AudioSavior

Lent

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search
For other uses, see Lent (disambiguation).

Part of a series of articles on Christianity

Foundations Jesus Christ Holy Trinity (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) Holy Bible · Christian Theology New Covenant · Supersessionism Apostles · Church · Kingdom · Gospel History of Christianity · Timeline

Holy Bible Old Testament · New Testament Decalogue · Sermon on the Mount Birth · Resurrection · Great Commission Inspiration · Books · Canon · Apocrypha Hermeneutics · LXX · English Translation

Christian Theology History of Theology · Apologetics Creation · Fall of Man · Covenant · Law Grace · Faith · Justification · Salvation Sanctification · Theosis · Worship Church · Sacraments · Future

History and Traditions Early · Councils · Creeds · Missions Great Schism · Crusades · Reformation Great Awakenings · Great Apostasy Eastern Christianity Eastern Orthodoxy · Oriental Orthodoxy Syriac Christianity · Eastern Catholicism Western Christianity Western Catholicism · Protestantism Thomism · Anabaptism · Lutheranism Anglicanism · Calvinism · Arminianism Evangelicalism · Baptist · Methodism Restorationism · Liberalism · Adventism Fundamentalism · Pentecostalism Topics in Christianity Denominations · Movements · Ecumenism Preaching · Prayer · Music · Liturgy Calendar · Symbols · Art · Criticism

Important Figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Wycliffe Luther · Calvin · Wesley · Pope

Christianity Portal

v • d • e

In Western Christianity, Lent to is the period (or season) from Ash WednesdayHoly Saturday. In Eastern Christianity, the period before Easter is known as Great Lent to distinguish it from the Winter Lent, or Advent (known in Greek as the "Great Fast" and "Nativity Fast", respectively). This article tends to discuss Lent as understood and practiced in Western Christianity.
Easter always falls on a Sunday between March 22 and April 25, roughly corresponding to early spring in the Northern Hemisphere. Ash Wednesday, which may fall anywhere between February 4 and March 10, occurs forty-six days before Easter, but Lent is nevertheless considered to be forty days long, due to the fact that Sundays in this season are not counted among the days of Lent. The traditional reason for this is that fasting was considered inappropriate on Sunday, the day commemorating the Resurrection of Jesus.
province Easter celebrates the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, while Lent is a time of preparation for Holy Week. Holy Week recalls the events preceding and during the crucifixion, which occurred in the Jerusalem of the RomanJudea, circa AD 30.^{[citation needed]}

Contents [hide] 1 Origins 2 Customs during the time of Lent 2.1 Pre-Lenten festivals 2.2 Fasting and abstinence 3 Holy Days 4 Variations and participation from other Christians 5 See also 6 External links 7 Reference

[edit] Origins

The forty day period is symbolic of the forty days spent by both Moses and Elijah in the wilderness; in the story of Noah, God makes it rain for forty days and forty nights (they were in the ark for much longer); the Hebrew people wandered forty years traveling to the Promised Land. Jonah in his prophecy of judgment gave the city of Nineveh forty days grace in which to repent. Jesus is said to have retreated into the wilderness and fasted during forty days of temptation to prepare for his ministry.
The Lenten period of forty days owes its origin to the Latin word quadragesima, signifying forty hours. This referred to the forty hours of total fast which preceded the Easter celebration in the early Church.^[1] The main ceremony was the baptizing of the initiates on Easter Eve. The fast was in preparation to receive this sacrament. Later, the period from Good Friday until Easter Day was extended to six days, to correspond with the six weeks of training, necessary to instruct the converts who were to be baptized.
Initially the word simply meant spring, and later became associated with the fast. The English word lent derives from the Germanic root for Spring (specifically Old English lencten; also the Anglo-Saxon name for March - lenct - as the main part of Lent, before Easter, usually occurred in March).
A strict schedule was adhered to in the teaching of the converts. In Jerusalem near the close of the fourth century, classes were held throughout seven weeks of Lent for three hours each day. With the imposition of Christianity as the state religion of Rome during this century, its character was endangered by the great influx of new members. To combat this hazard, the Lenten fast and practices of self-renunciation were required of all Christians. The less zealous of the converts were thus brought more securely into the Christian fold.

[edit] Customs during the time of Lent

Formerly Lent was referred to by the term quadragesima (or the "fortieth day" before Easter). This nomenclature is preserved in Romance, Slavic and Celtic languages (for example, Spanish cuaresma, Portuguese quaresma, French carême, Italian quaresima, Croatian Korizma, Irish Carghas, and Welsh C(a)rawys). The name change occurred in the late Middle Ages as Western sermons began to be spoken in the local vernacular instead of Latin. As such, the use of this particular term to describe the period at this point is unique to English.
(justice towards neighbor). Today, some people give up something they enjoy, and often give the time or money spent doing that to There are traditionally forty days in Lent which are marked by fasting, both from foods and festivities, and by other acts of penance. The three traditional practices to be taken up with renewed vigor during Lent are prayer (justice towards God), fasting (justice towards self), and almsgivingcharitable purposes or organizations.
In the Roman Catholic Church, and many other liturgical Christian denominations, Maundy Thursday (also called "Holy Thursday", especially by Roman Catholics), Good Friday, and Holy Saturday form the Easter Triduum. Lent is a season of grief that necessarily ends with a great celebration of Easter, it is known in Eastern Orthodox circles as the season of "Bright Sadness". It is a season of sorrowful reflection which is punctuated by breaks in the fast on Sundays.
The Lent semi-fast may have originated for practical reasons: during the era of subsistence agriculture in the West as food stored away in the previous autumn was running out, or had to be used up before it went bad in store, and little or no new food-crop was expected soon (compare the period in Spring which British gardeners call the "hungry gap").
In the Roman Catholic Mass as well as the Lutheran Divine Service and Anglican Eucharist, the Gloria in Excelsis Deo is not sung during the Lenten season, disappearing on Ash Wednesday and not returning until the moment of the Resurrection during the Easter Vigil. On major feast days, the Gloria in Excelsis Deo is recited, but this in no way diminishes the penitential character of the season; it simply reflects the joyful character of the Mass of the day in question. It is also used on Holy Thursday. Likewise, the Alleluia is not sung during Lent; it is replaced before the Gospel reading by a seasonal acclamation.
Traditionally, the Alleluia was omitted at Mass beginning at Septuagesima, but since the Second Vatican Council, it has become customary to retain it until Ash Wednesday, although many traditionalists continue to practice the former custom.

[edit] Pre-Lenten festivals


Lent personified at a Carnival celebration. Detail of 1559 painting "The Battle between Carnival and Lent" by Pieter Bruegel the Elder.


Although originally of pagan content, the traditional carnival celebrations which precede Lent in many cultures have become associated with the season of fasting if only because they are a last opportunity for excess before Lent begins. The most famous of pre-Lenten carnivals in the West is Shrove Tuesday or Mardi Gras.

[edit] Fasting and abstinence

Fasting during Lent was more severe in ancient times than today. Socrates Scholasticus reports that in some places, all animal products were strictly forbidden, while others will permit fish, others permit fish and fowl, others prohibit fruit and eggs, and still others eat only bread. In some places, believers abstained from food for an entire day, others took only one meal each day, while others abstained from all food until 3 o'clock. In most places, however, the practice was to abstain from eating until the evening and then a small meal without meat or alcohol was eaten.
During the early Middle Ages; meat, eggs and dairy products were generally proscribed. However, dispensations for dairy products were given, frequently for a donation, from which several churches are popularly believed to have been built, including the "Butter Tower" of the Rouen Cathedral.
Giraldus Cambrensis in his Itinerary of Archbishop Baldwin through Wales reports that "in Germany and the arctic regions", "great and religious persons", classified the tail of beavers as "fish" because of its superficial resemblance to a fish and their relative abundance.
abstinence from the above-mentioned food products is still commonly practiced, meaning only vegetarian meals are consumed during this time in many Eastern countries. Lenten practices (as well as various other liturgical practices) are more common in Today, in the West, the practice is considerably relaxed, though in the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox and Catholic Oriental ChurchesProtestant circles than they once were.
Current fasting practice in the Roman Catholic Church binds persons over the age of majority and younger than fifty-nine (Canon 1251). Pursuant to Canon 1253, days of fasting and abstinence are set by the national Episcopal conference. On days of fasting, one eats only one full meal, but may eat two smaller meals as necessary to keep up one's strength. The two small meals together must sum to less than the one full meal. Parallel to the fasting laws are the laws of abstinence. These bind those over the age of eighteen. On days of abstinence, the person must not eat meat or poultry. According to canon law, all Fridays of the year, Ash Wednesday and several other days are days of abstinence, though in most countries, the strict requirements of abstinence have been limited by the bishops (in accordance with Canon 1253) to the Fridays of Lent and Ash Wednesday. On other abstinence days, the faithful are invited to perform some other act of penance.
If St. Patrick's Day falls on a Friday, the prohibition against meat may be lifted for North American Catholics of Irish origin who wish to enjoy the traditional meal of corned beef and cabbage.
hope for a Fasting during Lent is a way for the Christian to identify with Jesus in his suffering which, according to the record of the New Testament, the biblical writings known as the Gospels, he underwent for the sake of humans in order to make propitiation for their failure to keep the laws instituted by God in the Pentateuch. This sacrifice is referred to by Christians variously as a substitutionary death, a redemptive death, and a death which satisfied the perfect justice of God, who actually provided the means for that satisfaction by sending Jesus, said in the Bible to be God's own son, to die in the place of humanity. It is this distinction which fulfills the Hebrews'messiah (the "Christ" in Greek ) who would save the troubled nation, according to the New Testament writings.
Many modern Protestants and Anglicans consider the observation of Lent to be a choice, rather than an obligation. They may decide to give up a favorite food (e.g. chocolate, alcohol) or activity (e.g. going to the movies, playing video games) for Lent, or they may instead decide to take on a Lenten discipline such as devotions, volunteering for charity work, and so forth. Roman Catholics may also observe Lent in this way, in addition to the dietary restrictions outlined above.

Liturgical year
Western
Advent Christmastide Epiphany Lent Easter season Feast of the Ascension Pentecost Ordinary Time (Kingdomtide)
Eastern
Feast of Cross Nativity Fast Nativity Theophany Great Lent Pascha Pentecost Transfiguration Dormition Protection

[edit] Holy Days

There are several holy days within the season of Lent.

• Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent in Western Christianity.
  • Clean Monday (or "Ash Monday") is the first day in Eastern Orthodox Christianity.
• The fourth Sunday within Lent, which marks the halfway point between Ash Wednesday and Easter, is sometimes referred to as Laetare Sunday, particularly by Roman Catholics.
  • The Sunday following is also known as Passion Sunday for traditionalist Catholics, though the latter term is also applied to the sixth and last Sunday of Lent, or Palm Sunday.

Palm Sunday marks the beginning of Holy Week, the final week of Lent immediately preceding Easter.

• Wednesday of Holy Week is known as Spy Wednesday to commemorate the days on which Judas spied on Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane before betraying him.
• Thursday is known as Maundy Thursday, or Holy Thursday, and is a day Christians commemorate the Last Supper shared by Christ with his disciples.
• Good Friday follows the next day, in which Christians remember His crucifixion and burial.

Holy Week and the season of Lent, depending on denomination and local custom, end with Easter Vigil at sundown on Holy Saturday or on the morning of Easter Sunday.
garments are In the Roman Catholic and Anglican traditions, the altar linens and priest'sviolet during the season of Lent. However, during the holy days the linens often change. See Liturgical colours..

[edit] Variations and participation from other Christians

Lent does not always involve sacrifice, but rather an offering. For some Christians, giving time to tutor, devoting more time to someone, or working for a non-profit organization is more of a sacrifice than sacrificing food, sex, or a common luxury. It is also common for many Christians who are not obligated to participate in Lent to not observe Holy Days and other traditional practices.
Many Christians who are not obligated to participate by their Church do so willingly. The degree of participation varies greatly from merely giving up eating candy to living on bread and water. The participants will often pray or fast to seek what God's will for them is in regards to Lent.

[edit] See also



Look up Lent in
Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• Ash Wednesday
• Asceticism
• Clean Monday
• Cold Food Festival
• Quinquagesima
• Shrove Tuesday
• Ramadan
• Tisha B'Av
• Carnival
• Holy Thursday
• Good Friday
• Easter

[edit] External links

• Lent in the Armenian Orthodox Church tradition
• Catholic Encyclopedia: Lent
• Lent: Prayer and Practice
• Liturgical Resources
• The Season of Lent at the Christian Resource Institute
• Lent and Fasting in the Ukrainian Church - a very good source to learn the differences between Lent in the Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church.
• Online Lenten Devotional

[edit] Reference

• Catholic Encyclopedia, 1908: Lent. Historical development.

Mr Kennedy't