Lesson Seventeen - Lent

Text by Pat Austin, Saint Patrick's Cathedral RCIA Instructor

The word Lent means spring. It comes from the Anglo-Saxon language. Spring is a time of new life in nature - fresh. A new start, a new beginning, the old is weeded out. Nature is housecleaning. The Church uses this idea but spiritually. We need a fresh new start, a new beginning - weed out the old. It is a spiritual housecleaning. Why? There are two reasons:

• Prepare for our NEW LIFE in Heaven - death makes this possible
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• Prepare for the celebration of the death and resurrection of Jesus which makes our new life (Heaven) possible.

This preparation for Easter - the death and resurrection of Jesus - is the most important feast in the Church year. It is called Lent.

Length of Lent - 40 days - patterned after Jesus' 40 days in the desert. In the early Church the number of days of the observance of Lent varied. By the seventh century (600's) the observance was 36 days. Lent at that time began on Monday. Then the Church patterned Lent after Jesus' 40 days in the desert so 4 days were added to the 36 days. Now we observe 40 days. Sundays are not counted in the 40 days.

Colors of Lent - Purple and Rose.

Purple to represent penance/royalty, 1, 2, 3, 5 rose to represent joy - the fourth Sunday.

Palm Sunday. Red is worn because this Sunday is known as Passion Sunday since Vatican II Palm Sunday begins Holy Week.

Holy Week - is the week preceding Easter Sunday. Lent actually ends on Holy Thursday which begins the Tridium - Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday Vigil.

The date for Easter changes each year. It is considered a Lunar feast, that is it is based on the cycle of the Moon. The First Council of Nicaea - 325 AD using the Lunar calendar set the laws to govern the date of Easter. The rule says: Easter is celebrated on the first Sunday following the first full moon following the Vernal Equinox. The earliest Easter can fall is March 26^th (a very rare exception is March 25) and the latest it can fall is April 25^th. In 2003 Easter falls on March 30.

Lent begins on Ash Wednesday - it is not a holy day of obligation. Catholics receive ashes on this day. The ashes are obtained by burning the palms of the previous Palm Sunday. Ashes are used for two reasons:

• To remind us that we are "dust and dust we shall be." One day we are going to die. Prepare - be ready. Lent gives us 40 days to prepare, to spiritually houseclean.
• Palm tree - kingly tree -- palms were a sign of royalty and victory. Jesus, our King was victorious over sin and death, but the victory was won by suffering and dying. We partake in this victory by suffering and dying to our old self and put on a new life by participating in Lent to prepare for this victory.

Ashes are only a sign - a sign of renewal, change, repentance. If you don't intend to take part in Lent spiritually and physically, don't receive ashes. Ashes are not magic. If you don't observe Lent, all the ashes do for you is to make your forehead dirty.

In the Early Church, ashes were given only to public sinners who were repenting. Ashes were a sign of repentance. The public sinner went to confession, then ashes were sprinkled over them. Then they were given a penance to do for the rest of Lent. On Holy Thursday, they were received back into the Church. By 1000 A.D. ashes could be received by anyone who desired them. Ashes were still a sign of repentance for anyone who received them. After the Protestant Reformation, the Catholics kept the sign of ashes, the Protestants did not. (Episcopalians do distribute ashes on Ash Wednesday).

Lent in the Early Church was a time for preparation of adults who wanted to become Christian. These adults were called Catechumens (oral teaching). To become a catechumen, you had to have witnesses who would testify that you were sincere etc. The catechumen would study all through Lent then be baptized on Holy Saturday. After the Reformation, the practice of the Catechumen died out. The catechism took its place. The catechism came out of the Council of Trent. We know it as the Baltimore Catechism. Today the catechumenate has been brought back in the program called RCIA - Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults.

The first day of Lent is called Ash Wednesday. This name Ash Wednesday was given by Pope Urban II in 1099 A.D. Before 1099 A.D. the first day of Lent was called The Beginning of the Fast. This was because at that time in Christianity, during the 40 days of Lent, there was a very strict fast. It was really severe. Foods not allowed: meat, butter, cheese, milk, eggs, bacon and fats. To get rid of these foods before Lent began they had Feasts, Carnivals, Parties, etc. Different countries had different celebrations and different names for them.

France - Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday), Germany - Fat Tuesday, Russia - Butter Week, Poland - Fat Days, England - Pancake Tuesday. Also in England the day before Lent began with what was called Shrove Tuesday - Repent. People went to confession on that day.

Because of this very strict fast, a particular bread was made and eaten only during Lent. It was made from flour, salt and water. This dough was shaped into small individual breads called Bracellae - Latin for "Little Arms." The name referred to the position of the hands/arms when praying -- crossed on the chest. The Latin word "bracellae" became the German word "brezel" which became the American word "pretzel." In the 1700's Germany marketed the Brezel. Now the meaning of "little arms" is lost.

Stations of the Cross - 14 meditations on the Passion, Death and Burial of Jesus. These meditations are portrayed through pictures, carvings and paintings or just a cross, usually placed along the walls of a church. Some places have these stations outside. A person moves from station to station as if traveling the route in Jerusalem that Jesus walked to His crucifixion. (The word - station meant a place to stop as you travel). Each station has a particular meditation. For example, in the first station Jesus is condemned to death by Pilate; in the fourth station Jesus meets His sorrowing Mother; in the twelfth station Jesus dies on the Cross.

There are no set prayers that have to be said. The meditation of each station is what's important. However, there are books that have meditations and prayers that can be used to help you with your meditation.

The idea of the Stations of the Cross came into being in Christianity because of the Crusades. About 1300 - 1400 A.D. People who had returned from the Holy Land told about the places of Christ's death and resurrection. Most people could not go to Jerusalem so they substituted carvings, paintings, stained glass windows, etc. of these sacred places. Eventually, these were placed in Churches and called the Stations of the Cross or the Way of the Cross.

Today, there are 14 Stations. There were as many as 50 Stations. Pope Clement XII in 1731 set the number at 14.

Today in Jerusalem the route that Jesus actually walked is pretty much known. It is called Via Dolorosa -- The Way of Sorrow. It is about 1/4 to 1/2 mile long and winds through the old city of Jerusalem.

The name of the place that Jesus was crucified was Golgotha -- place of the skull. In the West it is called Calvary.

The best way to participate in Lent is threefold:

• Attend Mass, Pray and Meditate at the 14 Stations of the Cross
• Practice self-denial, penance
• Do good works

Law of Abstinence:
Anyone 14 years old and older must abstain from eating meat on Ash Wednesday and all Fridays in Lent (which includes Good Friday).

Law of Fast:
Anyone between the age of 18 and 59 must limit their food intake on two days during Lent, Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. One full meatless meal, 2 smaller meatless meals and no eating between meals.