After a year in which we have already given up so much, one could be forgiven for asking: Do we really need to give up chocolate, too?

You’re not alone this Lent.

Journey with America’s editors as they reflect on scripture, prayer, fasting and almsgiving.

“Jesus announces to us that God is not an idea or an abstract doctrine, but God is the one who ‘contaminates’ himself with our human woundedness and is not afraid to come into contact with our wounds,” the pope said.

I could not imagine someone loving all of me: my mind, soul, corny jokes, leg weakness, kidney issues.

The assignment came with a long list of rules: Don’t ask somebody else in the class. You have to ask in person. You ask, you pay.