During Lent, the Gloria and the Alleluia are not said or sung during the Mass. This is because Lent is meant to be a solemn time where we reflect on our sinfulness and how we can better ourselves. Both the Gloria and the Alleluia are joyful prayers. The Gloria is said on Holy Thursday, and then both the Gloria and the Alleluia are reinstated in the Mass on Easter Sunday.
Alleluia means praise to God, sung with great joy. Lent is a time for penance and a reminder of our sinfulness and the hope of everlasting life. So we do not say alleluia, but we do sing praise to God. Then on Easter, a time of great joy, we sing alleluia again ( in fact, twice at the closing of Mass)
yes.
Lent is for purification, fasting, and repenting for sins. One could say that you are preparing to be a better person.
That requirement is not in the Bible.
lent(e) does mean slow
"Slow" in French is " lent".
"He lent me counsel, and I lent him eyes."
This is a personal decision between you and God. The church suggests that Catholics choose to "give up" something during Lent, and many choose to give us Sodas etc, but no one should give up drinking water. Dehydration is a health risk.
Carême.
Yes, as long as you pray it that way. You can say any words, but if you are not truly meaning them as a praise, they are not.
Act of Contrition