Opinion
Lent: The spring time for the soul, By Fr Udo J.M. Iwuji
Introduction
The history of Lent dates back to centuries ago with Christians spending time preparing to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. It is period marked by the believers with abstinence, fasting and penance for sins. It starts on Ash Wednesday and ends at the holy Week.
The period of lent is set aside by the Church as a time when we reflect in a special way Christ’s suffering and death on our behalf: “He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities, the chastisement [or punishment] that brought us peace was upon him; and by his stripes [or wounds] we are healed.” {Isaiah 53:5}
Going through some biblical passages both in the New and Old Testaments the above expressions were made in diverse forms. The core issue is that Jesus saved us by His sacrifice, “He took our sicknesses, he bore our pains and by his wounds we are healed” Jesus willingly took this task without compulsion, “whom shall I send, who will go for us, Father I am here send me” in our present-day society, many would have considered Jesus, a masochist. When people take to some penances and mortification these days they are surnamed masochist. Many are no more interested to have a share in the sufferings of Christ. It is good to know that ours are not up to the reward that is to come, “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time (this present life) are not worth being compared with the glory that is about to be revealed to us and in us and for us and conferred on us!” {Roman 8:18}
The wounds of Jesus made us whole and by participating in His sufferings we become partakers of the merits of His death and also soothe Him by our good works. The charity of the death of Christ we are also to carry in our own bodies by becoming sources of blessings to others. This is one of the ways to put our faith into action, faith without good works is lifeless, “What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good[a] is that? So also, faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. {James 4:14-16}
The word lent, where does it come from?
Lent comes from the Middle English word “lente” which means springtime. Catholics started the tradition of Lent around the year 325, during the Council of Nicea, but it has spread through other Christian denominations. These include the following denominations: Western Orthodox Churches, Lutherans, Methodists, Presbyterians, and Anglicans, among others.
According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, the Teutonic word Lent, which we employ to denote forty days’ of fast preceding Easter, originally meant no more than the spring season. Still it has been used from the Anglo-Saxon period to translate the more significant Latin term quadragesima {French carême, Italian quaresima, Spanish, cuaresma}, meaning the “forty days”, or more literally thee “fortieth day”. This in turn imitated the Greek name for Lent, tessarakoste {fortieth}, a word formed on the analogy of Pentecost {pentekoste}, which last was in use for the Jewish festival before New Testament times. Keep in mind also that in many parts of the world this time of leant is shrouded by different seasons. For instance among the Philippines is the summer time {period/season}; and among the Germans is the spring time. And one of the peculiarities of this period is that the trees shed their leaves and above the roots get the opportunity to go deeper into the soul. And what this season is meant for, for every Christian, is a time to shed off those old ways of life and get deep rooted in our faith. Providentially, the period of Lent this year and that of Ramadan are taking place the same time. The spring time is not just for the Christians but for all.
Why Ash Wednesday and why do we receive the ashes?
Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent, a special season of grace, repentance, fasting almsgiving, abstinence and prayer. It is a special season because it is one of the most popular and important holy days in our liturgical calendar. The exact date changes each year depending on when Easter falls.
Ash Wednesday is traceable to the ancient Jewish tradition of penance and fasting. The practice includes the wearing of ashes on the head. The ashes symbolize the dust from which God made us. As the priest applies the ashes to a person’s forehead, he speaks the words: “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”{cf. Gn 3:19} Alternatively, the priest may speak the words, “Repent and believe in the Gospel.” {Mk 1:15}
Ashes also symbolize grief, in this case, grief that we have sinned and caused division from God.
Writings from the Second-century Church refer to the wearing of ashes as a sign of penance.
Priests administer ashes during Mass and all are invited to accept the ashes as a visible symbol of penance. Even non-Christians and the excommunicated are welcome to receive the ashes. The ashes are made from blessed palm branches, taken from the previous year’s Palm Sunday Mass. The ceremony is meant to show followers that their lives are short, and must be well lived to the fullest {in the right direction}.
Indeed, we receive the ashes following the example of the Ninevites, who did penance in sackcloth and ashes, our foreheads are marked with ashes to humble our hearts and reminds us that life passes away on Earth. We remember this when we are told “Remember, Man is dust, and unto dust you shall return.”
Ashes are symbol of penance made sacramental by the blessing of the Church, and they help us develop a spirit of humility and sacrifice.
Let me state briefly in this paragraph what the practice looks like before now. The distribution of ashes comes from a ceremony of ages past. Christians who had committed grave faults performed public penance. On Ash Wednesday, the Bishop blessed the hair shirts which they were to wear during the forty days of penance, and sprinkled over them ashes made from the palms from the previous year. Then, while the faithful recited the Seven Penitential Psalms, the penitents were turned out of the church because of their sins — just as Adam, the first man, was turned out of Paradise because of his disobedience. The penitents did not enter the church again until Maundy Thursday after having won reconciliation by the toil of forty days’ penance and sacramental absolution. Later, all Christians, whether public or secret penitents, came to receive ashes out of devotion. In earlier times, the distribution of ashes was followed by a penitential procession.
Ashes in the Scripture signify repentance, sorrow for sins which are necessary for salvation. In the O.T. ashes of certain sacrifices on the altar of sacrifice were used for ritual purifications and for also some other symbolic purposes. They were as a token of grief, Job 2:8; as a token of mourning, 2 Samuel 13:19. While the ashes symbolize penance and contrition, they are also a reminder that God is gracious and merciful to those who call on Him with repentant hearts. God’s Divine mercy is of utmost importance during the season of Lent, and the Church calls on us to seek that mercy during the entire Lenten season with reflection, prayer and penance, repentance, fasting almsgiving and abstinence.
The duration of Lent {the Lenten Period} and the forty days fasting
The Duration of Lent {the Lenten Period} or Lenten Season is forty days {40 days}.
This period helps us to call to mind Jesus’ 40-day of fast in the desert in preparation for his public ministry.
By the solemn forty days of Lent the Church unites herself each year to the mystery of Jesus in the desert {Catechism of the Catholic Church No. 540}
Fasting has been practiced for centuries within a number of religions and culture, and is featured within Jewish culture in the Bible. For long this has been the practice in the Church like the season of Advent that also lasts 40 days of fasting and prayers in preparation for Christmas.
Recall that this figure the 40 days of Lent {minus Sundays} has reference to certain significant events in Scriptures. Some of these instances are
i. Jesus fasting for 40 days in the desert -Mt. 4:1ff.
ii.Moses fasted for 40 days before receiving the Ten Commandments from God,- Ex.34:28.
iii. Elija fasted 40 days before meeting God at Mount Moriah, 1Kg. 19:8.
iv. Israelites wandered in the desert 40 years be for reaching the Promised Land, – Exodus).
v. God sent rain flooding the earth for 40 days, Noah in the arch for 40 days, -Gen. 7: 4ff.
vi. Jonah prophesized to Nineveh to repent within 40 days, -Jonah 3:4ff.
It is good to note that Lent as we have it today is a little longer than forty days. In the new calendar no exceptions are made for Sundays. The Sundays of this time of the year are called the first, second, third, fourth and fifth Sundays and the sixth Sunday which is referred to as the Passion/palm Sunday. But that notwithstanding the number is approximate for spiritual purposes.
Liturgical colour, music and decorations during Lent
The Liturgical Colour of Lent is Purple {Violet} except the fourth Sunday where the colour Rose could be used. That is a special Sunday called, “Laetare Sunday.” The colour purple is associated with Lent as it signifies both penance and hope; no flowers for decorations and no singing of the Gloria, no singing of Alleluia verses. Red as Liturgical colour is used on the last Sunday of Lent {Palm Sunday} to mark the Kingship of Jesus Christ and beginning of the Holy Week, and white on the Maundy Thursday. The evening of this day in the Church’s tradition marks the end of Lent.
Intensify your Lenten observances and obtain more graces
The Lenten period is a special moment of deepening of our Christian faith. It is a special time set aside to enable us acquire more graces as to rejuvenate our lives. Hence the Holy Mother Church in her liturgy reminds all her children of these important facts. She presents to us the necessity and value of repentance, fasting almsgiving, abstinence and prayer, etc.
The Holy Father, Pope Francis in one of his Lenten messages reminds us that, “By devoting more time to prayer, we enable our hearts to root out our secret lies and forms of self-deception… Almsgiving sets us free from greed and helps us to regard our neighbour as a brother or sister. What I possess is never mine alone…Fasting weakens our tendency to violence; it disarms us and becomes an important opportunity for growth. Fasting wakes us up. It makes us more attentive to God and our neighbour. It revives our desire to obey God, who alone is capable of satisfying our hunger.”
What prayer knocks for upon a door, fasting successfully begs and mercy receives. […] these three are a unit. They give life to one another. For, fasting is the soul of prayer; and mercy is the life of fasting. […] If a man has only one of them, or if he does not have them all simultaneously, he has nothing. Therefore, he who prays should also fast; and he who fasts should also be merciful” (Sermon of St. Peter Chrysologus, Office of Reading, Lent Week 3, Tuesday).
Prayer
There is no gainsaying that, Prayer is the same through all seasons of the year. St Paul exhorts us, “pray in season and out of season”. But during Lent it should take on a special intensity in terms of time and personal efforts. We are inclined to cultivate a more intensive regime of prayer. The Stations of the Cross during Lent on Wednesdays and Fridays is a good opportunity for us to journey with Christ to Golgotha and subsequently to Resurrection. Individuals, Families, Societies and Church stations are encouraged to keep this devotion regular and make it more meaningful by active participation of members.
“Prayer,” St. John Damascene wrote, “is the raising of one’s mind and heart to God or the requesting of good things from God.” At an even more basic level, prayer is a form of communication, a way of talking to God or to the saints, just as we talk to family or friends.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church notes, however, not all prayers are the same. In Paragraphs 2626-2643, the Catechism describes five basic types of prayer. Here are brief descriptions of each type of prayer, with examples of each.
Prayers of intercession are another form of prayers of petition, but they are important enough to be considered their own type of prayer. As the Catechism of the Catholic Church notes (Para. 2634), “Intercession is a prayer of petition which leads us to pray as Jesus did.” In a prayer of intercession, we’re not concerned with our needs but with the needs of others. Just as we ask the saints to intercede for us, we, in turn, intercede through our prayers for our fellow Christians, asking God to shower His mercy on them by answering their requests. A Prayer of Parents for Their Children and these Weekly Prayers for the Faithful Departed are good examples of prayers of intercession for the needs of others.
Prayers of praise acknowledge God for what He is. As the Catechism of the Catholic Church (Para. 2639) notes, praise “lauds God for his own sake and gives him glory, quite beyond what he does, but simply because HE IS. It shares in the blessed happiness of the pure of heart who love God in faith before seeing him in glory.” The Psalms are perhaps the best-known example of prayers of praise. Prayers of love or charity are another form of prayers of praise—expressions of our love for God, the source and object of all love. The Act of Charity, a common morning prayer, is good example of a prayer of praise.
Prayers of expiation, in which we express sorrow for our sins, are one form of prayers of petition—in fact, the first form because before we ask for anything, we should acknowledge our sinfulness and ask God for His forgiveness and mercy. The Confiteor or Penitential Rite at the beginning of Mass, and the Agnus Dei (or Lamb of God) before Communion, are prayers of expiation, as is the Act of Contrition.
In prayers of adoration or worship, we exalt the greatness of God, and we acknowledge our dependence on Him in all things. The Mass and the other liturgies of the Church are full of prayers of adoration or worship, such as the Gloria (the Glory to God). Among private prayers, the Act of Faith is a prayer of adoration. In extolling the greatness of God, we also acknowledge our own humility; a good example of such a prayer is Cardinal Merry del Val’s Litany of Humility.
Abstinence and Fasting
This is one of the long age traditional principles and practices of Christian spirituality that are integral part of repentance, of turning away from sin and back to God. These practices include some form of penance, without which the Christian is unlikely to remain on the narrow path and be saved {Jer. 18:11, 25:5; Ez. 18:30, 33:11-15; Joel 2:12; Mt. 3:2; Mt. 4:17; Acts 2:38}. Christ Himself said that His disciples would fast once He had departed (Lk. 5:35). The general law of penance, therefore, is part of the law of God for man.
The Church for her part has specified certain forms of penance, both to ensure that the Catholics will do something, as required by divine law, while making it easy for Catholics to fulfill the obligation. Thus, the 1983 Code of Canon Law specifies the obligations of Latin Rite Catholics {Eastern Rite Catholics have their own penitential practices as specified by the Code of Canons for the Eastern Churches}.
Canon 1250: All Fridays through the year and the time of Lent are penitential days and times throughout the entire Church.
Canon 1251: Abstinence from eating meat or another food according to the prescriptions of the conference of bishops is to be observed on Fridays throughout the year unless they are solemnities; abstinence and fast are to be observed on Ash Wednesday and on the Friday of the Passion and Death of Our Lord Jesus Christ.
Canon 1252: All persons who have completed their fourteenth year are bound by the law of abstinence; all adults are bound by the law of fast up to the beginning of their sixtieth year. Nevertheless, pastors and parents are to see to it that minors who are not bound by the law of fast and abstinence are educated in an authentic sense of penance.
Canon 1253: It is for the conference of bishops to determine more precisely the observance of fast and abstinence and to substitute in whole or in part for fast and abstinence other forms of penance, especially works of charity and exercises of piety.
The Church, therefore, has two forms of official penitential practices – three if the Eucharistic fast of one hour before Communion is included.
Abstinence:
The law of abstinence requires a Catholic 14 years of age until death to abstain from eating meat on Fridays in honor of the Passion of Jesus on Good Friday. Meat is considered to be the flesh and organs of mammals and fowl. Also forbidden are soups or gravies made from them. Salt and freshwater species of fish, amphibians, reptiles and shellfish are permitted, as are animal derived products such as margarine and gelatin which do not have any meat taste.
Fasting:
The law of fasting requires a Catholic from the 18th Birthday (Canon 97) to the 59th Birthday (i.e. the beginning of the 60th year, a year which will be completed on the 60th birthday) to reduce the amount of food eaten from normal. The Church defines this as one meal a day, and two smaller meals which if added together would not exceed the main meal in quantity. Such fasting is obligatory on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. The fast is broken by eating between meals and by drinks which could be considered food. It is good to note that alcoholic beverages are contrary to the spirit of doing penance.
Those who are excused from fast or abstinence:
Besides those outside the age limits, those of unsound mind, the sick, the frail, pregnant or nursing women according to need for meat or nourishment, manual laborers according to need, guests at a meal who cannot excuse themselves without giving great offense or causing enmity and other situations of moral or physical impossibility to observe the penitential discipline.
Aside from these minimum penitential requirements Catholics are encouraged to impose some personal penance on themselves at other times. It could be modeled after abstinence and fasting. A person could, for example, multiply the number of days they abstain. Some people give up meat entirely for religious motives (as opposed to those who give it up for health or other motives). Some religious orders, as a penance, never eat meat. Similarly, one could multiply the number of days that one fasted. The early Church had a practice of a Wednesday and Saturday fast. This fast could be the same as the Church’s law (one main meal and two smaller ones) or stricter, even bread and water. Such freely chosen fasting could also consist in giving up something one enjoys – sweets, chewing-gums, soft drinks, smoking, etc. This is left to the individual.
Almsgiving
This practice is distinct during the Lenten season. This obliges us to promote the total wellbeing of our fellow men and women. Caring for others is a valuable weapon in our fight against selfishness and pride. “It is more blessed to give than to receive” {Acts 20:35}. Faith calls for sharing with our brothers and sisters. For what we abstain and give up in order to share with those in need, ostentatious and lavish celebrations are to be carefully avoided. Charity, almsgiving, remission of debts should be practiced and voluntary donations should be freely made for the various projects of the Church. Diocesan and parish communities are to recognize the necessity to find practical means of assisting needy families. Let us all respond generously to the Lenten appeal in all Churches for the poor in our midst and for other social and charitable works of the Church. “Blessed is he who cares for the poor”. {Psalm 41:1} On Good Friday, special collection is taken up will be sent to the Pope for the maintenance of the Holy Places in Jerusalem.
GENTLE EXHORTATIONS
I. Model your lives on the word of God
We are encouraged to make it a point of duty to read, study, reflect and meditate daily on the word of God. There is power in God’s word. Make God’s word the light for your part. Like Jeremiah would say, “when your word came I devoured it” {Jer. 15:16}, Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path {Psalm 119:105}.
Indeed, for us to effectively live out the life of our calling it is pertinent for us to be guided by the word of God. Addressing members of the Catholic Biblical Federation (CBF), during the 10th Plenary Assembly {2015}, the Holy Father, Pope Francis among other things opined that, “To be able to proclaim the word of truth, we ourselves must have had the experience of the Word: we must have listened, contemplated, almost touched it with our own hands”,“Christians, who are the People of God, ‘that you may proclaim the excellencies of him’, must, as the dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation Dei Verbum suggests, first of all venerate, read, listen, proclaim, preach, study and spread the Word of God.
When we eat {ruminate} the word of God, His word shapes us, then we can become a living gospel for others to read. St Jerome was very frank when he said, “ignorance of the Scripture {the word of God}” is ignorance of God. Indeed, this ignorance leads to evils:
Ignorance of God leads to error – Mathew 22:29
Ignorance of God leads to alienation from God – Ephesians 4:18,
Ignorance of God leads to idolatry – Isaiah 44:19; Acts 17:29,30
Ignorance of God leads to persecuting the saints–John 15:21; John 16:3
Ignorance of God leads to sinful lust – 1 Thessalonians 4:5; 1 Peter 1:14
Ignorance of God is evidenced by living in sin – Titus 1:6; 1 John 3:6
Ignorance of God is evidenced by not keeping the commandments- 1 John 2:4
Be that as it may, we have no certificate or justification for committing sin because, “Ignorance of God is no excuse for sin” {Lk 12:48}
Indeed, it will be very good to remind ourselves once again these beautiful words of Christ, “It is the Spirit that gives life, the flesh has nothing to offer. The Words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life.” {John 6: 63}
II. Take your sacramental life serious
The Church’s Sacraments are one of the sources of God’s graces and blessings to us. We must take them very serious. Let us avail ourselves these opportunities while we can. Go to Mass and receive the Eucharist. There Jesus is present, body soul and divinity. He is the pledge of our salvation, “Whoever eats My Flesh and drinks My Blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For My Flesh is real Food and My Blood real drink. Whoever eats My Flesh and drinks My Blood dwells in Me and I in him” {John 6:54-56}; He abide with all who receives Him worthily and so in other to receive Him worthily we need to go to confession very often.
This is a Sacrament of healing, a Sacrament of God’s Divine Mercy. Indeed, sin blinds. There are sinners who know that they are sinners, and there are sinners who do not know. But it is sure that those who know are in a better position to do penance and be reconciled.
To acknowledge one’s sin, to recognise oneself as being a sinner, capable of sin and inclined to commit sin, is the essential first step in returning to God. We remove the blindness caused by sin by going to confessions and doing penance.
It is during the Lenten season the Church carries out the process of Christian Initiation. It will be proper for parents and guardians to make good use of this period so as to have their children/wards baptized on Holy Saturday. These days, many Catholic children are bearing Christian names but they are not baptized. This is another tsunami that is eroding into our Catholic faith. Give your children, Saints/Christian names. Names that can help to build up their faith.
The rate with which divorce in marriages is increasing is quite alarming. More so, concubinage is on the increase. Please use this Holy Season to be get yourself ready and regularize your marriages. Traditional or Civil Marriage/Wedding is not sacrament and as such it does not make present the blessings of the Sacrament of Matrimony.
The clergy as well as all the Consecrated Persons Religious} should endeavor to keep afresh the commitments of their ordinations and consecrations, “my vow to the Lord, I will fulfill before all his people” {Ps. 116:18}
III. The Via Crucis- The Way of The Cross
The Stations of the Cross as we popular call it, {the Via Crucis- the Way of the Cross} is one of the most remarkable features observed by the Catholics every Friday of Lent. “Lord, by your Holy Cross you redeemed the world”. This we proclaim with accompanying songs and prayers as we venerate each of the 14 images variously depicting Jesus, Christ on the day of his crucifixion. The stations grew out of imitation of Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem which is believed to be the actual path Jesus walked to Mount Calvary. The object of the stations is to help the faithful to make a spiritual pilgrimage through contemplation of the Pasion of Christ. This very most popular devotions of the Catholics can also be found in other churches of Western Christian denominations: Anglican, Lutheran, Methodist and Western Orthodox Churches. This devotion attracts God’s blessings.
IV. Be involved in works of mercy
It is the teaching of our Lord, “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.” {Matt.5: 7}
Interestingly we have fourteen steps or better put Stations of the Cross and we have as well fourteen “works of mercy” which enable us to put our faith in Christ into action in our daily life. Indeed, faith without good work is lifeless. They are both spiritual and temporal and are as follows:
A. Spiritual Works of Mercy
1. Converting the sinner
2. Instructing the ignorant
3. Counseling the doubtful
4. Comforting the sorrowful
5. Bearing wrongs patiently
6. Forgiving injuries
7. Praying for the living and the dead.
B. Corporal Works of Mercy
1. Feeding the hungry
2. Giving drink to the thirsty
3. Clothing the naked
4. Harboring the stranger
5. Visiting the sick
6. Ministering to prisoners
7. Burying the dead.
Conclusion: Run As to Win
St. Paul writing to the people of Corinth on the need to be steadfast and focused in other to achieve heaven, our ultimate goal made an allusion with competitors in the stadium. He as well compares himself to these racers. He said, “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run [their very best to win], but only one receives the prize? Run [your race] in such a way that you may seize the prize and make it yours!” {1 Corinthian 9:24}.
Isthmian games were well known by the Corinthians and so St. Paul has to make use of it to bring to light his teaching. Indeed, in the Christian race all must run so as to obtain unfading crown. Many Scripture scholars have it that, “those who ran in these games were kept to a spare diet. They used themselves to hardships. They practised the exercises. And those who pursue the interests of their souls, must combat hard with fleshly lusts. The body must not be suffered to rule. The apostle presses this advice on the Corinthians. He sets before himself and them the danger of yielding to fleshly desires, pampering the body, and its lusts and appetites. Holy fear of himself was needed to keep an apostle faithful: how much more is it needful for our preservation! Let us learn from hence humility and caution, and to watch against dangers which surround us while in the body.”
Dearest friend in Christ, I make those words of St. Paul mine as to urge you to be focused. Do not be distracted. There are a lot of flippancy today in the practice of faith, I encourage you to persevere with all your strength, in this course.
I remind you that the days are evil, do not give any room to spiritual dwarfism and mendacity. Keep on running on the part marked out for you. Guide and guard jealously your Catholic faith.
May the joy of the Lord continue to renew us in the parts that lead to eternal life. Amen.
Fr Iwuji is of the Sons of Divine Vocation (SDV). He can be reached via: [email protected]
08156198851