Food and Eating Out
Sacrificing convenience foods and restaurant meals can save money (which you can give to charity) and teach you to appreciate simple, home-cooked meals.
Modern Lenten Sacrifices
In today’s world, some of the most addictive and distracting things are not physical pleasures but digital habits. Giving up technology or media can create profound space for prayer and reflection.
Social Media (Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X)
Social media can consume hours of our day and fill our minds with comparison, envy, and distraction. Giving it up—even partially—can restore peace and presence to your life.
Tip: If giving it up entirely feels impossible, try limiting it to 10 minutes per day or deleting the apps from your phone.
TV and Streaming Services (Netflix, Hulu, YouTube)
Binge-watching shows can numb us to reality and steal time that could be spent in prayer, with family, or serving others. Consider giving up streaming or limiting it to weekends only.
Video Games
If gaming dominates your free time, Lent is an opportunity to redirect that energy toward spiritual growth, reading, or meaningful relationships.
Online Shopping
Giving up unnecessary purchases—especially impulse buys—can help you practice detachment from material things and save money to give to those in need.
Complaining and Gossip
Perhaps the most challenging sacrifice of all: giving up negative speech. This includes complaining, gossiping, criticizing, or speaking unkindly about others. Replacing negativity with gratitude and encouragement can transform your heart.
A gentle clarification: Lent is not about temporarily avoiding sinful behavior and then returning to it after Easter. Gossip, harmful speech, and attitudes that damage charity are contrary to the Christian life at all times—not only during Lent.
When these habits are mentioned during Lent, it is because this season invites us to confront, repent of, and uproot patterns that harden the heart. Lent calls us not to a temporary pause, but to lasting conversion.
What to Take On Instead of Giving Up
Sometimes the most transformative Lenten practice is not giving something up, but adding something meaningful. Taking on a positive habit can be just as challenging—and more spiritually fruitful—than sacrifice alone.
Daily Prayer or Scripture Reading
Commit to 10–15 minutes of prayer each day, whether it’s reading the daily Gospel, praying the Rosary, or sitting in silence before God. Consistency is more important than length.
Random Acts of Kindness
Challenge yourself to perform one act of kindness each day: pay for someone’s coffee, write an encouraging note, help a neighbor, or donate to someone in need.
Volunteering
Dedicate time each week to serve others—at a soup kitchen, nursing home, pregnancy center, or your parish. Lent is a season of almsgiving, and your time is one of the most valuable gifts you can offer.
Attending Daily Mass
If possible, attend Mass on weekdays (or even just once a week beyond Sunday). The Eucharist is the source and summit of our faith, and spending time with Jesus in this way is deeply transformative.
Calling a Family Member Daily
Reconnect with someone you’ve neglected—a parent, grandparent, sibling, or friend. A brief call each day can heal relationships and bring joy to both of you.
How to Choose Your Lenten Sacrifice
Not every sacrifice is right for every person. The best Lenten practice is one that helps you grow closer to God and become more like Christ.
Here are a few questions to guide your discernment:
Ask: “What keeps me from God?”
Your Lenten sacrifice should address something that distances you from prayer, virtue, or love. Is it distraction? Selfishness? Anger? Choose a practice that confronts that weakness.
Choose Something That Challenges You
If giving up something feels easy, it may not be much of a sacrifice. On the other hand, don’t choose something so extreme that you’ll give up by the second week. Aim for a challenge that requires daily effort but is sustainable.
Don’t Make It So Extreme You’ll Fail by Day 3
Lent lasts 40 days. If your sacrifice is unrealistic, you’ll become discouraged and abandon it. Better to commit to something smaller and stay faithful than to aim too high and quit.
Focus on Interior Conversion, Not Just External Acts
Lent is not about performance or willpower—it’s about the heart. Even the best sacrifice is empty if it doesn’t lead you to greater love, humility, and trust in God.
What If I Break My Lenten Promise?
If you fail in your Lenten sacrifice—whether on day 3 or day 30—do not be discouraged.
Lent is not about perfection. It is about turning back to God again and again, even when we fall. God’s mercy is greater than your failures.
If you break your promise:
- Acknowledge it honestly. Don’t make excuses or minimize it.
- Ask God for forgiveness. He is not disappointed in you—He is waiting to lift you up.
- Begin again the next day. Every morning is a new opportunity.
- Adjust if needed. If your sacrifice was unrealistic, choose something more sustainable.
Remember: The goal of Lent is not to prove how strong you are, but to realize how much you need God’s grace.
Prayers for Your Lenten Sacrifice
As you begin and sustain your Lenten practice, offer it to God through prayer:
- 40 Days of Lenten Prayers – Daily prayer calendar
- Ash Wednesday Prayer 2026 – Begin Lent with repentance and hope
- Complete Guide to Lent 2026 – Prayers, fasting, and spiritual renewal
40 Lenten Sacrifice Ideas (Printable List)
Here is a comprehensive list of Lenten sacrifices to inspire your discernment:
Food & Drink
- Sweets and desserts
- Soda and sugary drinks
- Alcohol
- Coffee or caffeine
- Fast food
- Snacking between meals
- Eating out at restaurants
- Meat on all days (not just Fridays)
Technology & Media
- Social media (Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X)
- TV and streaming services
- Video games
- YouTube or internet browsing
- Using your phone during meals
- Checking email after work hours
- Online shopping
Habits & Behaviors
- Complaining
- Gossip
- Criticizing others
- Sarcasm or negativity
- Swearing or crude language
- Interrupting people when they speak
- Hitting the snooze button
- Procrastination
Things to Take On
- Daily prayer (10–15 minutes)
- Reading Scripture daily
- Praying the Rosary
- Attending daily Mass (or once a week)
- Praying the Stations of the Cross on Fridays
- Daily acts of kindness
- Volunteering weekly
- Writing thank-you notes
- Calling a family member daily
- Fasting on Wednesdays and Fridays
- Giving up your seat or time for others
- Donating money saved from sacrifices to charity
- Keeping a Lenten journal
- Going to Confession
- Spending time in Eucharistic Adoration
- Practicing gratitude daily
- Forgiving someone who hurt you
- Being punctual and respecting others’ time
Make This Lent Count
Whatever you choose to give up—or take on—for Lent 2026, remember that the heart of this season is not sacrifice for its own sake, but love.
Your Lenten practice should help you love God more deeply and love others more generously. If it does that, even imperfectly, it will bear fruit.
As Saint Augustine prayed: “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you.”
May this Lent bring you closer to the One who gave everything for you.
If this guide helped you choose your Lenten sacrifice, share it with someone preparing for Lent. Sometimes we all need a little inspiration to begin again.
