Dear Parishioners,

The word "Lent" is thought to have come from an old Germanic word that means "to lengthen." Fittingly, it was also used as the word for "spring" since during this time of year the days lengthen visibly as the sunlight increases. Typically Lent begins while winter lingers on tenaciously perhaps hoping to immobilize us with one last blast of snow and ice.

Dear Parishioners,

The word "Lent" is thought to have come from an old Germanic word that means "to lengthen." Fittingly, it was also used as the word for "spring" since during this time of year the days lengthen visibly as the sunlight increases. Typically Lent begins while winter lingers on tenaciously perhaps hoping to immobilize us with one last blast of snow and ice.

In centuries past, this was a particularly bleak and precarious time for people whose food provisions were becoming increasingly scarce. It would be several months before crops could be harvested and livestock butchered. It became necessary therefore for communities to ration food so that some families would not starve while others feasted abundantly. This is one of the origins for the disciplines of fasting and abstinence. These emerged as important socio-economic practices that would help to insure the survival of people who lived off the land, thus in addition to their religious function, fasting and abstinence had a practical one as well.

As Christianity grew at a remarkable rate in the late 3d and early 4th centuries, the process of becoming a Christian got more regulated and standardized. Fasting became one of the formative elements in this process that came to be called the Catechumenate. (Today we call it the Order of Christian Initiation for Adults - OCIA). Fasting was a way to purify the senses and help individuals prioritize what was most valuable and necessary for the Christian life. It was also a means to intensify bodily hunger in order to demonstrate a spiritual hunger for the Eucharistic food that would be offered to the newly baptized at Easter for the first time. We are still required to fast from food and drink (except water and medicine) for one hour before receiving Holy Communion. While there was a time in the church when this Eucharistic fast was excessively rigorous, i.e., fasting (even from water) from midnight the night before until Communion the next day, one has to wonder if the minimal one hour is of any spiritual consequence. Should the length of the fast be increased, for example to three hours, or be abrogated altogether?

In addition to fasting, almsgiving and increased prayer became the other two disciplines integral to Lent. These were observed by the catechumens who were preparing for the awe-inspiring rites of initiation, as well as all the baptized members of the community who demonstrated a solidarity with these soon to be brothers and sisters in Christ. With this emphasis on self-denial and conversion, Lent took on a penitential character that Christians realized was essential for their own good, but not necessarily pleasant. It was seen as an opportunity, given by the Church, to recognize one's sins and embrace the reforms that would bring about a healthier life that could include the restoration of relationships that had been damaged, including one's relationship with God. All of this would help to make the upcoming celebration of Easter a joyful experience of new life - an experience that was already unfolding in the natural world that was being reborn after the death of winter.

Although Lent is unquestionably a penitential time in the church's year as evidenced in various liturgical features such as violet vesture, haunting melodies and the proscribed use of the word "Alleluia," it need not be dower and joyless. In fact, there can be a great deal of joy in undertaking disciplines such as fasting and abstinence as we eat and drink less in order to receive deeper nourishment from God's Word. Pondering this Word may actually have the effect of increasing our joy by allowing us to recognize God's creative grace that is always active in our lives but which we sometimes overlook. I recently read about an innovative custom of a "Joy Jar." Family members write the blessings they experienced in the course of the week on a slip of paper. These papers are placed in the family "Joy Jar" and are read aloud at the end of the week, usually at a festive meal. This allows all the members to share in each other's good fortune as they ultimately give witness to the faithfulness of God. This might be a practice families begin during Lent and carry on even through the Easter season and beyond.

In whatever manner Lent gets celebrated by Christian individuals and communities, it can be a uniquely enriching and growth-filled season. As it suddenly and silently slips into the pattern of our daily lives, at a time of year when to all appearances the world seems lifeless and bereft of hope, it nudges us to persevere and not lose sight of that recurring mystery that Bette Midler once put to music;

Just remember in the winter
Far beneath the bitter snows
Lies the seed that with the sun's love
In the spring becomes the rose.

Blessings for a joyful Lent,

Fr. Gabriel O. S. B.

BACK TO LIST