Time of Lent
“After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week …” (Mt 28:1). This is how the story of the manifestations of the Risen One on the day of Easter starts. That is why the Christians chose to celebrate their weekly feast, not on Saturday like the Jews, but on the following day, which the Romans called ‘the day of the sun.’ It was soon changed to the day of the Lord. They gathered “to break bread” (Acts 20:6-12) and to offer to the needy brethren what they were able to save throughout the week (1 Cor 16:2; 2 Cor 8:9).
The early Church did not celebrate Christmas day or feasts in honor of our Lady or any other. There was only the weekly celebration of the Lord’s Resurrection. This went on for the first few decades of the Church. The Christians felt the need to celebrate the central event of their faith in a unique way. So the first of the feasts, Easter, considered the Sunday of the Sundays, the Feast of Feasts, was born. It was like the queen of all feasts, of all Sundays, of all the days of the year.
By the start of the second century, it was celebrated by all Christian communities. The celebration culminated in the night assembly of prayer, which concluded with the Eucharistic celebration, and Christians attached great importance to attendance at this feast. Tertullian, a famous Christian writer of the time, speaking of the difficulties that a Christian girl would encounter if she were to marry a pagan boy, says: ‘Will her husband allow her out the night of the Easter Vigil?’
How Did Lent Begin?
To reap the spiritual fruits of Easter depended on how well Christians prepared for this feast. They introduced the custom of observing two days of prayer, reflection, and fastingto express their sorrow for the death of Christ. They gradually prolonged the preparation period: in the third century, it became a week, then three weeks until it was extended to forty days in the fourth century: Lent thus began. The Council of Nicaea (325 A.D.) speaks of the forty days as an institution known to all and spread everywhere.
The Easter feast must not only be prepared for; a real need was felt to prolong its joy and spiritual wealth. The seven weeks, the 50 days to Pentecost, were thus instituted and must be celebrated with great joy because—as Irenaeus put it, ‘they are like a single feast day and are as important as a Sunday.’ During Pentecost, they prayed standing up. Fasting was forbidden, and baptisms were performed. They wanted the day of Easter to last… fifty days.
Why Forty Days?
We must be cautious in interpreting the significance of the number forty in the Bible. Many times, it has a symbolic meaning. Forty stands for an extended period, short or long. For example, it is hard to believe that Elijah was able to walk for forty days and fortynights to the mountain of God, Horeb, after eating one cake and drinking a jar of water (1 K 19:6-8); that Moses spent 40 days and 40 nights on Mount Sinai without eating bread or drinking water (Ex 34:28) and that Jesus was able to do the same (Mt 4:2).
The number 40 had several meanings. It refers to the life of an entire generation or fora lifetime. It also had another meaning that interests us in a particular way. It stood for a period of preparation (without specification about its length) for a great event. For example,the flood lasted for forty days and forty nights…and prepared a new humankind; the people of Israel passed forty years in the desert preparing to enter the Promised Land; the inhabitants of Nineveh did penance for forty days before receiving the forgiveness of God; Elijah walked for forty days and forty nights to reach the mountain of God; Moses and Jesus fasted for forty days and forty nights to prepare for their missions. How many days do you think were necessary to prepare for the greatest feast of all Christian feasts? Forty,of course!
What to Do During Lent?
Lent has, from its earliest origins, always been considered a time to renew one’s life. There were three main things to be done: pray, fight evil, and fast.
Prayer—not to be identified with or reduced to a monotonous repetition of formulas or a request for graces and favors puts us in tune with the thoughts and plans of God. The first thing to do is to be converted and believe the Gospel. Jesus' prayer was constant (Lk 18:1), although the evangelists noted it only at the most critical moments of his life. His wholelife was lived in the light of the Father's will. "My food—he said—is to do the will of himwho sent me and to accomplish his work" (Jn 4:34). The summit of prayer is the attainment of perfect communion with God's intentions. This was the habitual state of Jesus, who could say, "The Father and I are One" (Jn 10:30).
We cannot keep our eyes always focused on the Father. We are distracted, seduced, flattered by vanity; "our iniquities take us away like the wind" (Is 64:5) very easily. We are also fascinated by beautiful and good things in this world (work, success, family, school, sports). Unfortunately, we love them to the point of idolizing them and becoming theirslaves. We end up losing the proper perspective of our actions and forget the Lord.
Here then comes a time of grace and liberation: the forty days of Lent. They require usto stop, reflect, recall, and impress on the heart the thoughts of God. Reading and meditating on the Gospel help us recover the meaning of life, find the reference point for our actions, and rediscover true values.
The fight against evil. The evangelist Mark says that, after his baptism, Jesus was driven by the Spirit into the wilderness and remained there for forty days, tempted by Satan(Mk 1:12-13). Again, the number forty. The life of Jesus is highlighted by this number that also recalls the time spent by Israel in the desert. There the people succumbed to temptationand abandoned God. Jesus repeats the experience: during his ‘forty days,’ that is, throughout his life, he faces the forces of evil and wins. He will come out of the ‘desert’only after his victory over the last temptation, the most dramatic, that of feeling abandoned by the Father on the cross (Mk 15:34).
Jesus has thoroughly defeated evil, "Satan fell from heaven like lightning" (Lk 10:18), but the devil continues his fight in us. John says that "the whole world lies in the power of the evil one" (1 Jn 5:19), and we sense how strong his power is every day. The ‘Satan’ that takes us away from God and life are unruly passions, pride, selfishness, greed for the goods of this world, jealousy, the envy of other’s successes, the desire to dominate and impose ourselves, and feelings of resentment.
Against all these ‘evil spirits’ we are called to fight during the ‘forty days’ of our lives, especially in this Lenten time. Wherever the word of Christ reaches, there Satan is defeated. All the demons are subject to his name (Lk 10:17).
Finally fasting. To follow the Master, the Christian must forget oneself, one’s benefit,and think only of our brother’s or sister’s good. This generous and selfless attitude requiresa considerable capacity for renunciation and detachment. It is not possible to reach itwithout undergoing severe asceticism. The most immediate goal of fasting is to shakeoneself from sloth and laziness, leading to self-control that establishes the strength toovercome the tendency to shy away from hard work and sacrifice.
However, reducing this practice to a formal ritual, a religious tradition to feel confidentand worthy before God is dangerous. The prophets had harsh words against such falsefasting. Here is Isaiah’s memorable text: "Look, on your fast days you push your trade and you oppress the laborers. Yes, you fast but end up quarrelling, striking each other with wicked blows. Fasting as you do will not make your voice heard on high. Is that the kind of fast that pleases me, just a day to humble oneself? Is fasting merely bowing down one’s head, and making use of sackcloth and ashes? Would you call that fasting, a day acceptable to Yahweh? See the fast that pleases me: breaking the fetters of injustice and unfastening the thongs of the yoke, setting the oppressed free and breaking every yoke. Fast by sharing your food with the hungry, bring to your house the homeless, clothe the one you see naked" (Is 58:3-7). According to Zechariah, the fast that is pleasing to God is: "To do righteousness and faithfulness, to exercise compassion and mercy each to his neighbor. Do not defraud the widow, the orphan, the pilgrim, the poor, do not plan evil against one’s own brother" (Zech 7:5,10).
True fasting always leads to acts of love for the brother. The leftover food should not be put back in the pantry and stored for the next day; it must be immediately distributed to the hungry.
A widely read book by the Christians of the second century—the Shepherd of Hermas—explains the link between fasting and charity: ‘This is how you practice fasting: during fasting day you will eat only bread and water; then you calculate how much you would have spent for your food during that day and you will offer the money to a widow, an orphan or a poor man; so you deprive yourself of something so that your sacrifice will helpsomeone to be satiated. He will pray for you to the Lord. If you fast in this way, yoursacrifice will be acceptable to God.’
And Leo the Great—Pope from 440-461—recommends to the faithful of Rome in a homily: ‘We prescribed fasting to you, remembering not only the necessity of abstinencebut also the works of mercy. In this way, what you will have saved on ordinary expenses becomes food for the poor.’
Lent and the Catechumens
In the fourth century, the Church began to organize a meticulous preparation for baptism. The catechumens were subjected to a long period of training. They faithfully attended catechesis for two or three years and undertook to lead a good life to show that their desire to become Christians was sincere. Each community celebrated baptisms once a year at the Easter Vigil. Tertullian mentioned the holy vigil, spent in prayer and listening tothe Word of God. It was concluded in the morning with the Eucharistic celebration in which the newly baptized participated for the first time.
Since the celebration of baptism was the central part of the Easter Vigil, Lent took onparticular importance for the catechumens. For them, it was the last step before receivingthis sacrament. During these forty days, they received catechesis every day. The bishop taught them and not just any catechist. During this time, they also participated in many ceremonies and held meetings where they were given tests. It was verified whether they had assimilated the fundamental truths of the faith and assessed whether their lives wereconsistent with what they professed.
The most important meeting took place on Wednesday of the fourth week. It was called the great examination. On that day—it was said—the catechumens’ ears were openedbecause they were taught the Creed and the Our Father, which constitute the synthesis ofall Christian doctrine. Only if we keep these facts in mind can we understand the reason for choosing the readings throughout this liturgical season.
The catechumens are like children about to be born. The mother (the Christian community) is dedicating her full attention to them, preparing the nourishment of the Word of God, especially for them, for their tastes and needs. It is a very hearty and tasty meal. The other children are also invited to taste it to become spiritually stronger. They are offered the opportunity to reflect on the central truths of the faith and their commitments(sometimes a little overlooked) that they undertook on the day of their baptism.
Each year, the first Sunday of Lent is always dedicated to the theme of the temptationsof Jesus. Its purpose is to show the catechumens and the baptized the tactics used by the enemy and how to resist them.
The second Sunday presents the Transfiguration. Christians are aware that following Jesus means giving one's life. The grain of wheat dies but always rises again in the form ofa new life that is increased a hundredfold. The ultimate destiny of man is not death but resurrection, which is shown by the sign of the Transfiguration.
From the third Sunday on, the topics vary according to the liturgical cycle. In year B—the one in which we find ourselves—some highly significant passages are taken from the Gospel of John. They aim to introduce us to the mystery of the New Covenant. The first of these passages (Jn 2:13-25: Jesus driving out the merchants from the temple) clarifies the role of Christ in the covenant: He is the new law, and anyone who desires to reproduce in themselves the image of the true worshipper of God must turn their gaze to Jesus.
The readings on the fourth Sunday refer to the same theme: the cross on which Jesuswas raised indicates, even visibly, the embrace, the alliance between heaven and earth. It is the sign of the unfailing love between God and humanity. Whoever embraces the message that this cross send to the world obtains salvation.
The fifth Sunday concludes the reflection on the covenant. In the first reading, Jeremiah anticipates this Sunday’s reading of the Gospel of Jesus’ teaching about the wheat grain falling to the ground by proclaiming that God will ‘plant his Law, writing it on their hearts.’ And, from there, it is intended to produce abundant fruit.
On Palm Sunday—now called Passion Sunday—the story of the Passion, according to Mark, is read.
Lent: A Season of Reconciliation
In the early Church, if Christians committed grave sins, they were excommunicated. Then, if they repented and wanted to reconcile with God and with the Church, they were not readmitted immediately into the community. They were first expected to do public penance because their sin had been public and known by all. Such a penance could not be done in a matter of days but was performed over a prolonged period according to the gravity of the offenses.
After acknowledging one’s sin before the bishop and after he had laid his hands uponthe penitent wearing sackcloth (a coarse and rough dress, a fabric of goat’s hair), his head was covered with ashes. He then practiced rigorous fasts, dressed scruffily, and appeared dirty. He did prostrations, prayed, and recommended himself to the friends of God—that is,to the martyrs and confessors of the faith. Finally, he appealed to the intercession of all the faithful. He was removed from the place of worship of the community, but sometimes he had to stay at the church’s door, and at other times he was allowed in but remained prostrated or standing and could not receive Holy Communion.
At the end of the penitential period, the sinner was reconciled with a solemn rite. OnHoly Thursday, at the Mass presided over by the bishop, the excommunicated, wearing the penitential habit and head covered with ashes, presented themselves to the community. They declared their repentance and their willingness to reform. The bishop went to meet them and embraced them one by one. Lent thus had also become the preparation time for reconciliation.
This use of public penance gradually disappeared; however, the meaning of Lent, as atime when all Christians are invited to receive the sacrament of reconciliation, remained.