Lent
On Wednesday, 6 March 2019, the universal Church will be celebrating Ash Wednesday which ushers in the period of Lent. What is Lent? The word “Lent” comes from the Middle English word lenten, meaning “springtime” – the time of lengthening days. Lent is the forty-day period of fasting and prayer that Christians observe in preparation for the celebration of Easter. For the first three centuries, the period of fasting before Easter varied from a few days to a week. However, the Council of Nicaea in 325 mentioned a period of forty days of preparation, and by the end of the fourth century, a forty-day fast before Easter was commonly observed in both the East and the West. The Lenten fast may have originated in the fast mandated for the candidates preparing for baptism at Easter, and the number forty may have its origins in the forty-day fast observed by Moses, Elijah, and Jesus. Recently, research has suggested that the development of Lent was also influenced by the forty-day span of fasting practised by many in the early Church (especially monks).
The Eastern and the Western Churches differed as to the reckoning of the forty days. The East fasted for seven weeks, omitting Saturdays (except Holy Saturday) and Sundays resulting in thirty-six days of fasting. The West observed six weeks of fast, but omitted only Sundays, which also amounted to thirty-six fast days in all. However, local customs differed greatly as to the actual observance of the Lenten fast. In the West in the seventh century the period from Ash Wednesday to the First Sunday of Lent was added to the original six weeks, achieving a total of forty days.
Ash Wednesday
The beginning of the period of Lent is Ash Wednesday, so called from the ceremony of placing ashes on the forehead as a sign of penitence. It was the practice in Rome for penitents to begin their period of public penance on the first day of Lent. They were sprinkled with ashes, dressed in sackcloth, and obliged to remain apart until they were reconciled with the Christian community on Maundy Thursday, the Thursday before Easter. When these practices fell into disuse (8th-10th century), the beginning of the penitential season of Lent was symbolized by placing ashes on the heads of the entire congregation.
The custom of distributing ashes on Ash Wednesday did not originate with Roman tradition but came from the Mozarabic and Gallican liturgical traditions where it was connected with entrance into the order of penitents. Although not at first related to the season of Lent, the custom gained popularity, as many of the penitential practices once reserved for serious public sinners became standard for all the faithful. It was not until 1091, when Pope Urban II ordered the imposition of ashes on the heads of all the faithful, that the reception of ashes became mandatory, and the Wednesday preceding the First Sunday of Lent became known as Ash Wednesday. This reception of ashes by all the faithful was in keeping with the primary stress of Lent which was penance.
In the Roman Catholic Church, ashes obtained from burned palm branches of the previous Palm Sunday are blessed during Mass on Ash Wednesday. The priest marks the foreheads of the officiating priests, the clergy, and the congregation with these ashes, while reciting over each one the following formula: “Turn away from sin and be faithful to the gospel” or “Remember, man, you are dust, and to dust you will return”.
Fasting and Abstinence
Forming an important part of the season of Lent are fasting and abstinence. Fasting and abstinence are closely related, but there are some differences in these spiritual practices. In general, fasting refers to restrictions on the quantity of the food we eat and on when we consume it, while abstinence refers to the avoidance of particular foods. The most common form of abstinence is the avoidance of meat, a spiritual practice that goes back to the earliest days of the Church.
Fasting and Abstinence in the Bible
The practice of fasting and abstinence in the Church must have been influenced by the Bible. There are many instances of fasting and abstinence in both the Old Testament and the New Testament. In the Old Testament, fasting usually means total abstinence from food and drink for one day from morning until evening (see 2 Sam 1:12; Jonah 3:7; Acts 9:9). Fasting was part of the ritual for a holy war (1 Sam 14:34), a sign of mourning for the dead (2 Sam 3:35), and a reaction to calamity or distress (Joel 1:14). In times of calamity or distress, the Israelites expressed a twofold religious attitude, viz., penance and supplication (see 1 Sam 7:6; Ezra 8:21-23).
The Jews observed the Day of Atonement as a strict fast for one day from sundown to sundown each year. Often in times of adversity, the judge, the king, or the prophet would proclaim a fast to show humility before God and to win God’s protection. The Jews marked the day of the beginning of the siege of Jerusalem and the day of the burning of the Temple by abstinence. There were certain festival days when leavened bread was forbidden. Abstinence from all “unclean foods” was of strict obligation at all times. The Pharisees of Jesus’ time fasted twice a week, on Mondays and Thursdays. The purpose of the abstinence was both spiritual and penitential: to avoid unclean foods as an incentive for spiritual cleanness; to be humble before God as befits a sinful people; and to dispose God to look favourably upon them by protecting them from their enemies and granting them prosperity.
In the New Testament, the most famous account of fasting is that of Jesus in the desert after his baptism. According to Matthew 4:2 Jesus “fasted for forty days and forty nights.…” According to Luke 4:2 he “ate nothing during those (forty) days.…” The fasting of Jesus became the model for early Christians. The only specific demand of abstinence imposed upon New Testament Christians was to “abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols and from blood and from what is strangled and from fornication” (Acts 15:29).
Fasting and Abstinence in the Tradition of the Church
The early Christians tended to follow the practices of their Jewish heritage, but, as the links with Judaism became more tenuous, specifically Christian practices developed. Initially the fast was severe, allowing for only one meal each day (to be taken in the evening) and forbidding the consumption of fish and flesh-meat, and in some places, even dairy products. Beginning in the ninth century, however, the fast was relaxed to allow fish and eggs, and the meal was moved up to an earlier part of the day. In the last few centuries, meat has been permitted except on Fridays, and the emphasis on the meaning of Lent has shifted. For centuries the popular understanding of Lent centred on physical suffering. Vatican Council II (1962-1965) shifted the emphasis to the spiritual preparation for the paschal mystery of Easter and broadened the focus to include other forms of penance and increased prayer and works of charity. The three aspects of Lent – prayer, fasting, and almsgiving – are not ends in themselves but a means to prepare the Christian to celebrate the resurrection of the Lord. Lent helps to remind Christians of their sinfulness and the need to return to their baptismal innocence.
Although there were always local modifications, the laws of penitential abstinence remained quite severe until the issuance of the apostolic constitution Poenitemini (“On Fast and Abstinence”) by Paul VI (17 February 1966). A major thrust of the document was the reassertion of the truth of the constant need for repentance and penitential practices by divine law in the light of the gospel and the constant tradition of the Church; however, rather than imposing fasting and abstinence by law, now Christians were to have greater freedom in determining penitential practices deemed most beneficial for them. To preserve the common observance of penance, certain penitential days were to remain: all Fridays throughout the year and the time of Lent. Fridays are to be observed by abstinence from eating meat and Ash Wednesday and Good Friday as days of both abstinence and fasting.
What are the rules concerning fasting and abstinence today? Every person 14 years of age or older must abstain from meat (and items made with meat) on Ash Wednesday, Good Friday, and all the Fridays of Lent. Every person between the age of 18 and 59 must fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. Every person 14 years of age or older must abstain from meat on all other Fridays of the year, unless he or she substitutes some other form of penance for abstinence. If one is a vegetarian, one may decide that abstaining from meat is no sacrifice as far as he or she is concerned, and may decide to abstain from something else, or may substitute works of charity. We must point out that during the Lenten season, fasting is not to be done on Sundays. This is because Sunday is the day of the Lord, the day on which Christ rose from the dead and we do not fast on such a day.
What does it mean to fast during Lent? It does not mean that one should go without food for the whole day! In the Roman Catholic Church, fasting means that we can have only one full, meatless meal, though this does not prohibit taking other food if needed, provided it does not equal a full meal. Liquids are allowed at any time, but no solid food should be consumed between meals. Those who are excused from fasting and abstinence outside the age limits include the physically or mentally ill including individuals suffering from chronic illnesses such as diabetes. Also excluded are pregnant or nursing women, those who are frail, or those who are manual labourers. In all cases, common sense should prevail, and ill persons should not further jeopardize their health by fasting.
What should Catholics do during Lent?
In the foregoing, I have outlined the history of Lent and touched on fasting and abstinence. In what follows I will indicate what we can do at the personal level during Lent. The first thing to do is to take part in Mass on Ash Wednesday and receive the ashes. We should also try to attend daily Mass as often as we can. We should also endeavour to abide by the rules of fasting and abstinence mentioned above. We may want to give up certain things that we cherish, like drinking alcohol, eating sweets and chocolates, certain types of delicious foods, etc. The money saved from these exercises could be used for the sake of charity. We may also want to take up spiritual exercises like reading books on spirituality and the Bible. It will also be good for us to take part traditional practices like the Stations of the Cross on the Fridays in Lent, the recitation of the Rosary, etc. Let us also witness to our love for Christ by special solicitude for the sick, the poor, the underprivileged, the imprisoned, the bedridden, the discouraged, the stranger, the lonely, and persons of other nationalities or ethnic groups, or backgrounds than our own. Finally, since Lent is essentially about turning away from sin, we must make the effort to take part in penitential services that may be organized in our parishes. We should also make it a point to benefit from the Sacrament of Reconciliation or Penance during the period of Lent.