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Dear Sister 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 begins with Ash Wednesday and ends on Holy Thursday
evening.
What memories does Lent evoke
for you? Many associate it with acts of self-denial, like 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.
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.
As well as the time for
catechumens to make their final preparations for initiation, Lent was a
period of preparation for penitents who would be reconciled with the
Christian community on Holy Thursday. 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 Lent! Father Joe
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