LENT

Lent

Lent is a 40-day Liturgical Season that initiates the most sacred part of the Christian year. It begins on Ash Wednesday, covers six Sundays, and ends at the Mass of the Lord’s Supper on the evening of Holy Thursday. During Lent, Catholics are called to meditate with awe and thanksgiving on the great Paschal mystery, the salvation God offers to us sinners through the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The season of Lent is a highlight in the Catholic calendar.

Basic facts about Lent

  • Mardi Gras, or “Fat Tuesday,” is the Tuesday before Lent begins.
  • The official start of the Lenten Season is Ash Wednesday.
  • During the Lenten season, many people make a personal commitment to fasting or giving up certain things in their lives as an act of penitence.
  • Why 40 days? The number is significant throughout Scripture; Noah was on the Ark for 40 days, Moses fasted 40 days before receiving the Ten Commandments and Jesus spent 40 days fasting in preparation for His work on earth.
  • The liturgical color for Lent is purple, the color of repentance and sorrow for sin.
  • The celebration of Lent is not a commandment but an opportunity to renew our faith and edify our spirit.

Fasting & Abstinence

Fasting is one of the traditions of Lent. The faithful abstain from meat on Fridays throughout the season and undertake specific fasts on both Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. Fasting does not mean a complete denial of food. Catholics eat one full meal and two smaller meals that together do not constitute a full meal when fasting.

The Holy Scriptures are filled with examples of fasting. Most notably, Jesus fasted for 40 days in the wilderness while He prepared for His public ministry. For many, fasting can intensify their prayer life and connection to God.

Members of the Church are encouraged to make a sacrifice for Lent. In some cases this means making a commitment to stop a sin they’ve been struggling with or doing something they wouldn’t normally do such as volunteering at a food bank. The purpose of abstinence is to spiritually echo the sacrifice Jesus made for us and to edify our spirits by focusing on something specific that could use attention in our lives.

Ash Wednesday

Ash Wednesday signifies the start of Lent. It occurs 46 days (40 fasting days, if the 6 Sundays, which are not days of fast, are excluded) before Easter and can fall as early as February 4th or as late as March 10th. According to the gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke, Jesus Christ spent 40 days fasting in the desert, where he endured temptation by Satan. Lent originated as a mirroring of this, fasting 40 days as preparation for Easter.

The day is often started with a service where members are asked to recognize their own mortality, repent their sins, and return to God. On Ash Wednesday the faithful begin their Lenten sacrifices and commit to changes in their lives.

At Ash Wednesday services, a priest marks the sign of the cross on each person’s forehead with ashes. The ashes are an important symbol that represents mortality and repentance. Ashes connect with mortality because when we die our bodies fade away to ash and with repentance because in Scripture people would put ashes on their head and wear sackcloth as an act of contrition.

The ashes have further meaning in that the ashes used come from the previous year’s Palm Sunday. The palms used on Palm Sunday are burned and mixed with water, which is symbolic of tears.

Stations of the Cross

Most Catholic churches contain a series of artistic depictions of Christ carrying the cross to His crucifixion. These works of art are used most often in the Lenten season to help people make a spiritual pilgrimage of prayer that focuses on Christ’s journey and sacrifice for us. Services are held throughout Lent that guide people through these stations, contemplating specific Scriptures and praying at each station.

There are 14 traditional Stations of the Cross

  1. Jesus is condemned to death
  2. Jesus takes up the cross
  3. Jesus falls the first time
  4. Jesus meets His mother
  5. Simon helps Jesus carry the cross
  6. Veronica wipes the face of Jesus
  7. Jesus falls a second time
  8. Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem
  9. Jesus falls a third time
  10. Jesus is stripped of His garments
  11. Jesus is nailed to the cross
  12. Jesus dies
  13. Jesus is taken down from the cross
  14. Jesus is laid in the tomb

Although it is not traditional, sometimes a 15th station is added. depicting Jesus’ resurrection.

Palm Sunday

Palm Sunday is celebrated on the Sunday before Easter. The feast commemorates Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem, an event mentioned in all four Gospels. In many parishes, Palm Sunday includes a procession of the parishioners carrying palms, representing the palm branches the crowd scattered in front of Jesus as he rode on a donkey into Jerusalem.

As with all of the events surrounding Lent, Palm Sunday is rich with symbolism. The donkey is a peaceful animal as opposed to a horse that was often ridden for war. The palm branch is a symbol of victory in some cultures and a symbol of eternal life in others.

Palm Sunday now coincides with Passion Sunday and a special Mass is held, during which Jesus’ betrayal and crucifixion is read from the Gospel.