Again we keep the solemn fast,
a rite and practice from the past,
The fast to all men known and bound,
in forty days of yearly round.

The law and prophets from of old
In diverse ways this Lent foretold,
which Christ, all ages' king and guide,
In these last days has sanctified.

More sparing, therefore, let us make
The words we speak, the food we take,
Our sleep, our laughter, ev'ry breath,
all guided now to inner health.

To hunger as a penitent,
May seem as some diminishment;
To live with less for forty days,
Can bring us growth and give God praise.