In Christian churches of various denominations, the season of Lent, which begins Wednesday and continues to Easter, is a solemn occasion. It’s a time of penitence, personal reflection and rededication to Christ, particularly for those in Catholic, Episcopal and Orthodox traditions.
The 40-day period commemorates the 40 days Jesus spent in fasting and prayer in the wilderness before beginning his public ministry. It’s also a time for Christians to focus on Christ’s sacrifice in general and his resurrection in particular.
Sanctuaries, normally filled with bright flowers in elaborate arrangements, are barren; vestments worn are either deep purple — as a sign of penitence — or plain and unadorned.
And baptismal fonts may be empty.
In years past, the holy water font at St. Stephen Catholic Church in Bentonville was filled with sand during Lent to signify the desolation of the desert. This year, the font will be empty, also to symbolize the desert. "Just as Jesus went to the desert for 40 days, so we symbolically live in the desert for 40 days,"says the Rev. Mike Sinkler, pastor of St. Stephen.
Sinkler says that in addition to being a time of penitence, Lent is a time for renewal. The word Lent, he says, means spring. Just as trees lose their leaves and become dormant and appear barren during the winter, Lent also is a time of barrenness. New life returns with the spring and with the passing of Lent and the celebration of Christ’s resurrection.
Sinkler says, historically, the season was a way of receiving those who had fallen away from the practice of the faith, a way of welcoming them back into the church. Lent was a time of penitence for backsliders, and they were marked with ashes as a sign of shame. After waiting for the six-week period of Lent, they were then welcomed back into the church.
Now the tradition is for everyone to be marked with ashes as a sign of penitence and an outward symbol that all Christians need to be converted back to Christ. "[The apostle] Paul, by all accounts, was a holy man... but he wasn’t focused on Christ. He was focused on laws and needed to be converted. We need that same conversion because it’s so easy to get focused on our work, our loan payments, our children, sports activities, our golf game,"Sinkler says. "This is a time to step back and say, ‘Let me empty myself of that and make room for the coming of Christ. ’"
REPETITION IS KEY In the Roman Catholic Church, tradition has been to fast from meat (with the exception of fish) on Fridays. However, Sinkler says, the church saw that for many, giving up meat while being allowed to eat fish or shrimp wasn’t really much of a sacrifice. Now church law dictates that adherents abstain from all meat on Fridays during Lent. Catholics also fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday (Feb. 9 and March 25 this year). "By penitence, prayer and fasting we empty ourselves to make more room for Christ,"Sinkler says. "Because today we are very busy and very focused people, it’s good to have that sixweek period. It gives us a long time to prepare for that celebration of Christ."
Sinkler says there are ways to get around the rules of the fast, but that those who do are missing the spirit of the ritual.
Other Lenten practices include attending Mass an extra day and spending at least 15 minutes in prayer twice a week in chapel with additional prayer time at home.
The key to gaining meaning from Lent is repetition — faithfully following the practices of the season year after year, Sinkler says. "After a number of years you begin to see things from a different perspective,"Sinkler says, noting that keeping a journal is a tangible way for individuals to see how they have grown.
In addition to fasting, some choose to give up something for Lent, such as a favorite food or activity. But Sinkler says more and more emphasis is being placed on doing something constructive to help others. For example, parishioners could reach out to help a neighbor in need or visit shut-ins. "No matter what we do, it’s supposed to call us outward,"Sinkler says. "We are not suffering for the sake of suffering. By our attitude we are asking God to draw closer to us."
FINDING A ‘ RULE OF LIFE’ In the Episcopal church, too, Lent is a time of penitence and fasting, as well as a time to prepare converts to the faith for baptism. The season is also a time of pardon and absolution, focusing on the need for all Christians to renew their faith and repent, says the Rev. Lowell Grisham, rector of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Fayetteville. "Holy Lent is a time of selfdenial, reflection, study, fasting, prayer and preparation that leads you to the place where you are ready to enter into Holy Week,"Grisham says. Episcopalians are encouraged to spend time in reflection — to pray, fast and read the Scriptures. "I encourage people to review their rule of life, or, if they don’t have a rule of life, to adopt one,"Grisham says.
He mentioned in a recent sermon a simple, five-point rule of life that can be used as an outline — worship weekly, pray daily, study continually, serve joyfully and live generously. "That’s a way of looking at your discipline of prayer, your commitment to study and growth and your service and stewardship,"Grisham says. "A rule of life usually involves some sort of commitment to those things."
Grisham says Lent is a good time to take a retreat. And parishioners will often adopt some form of fasting or abstinence, as well as alms-giving during Lent. He also encourages his congregation to observe the sacrament of confession. "I would hope that Lent would be a time of self reflection in order to prepare for the journey of Holy Week, so that we enter into walking the way of the cross with Christ and experience the resurrection of Easter,"Grisham says. PREPARATION FOR BAPTISM Grisham says Lent, for Episcopalians, was traditionally a time when converts of the faith were prepared for baptism. The highlight of Lent is the Easter Vigil, which occurs after sundown on the eve of Easter, or Holy Saturday. "That’s the most important baptismal feast of the year,"Grisham says, noting that in earlier times all baptisms happened during the Easter Vigil.
As in the Catholic church, worship is also a more solemn occasion. A tradition at St. Paul’s during Lent is to not use the word "alleluia"during the 40 days. Children of the church will bury an alleluia banner and then dig it up for the celebration of Easter.
The desert milieu Sinkler mentioned might also be a part of the Lenten experience in Episcopal churches. "Some congregations create a desert environment,"Grisham says. "That’s one of the images of Lent, for these 40 days the church goes into the wilderness with Jesus, and in the wilderness we encounter ourselves in all of our complexities."TITHING MORE THAN MONEY Lent is also an important season in the life of the Orthodox Church. The Rev. John Atchison, pastor of St. Nicholas Antiochian Orthodox Christian Church in Springdale, says fasting requirements for Orthodox churches are usually more severe than those observed by other denominations. "We are supposed to be full vegetarians the whole time and are supposed to quit gambling and gossiping, drinking, speeding and watching frivolous TV in an effort to humble ourselves to seek God,"Atchison says.
The faithful are also encouraged to chasten or humble themselves during Lent. "I find I look forward to the discipline,"he says. "We need the discipline to straighten up, and this is the time to do it."
Orthodox Christians usually fast each Wednesday and Friday throughout most of the year, but two weeks prior to Lent there is a fast-free period. After that time, the Cheesefare (or Forgiveness Sunday) follows, when dairy products are allowed for the last time before the season begins. It is a day when congregations, at vespers, ask forgiveness from each other. Then, the Lenten fast begins. "The thinking is, it eases you into the discipline we are facing,"Atchison says.
Lent in the Orthodox church begins at a different time than in the Western church, because the liturgical year is based on the Julian calendar instead of the Gregorian calendar.
This year, Lent for Orthodox Christians will begin March 14, with Pascha or Easter being celebrated May 1. Atchison says the season is exactly 36 and one-half days, or one-tenth of the year. "It’s a tithe of the entire year we are giving to God,"Atchison says.
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