Lent, which is also referred to as the Lenten season and Great Lent, is a time to remind us of Jesus’ 40 day trial of fasting and temptation in the wilderness. The season of Lent is a forty day long liturgical season of fasting and prayer before Easter, but in today’s society the question arises is Lent still defined this way or has the definition changed.
The Lenten season occurs immediately after the festival of Epiphany. Liturgically, Lent lasts for 48 days starting on Ash Wednesday before the Paschal Triduum. Traditionally, the Lenten fast is observed for 40 days beginning on Ash Wednesday through Holy Week. Sunday’s were excluded from the Lenten fast because Sunday is a feast of the resurrection of our Lord. However, the Sunday’s of Lent are still a part of the Lenten liturgical season in the Western Church and the worship services tend to be more subdued. The Gloria and the joyous “Alleluias!” are not spoken during Lent until Easter season. The liturgical color of Lent is violet and symbolizes royalty and remorse. To show a state of mourning, on Maundy Thursday the altar is stripped down and on Good Friday the altars and pastors are dressed in black.
Churches have not gone completely off course with their teachings of Lent. Lent is supposed to help us prepare for the resurrection of our Lord and it does symbolize Christ’s trial of fasting and temptation in the wilderness. The problem is not the teachings of the Church but, how the members of the Church practice Great Lents traditions and the dismissal of the five points of Lents true purpose.
The five points of the seasons true purpose are fasting, spiritual growth, self-denial, conversion, and simplicity. These five points are something that can help ...
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...st from we must remember that Lent is more than a time for personal self-satisfaction. Lent is about spiritual results, not material results. This means any fasting we do should be done for Gods glory and our spiritual growth. The most important thing to remember while celebrating Lent is although the practices may vary for the various denominations, the focus remains the same: to repent our sins, to renew our faith and prepare ourselves to joyfully celebrate the mysteries of our salvation.
Works Cited
Bennett, Jonathan , and David Bennett. "What is Lent and the Lenten Season?." The Season of Lent. N.p., 24 Feb. 2013. Web. 17 Apr. 2014.
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Holy Feast and Holy Fast emerged as a pivotal work during the mid-1980s in response to a prevalent trend among scholars which placed apostolic poverty and chastity at the very core of the Western European vita religiosa at the expense of attention toward the forms of austerity, some of which were more common to women. Bynum builds up her narrative by exploring how, although the renunciation of money and sex had a shared significance to both genders, the chief metaphor governing the spiritual life of women specifically concerned food. Bynum weaves her monograph together through a careful analysis of both food symbolism and food-related religious practices as described in the works of female mystics themselves and in the hagiographical vitae of female saints. Although this review will be chiefly focused on the latter portion of the work, “Chapter 6: Food as Control of Self” in particular, a brief overview of its preceding sections may be useful for setting context.
Grodi, M. C. (2010). St. Paul on Seasons of Devotion and Fasting. Catholic Answer, 24(2), 38.
Brown, Raymond. A Crucified Christ in Holy Week: Essays on the Four Gospel Passion Narratives. Collegeville, Minnesota: The Liturgical Press, 1986.
As we take a look at earlier restrictions on the Christian diet, we have to point to N...
Ritual fasting is obligatory during the month of Ramadan. Muslims must abstain from food and drink from dawn to dusk during this month, and are supposed to be especially mindful of other sins. The fast is meant to allow Muslims to seek nearness and to look for forgiveness from God, to express their gratitude to and dependence on him, and to atone for their past sins.
... preparation of the celebration of Jesus’ birth and his second coming. This leads all the way up to Christmas Eve, and ends with the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord. Then, Lent occurs: the preparation time that the believer takes to reflect upon their religious practices and values. Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, and ends on Holy Thursday. Holy Thursday marks the beginning of the Easter Triduum. The Easter Triduum includes: Good Friday, Holy Saturday, and Easter Sunday. The significance of the Easter Triduum is honoring: The Last Supper, death, burial, and resurrection. After the Triduum, Pentecost follows; during this time we honor the descent of the Holy Spirit, which is known as the Ascension of Jesus. After the Ascension of Jesus, we enter Ordinary Time. This Liturgical Season is followed closely by Catholics, this is a prime example of living out their faith.
Rourke, Nancy. “Christianity Notes.” Religion 101 Notes Christianity. Entry posted April 14, 2011. https ://angel.canisius.edu/section/default.asp?id=43760%5FSpring2011 (accessed April 18, 2011).
meal. He knew that it was now time for him to return to his father.
"What Is Confirmation in the Catholic Church?" - For Dummies. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Dec. 2013.
During the month of “Nissan”, or the month in which Passover is to occur, on the tenth day each person must take a lamb from his or her home. They have to keep it until the fourteenth of that month and then must eat it in a hurry because it is the Passover Sacrifice. Then once they do that they must eat bread for seven days than on the next day they have to clear out yeast from their houses. Although today religions don’t exactly practice it in this way. For instance, Christians we experience Passover every spring, where we are essentially suppose to pray and fast for forty days.
...express their beliefs as well as listen to the words of the Lord. As Jesus said at his last meal with his disciples before his execution, “Do this in memory of me”. This quote is reflected in the mass in the stage of ‘being fed’ when an adherent receives both the body and blood of Christ, called Transubstantiation. In this way, Christian adherents are able to unit in a diverse environment following the ways that our Lord has taught us. Therefore through this, Christian adherents are able to express their faith.
In Western Christian religions, Lent is observed for six weeks and four days. Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent, gets its name from the practice, mostly in the Roman Catholic church, of putting ashes on the foreheads of the faithful to remind them that "man is but dust." Palm Sunday, one week before Easter, celebrates the entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. Holy Week begins on this day. Holy Thursday, or Maundy Thursday, is in memory of the Last Supper of Christ with his disciples. Good Friday remembers the crucifixion.
The Importance of a Catholic Regularly Attending Mass Catholics attend mass for many reasons, although there are many. different reasons for going to mass, there is one thing that all people want from mass, and that is some sort of help or advice from. God. I will be with you. Some people may think it is impossible to go to mass and return with advice from God, but people deal with mass in different ways and can take from it what they are willing to give back, not just to the church, but to all of the people they love and care for.
Carnival is considered the biggest carnival in the world with 2 million people on the street per day it is a world famous festival held before Lent every year (Rio 2). In 2014 Carnival will begin on February 13 - the Friday before Ash Wednesday - and end on February 17 - the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday. The Winners Parade will take place on the first Sunday of Lent after the parades are over.
I attended Mass at my local parish, the Parish of St. Francis de Sales, on Sunday, October 9th, in order to receive the Sacrament of the Eucharist. This also happens to be the 28th Sunday of Ordinary Time because the priest of the parish, Father Phan, wore green in order to symbolize life, anticipation for the coming of Christ, and hope. The liturgical season of Ordinary Time is also significant because it focuses on the fruits of Jesus’s three-year public ministry, his educational parables, and his extraordinary miracles. The season of Ordinary Time also serves as a reminder that the Church’s mission, our mission, is to not only share the life and hope of Jesus