Lent may originally have followed
Epiphany, just as Jesus’ sojourn in the wilderness followed immediately on his baptism, but it soon became firmly
attached to Easter, as the principal occasion for baptism and for the
reconciliation of those who had been excluded from the Church’s fellowship for
apostasy or serious faults. This history explains the characteristic notes of
Lent – self-examination, penitence, self-denial, study, and preparation for
Easter, to which almsgiving has traditionally been added.
Now is the healing time decreed for sins of heart and word and deed,
when we in humble fear record the wrong that we have done the Lord. (Latin,
before 12th century)
As the candidates for baptism were
instructed in Christian faith, and as penitents prepared themselves, through
fasting and penance, to be readmitted to communion, the whole Christian
community was invited to join them in the process of study and repentance, the
extension of which over forty days would remind them of the forty days that
Jesus spent in the wilderness, being tested by Satan.
Lent - A period of 40 days before Easter in the Christian calendar. Beginning on Ash Wednesday, Lent is a season
of reflection and preparation before the celebrations of Easter. By observing
the 40 days of Lent, Christians replicate Jesus Christ's sacrifice and
withdrawal into the desert for 40 days. Lent is marked by fasting and
abstaining from food and festivities.
Whereas Easter celebrates the resurrection of
Jesus after his death on the cross, Lent recalls the events leading up to and
including Jesus' crucifixion.
Why 40 days? 40 is a significant number in Jewish-Christian scripture:
In Genesis, the flood that destroyed the
earth was brought about by 40 days and nights of rain.
The Hebrews spent 40 years in the wilderness
before reaching the land promised to them by God.
Moses fasted for 40 days before receiving the
Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai.
Jesus spent 40 days fasting in the wilderness
in preparation for his ministry. The
generally accepted view of most Christians and indeed, the Church of England.
The calculation of the forty days
has varied considerably in Christian history. It is now usual in the West to
count them continuously to the end of Holy Week (not including Sundays), so
beginning Lent on the sixth Wednesday before Easter, Ash Wednesday.
Liturgical dress is the simplest
possible. Churches are kept bare of flowers and decoration. Gloria in
excelsis is not used. The Fourth Sunday of Lent (Laetare or
Refreshment Sunday) was allowed as a day of relief from the rigour of Lent, and
the Feast of the Annunciation almost always falls in Lent; these breaks from
austerity are the background to the modern observance of Mothering Sunday on
the Fourth Sunday of Lent.
Why is it called Lent?
Lent is an old English word meaning
'lengthen'. Lent is observed in spring, when the days begin to get longer.
East and West
Both the eastern and western churches observe
Lent but they count the 40 days differently. The western church excludes
Sundays (which is celebrated as the day of Christ's resurrection) whereas the
eastern church includes them. The churches also start Lent on different days.
Western churches start Lent on the 7th Wednesday before Easter Day, i.e. Ash
Wednesday. Eastern churches start Lent on the Monday of the 7th week before
Easter and end it on the Friday 9 days before Easter. Eastern churches call
this period the 'Great Lent'.
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