Let’s Talk Lent
Let’s Talk Lent
Historically, Lent is a Season of Penance, Sacrifice and Looking Within
The 40-day season of Lent (it spans over a 46-day period, but Sundays are not included) began this year February 23, on Ash Wednesday. Some of you might have noticed people with remnants of black ash on their foreheads last week. Unfortunately for those not familiar with Ash Wednesday, they might have been alarmed thinking the discoloration is a bruise from a mishap rather than the sign of a spiritual adventure Christians are embarking upon.
Let’s go back to Sundays during the Lenten season for a moment. Here is something interesting from Catholic.org that some Catholics may not know: “Many Catholics maintain their sacrifice on Sundays. There is no rule against this, but it isn't required. Every Sunday is a mini-Easter and should be celebrated as such. In the spirit of celebration, which is entirely appropriate, you may refrain from your sacrifice on that day. So, if your sacrifice is social media, then you can catch up on Sundays. If you gave up chocolate or sodas, Sundays are your friend. There are no brownie points for maintaining your sacrifice on extra days and there are no demerits for refraining from your sacrifice on Sundays. Sunday is a day of celebration, not fasting.” If you are reading this on a Sunday, indulge yourself!
So, you may ask… ‘what is the purpose of Lent?” Let’s think in secular terms for a moment. It’s March. We are weeks away from spring and when these occasional sunny days appear, we tend to look around and see the household and yard residue of winter. In the back of our heads, we begin planning our annual spring cleaning, right? That’s what Lent is all about, but it’s a spiritual spring-cleaning. Daily life issues, work projects, hustle bustle, not enough personal/renewal time… there are days, many of them, where we are just happy to put our head on the pillow and sleep for a few hours, only to go at it again.
By this time of year, we feel the overload, we miss the time visiting with our soul, our time with God, however that looks to you. Some of you may do yoga with Laura Solly, some may revitalize in a Pilates session with Rachel Dove, or workout at Core Performance or Warrior Fitness, but Lent gives a sacredness to our time of inner release that none of these others offer on the surface. Not that you can’t turn them into sacred events - you can. Observing Lent sharpens or teaches those skills to use throughout the year. It’s like a mini course in a deeper dive into yourself. You don’t have to be Catholic to participate in the spiritual observance of Lent.
In a nutshell, Lent is a period of penitence, abstaining (movies, social media, chocolate, drinking, sweets, etc. or helping others by giving up social or TV time) and daily prayer. The Catholic tradition has been around since about year 325 and has been adopted by other denominations as well – Western Orthodox, Lutherans, Methodists, Presbyterians, etc.
The word lent comes from a Middle English word, “lente” meaning springtime. The ashes mentioned earlier come from burning last year’s palms (from Palm Sunday) and are a show of repentance to God. In ascensionpress.com we are told this: “As described in the gospel readings according to Matthew, Mark and Luke, following his baptism by John the Baptist in the Jordan River, Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit into the desert, where he fasted for forty days and was subject to temptation by Satan. To honor this sacrifice and conquest over the devil, Catholics and other Christians elect to set aside the season of Lent to refocus on Jesus as we look ahead to his death on the Cross and rejoice over his miraculous return.”
Bottom line: Lent gives us an opportunity to refocus ourselves on what is important. It's good practice that helps keep us on track. Lent ends on Holy Thursday, followed by the solemnity of Good Friday and Holy Saturday leading to the rejoicing of Easter Sunday, this year on April 9.
By the way, for those of you thinking that commemorating Lent takes away all the fun in life, consider the delicious and satisfying hot cross bun which is traditionally baked and eaten during Lent. The tradition started with an Irish monk baking them for Good Friday. His cross was probably just a shallow cut in the dough. Today, it’s made with icing. Yummm! He probably grew up hearing his mother crooning this verse from the 16th and 16th century: “Good Friday comes this month, the old woman runs, with one or two a penny hot cross buns.” Not only are they delicious, hot cross buns hung from the kitchen rafters in days of yore, are said to have stayed fresh for the whole year, protected from evil spirits, cemented friendships, and after a few months, they were broken up, mixed with water and treated as a medicine… (perhaps an early form of penicillin?)