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Dear Sisters and Brothers in the Lord:
Even if you hadn’t already been aware of the fact, it
would soon have become obvious at Mass today that we have moved to a new
season of the church’s liturgical calendar. Purple vestments and
hangings have replaced the green of ordinary time, the “Gloria” is
omitted, and there are no joyful “Alleluias” to greet the gospel. The
setting is stark, the music restrained. It is the season of Lent, which
began on Ash Wednesday (Feb.6) and ends on Holy Thursday evening (March
20).
What memories does Lent evoke for you? Many associate it
with acts of self-denial – giving up chocolate or alcohol for 40 days,
only to discover with dismay that Lent in fact lasts 46 days! What is
the purpose of these practices and how did they begin?
In the early Church, Easter was the time for those
wanting to become Christians to be received into the community. In
preparation for baptism these people, called “catechumens”,
fasted for two days beforehand. By the fourth century, this fast had
been lengthened to 40 days and became a period of preparation for Easter
for all Christians.
St. Augustine explained that the authority of the forty
days comes from Christ’s forty days in the desert – the subject of
today’s gospel reading – and from the fasts of Moses and Elias. There
has been some variation in counting the 40 days over history. Around the
fifth century it became established as the period of 40 days before Holy
Thursday, not counting Sundays which are never days of fasting. At this
time it was also given the name Lent, meaning “spring”, the season
closely associated with this period in the northern hemisphere.
Gradually the distribution of ashes became part of the ritual of the
first day of the season – Ash Wednesday.
Lent was a period of preparation for penitents who would
be reconciled with the Christian community on Holy Thursday, as well as
the time for catechumens to make their final preparations for
initiation. Other members of the church journeyed with the catechumens
and penitents during these 40 days through fasting, alms giving and
prayer. When the catechumenate collapsed, Lent lost its baptismal roots
and became associated almost exclusively with penance. Hence the
traditional acts of self-denial.
Vatican II restored the baptismal focus of this season.
Paragraph 109 of the “Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy”
describes Lent as being “marked by two themes, the baptismal and
penitential” and calls for “more use to be made of the baptismal
features proper to the Lenten liturgy”.
On this first Sunday of Lent, many parishes will have
celebrated the Rite of Election or Enrolment of Names for those
embarking on the final stage of preparation to join the Catholic Church
at Easter. During Lent we are all on a journey as we prepare to
celebrate the paschal mystery at the Easter Triduum and continue that
celebration during the 50 days of the joyful Easter season.
Let’s give our minds and hearts to the Lord this Lenten
Season! Father Joe
Et Cetera…
Our OCIA Class of 2008 goes down to Holy Name Cathedral
this afternoon to celebrate with all those who are being baptized at
Easter and those making a Profession of Faith the Rite of Election. In
December, each of our catechumen and candidates accepted the call to
study the Word of God and the tenets of the Faith; now the Church
‘elects’ them to join us as full and regular members of the faithful. At
the Easter Vigil, the catechumen will celebrate the sacraments of
initiation (Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist) and the candidates
will profess their faith in Christ and His Bride, the Church, for the
first time and join us around the Lord’s Table. I ask you to remember in
your prayers those to be baptized; the Odiase Family: Friday, Philomena,
Tai, Ken and Lucky; Brittany Corbin, Kayla Corbin and Nicole Curtis who
will make a profession of faith as they enter these final days and weeks
of preparation. May God who has begun this good work in them bring it to
completion! |
