The In's and Out's of Lent

In my searching for Lenten information I came across an amazing article.  I am going to copy and paste parts of it I want you to see, but I will put the link at the end so you can read the whole thing.

First:

St. Basil, St. John Chrysostom, St. Jerome, and St. Gregory the
Great, make the remark, that the commandment put upon our first
parents in the earthly paradise was one of abstinence; and that it
was by their not exercising this virtue, that they brought every
kind of evil upon themselves and upon us their children. The life
of privation, which the king of creation had thenceforward to lead
on the earth (for the earth was to yield him nothing of its own
natural growth, save thorns and thistles), was the clearest
possible exemplification of the law of penance imposed by the
anger of God on rebellious man. During the two thousand and more
years, which preceded the deluge, men had no other food than the
fruits of the earth, and these were obtained only by the toil of
hard labour. But when God, as we have already observed, mercifully
shortened man's life that so he might have less time and power for
sin, He permitted him to eat the flesh of animals, as an
additional nourishment in that state of deteriorated strength.

We think of Adam and Eve in the garden....but I never looked at God's telling them not to eat of the tree of Knowlede being an act of abstinence.   They couldn't follow that  virtue and thus brought sin into the world.  What a powerful thought. 

Fasting, then, is abstinence from such
nourishments as these, which were permitted for the support of
bodily strength. And firstly, it consists in abstinence from
flesh-meat, because this food was given to man by God out of
condescension to his weakness, and not as one absolutely essential
for the maintenance of life. Its privation, greater or less
according to the regulations of the Church, is essential to the
very notion of fasting. For many centuries eggs and milk-meats
were not allowed, because they come under the class of animal
food; even to this day they are forbidden in the eastern
Churches.


http://www.ewtn.com/library/liturgy/histlent.txt

Here is a list of questions about Lent and Lenten practices:

http://www.catholic.com/thisrock/quickquestions/keyword/Lent/page3



Some other great links:

http://www.catholiceducation.org/articles/religion/re0527.html

http://www.therealpresence.org/eucharst/holycom/histlent.htm


And of course New Advent always has the meatiest information of all:

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09152a.htm



What great reasources did you find?  Did you learn anything new?  Please share!