The Season of Lent
Originating in the fourth century of the church, the season of Lent spans 40 days (excluding Sundays) beginning on Ash Wednesday (17th February) and climaxing during Holy Week with Holy Thursday (Maundy Thursday), Good Friday, and concluding Saturday before Easter.
Today, Lent is marked by a time of prayer and preparation to celebrate Easter. Since Sundays celebrate the resurrection of Jesus, the six Sundays that occur during Lent are not counted as part of the 40 days of Lent, and are referred to as the Sundays in Lent. The number 40 is connected with many biblical events, but especially with the forty days Jesus spent in the wilderness preparing for His ministry by facing the temptations that could lead him to abandon his mission and calling. Christians today use this period of time for introspection, self examination, and repentance. This season of the year is equal only to the Season of Advent in importance in the Christian year, and is part of the second major Christian festivals and sacred time that includes Holy Week, Easter, and Pentecost.
Lent is a special time of prayer and fasting. It is also a time of self-sacrifice, the church leaders encouraged people to give up something during Lent that they enjoyed. Most Christian churches that observe Lent at all focus on it as a time of prayer, especially penance, repenting for failures and sin as a way to focus on the need for God’s grace. It is really a preparation to celebrate God’s marvelous redemption at Easter, and the resurrected life that we live, and hope for, as Christians.
February 20 2010 | Sharing | No Comments »
