Introduction to Lent
To become better disciples, the Church gives us 3 disciplines to use during Lent. Remember that disciple and discipline come from the same root word. The three disciplines of almsgiving, prayer, and fasting come from the Gospel for Ash Wednesday, Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18.
Jesus said to his disciples: "Take care not to perform righteous deeds in order that people may see them; otherwise, you will have no recompense from your heavenly Father. When you give alms, do not blow a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets to win the praise of others. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right is doing, so that your almsgiving may be secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you."
"When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, who love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on street corners so that others may see them. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go to your inner room, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you."
"When you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites. They neglect their appearance, so that they may appear to others to be fasting. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you may not appear to be fasting, except to your Father who is hidden. And your Father who sees what is hidden will repay you."
Note that Jesus does not say, "If you give alms," "If you pray," or "If you fast." His instructions are how to do these things WHEN you do them. Jesus expects these actions from his followers. Prayer, fasting, and almsgiving take us out of our narrow selfishness and help us reach out to others.
Background on the Paschal Season
The Paschal Season begins on Ash Wednesday and ends with the celebration of Pentecost. It includes the Season of Lent, the Triduum of Holy Thursday, Good Friday, the Easter Vigil and Easter Sunday, and the Easter Season.
The word "Paschal" refers to the Jewish word, "Pesach" or Passover. It refers to the story of Moses in the book of Exodus in which the angel of the Lord "passed over" the Israelites' houses that had lamb's blood on the doorways but entered houses without the blood and killed the first-born sons of the Egyptians. Thus the Egyptian Pharaoh (King) allowed the Israelites to leave their lives of slavery in Egypt.
Christians believe that Jesus is the new Paschal Lamb who shed his blood and was slain to free us from the slavery of sin and death. The Paschal Season, then, celebrates the life, death, resurrection and ascension into heaven of Jesus Christ.
Lent is the time period from Ash Wednesday to the Mass of the Lord's Supper on Holy Thursday. The word "Lent" comes from root words meaning "lengthening the day" because in the springtime the hours of daylight grow. The Season of Lent is a time of preparation for people who will join the Church at the Easter Vigil. It is also a time for those who are baptized to prepare themselves through acts of penance to renew their baptismal promises at Easter. The Church recommends three forms of penance: prayer, fasting and almsgiving.
Ash Wednesday begins the Lenten Season with a liturgy that marks Christians with ashes which are made from last year's palm branches or branches of the olive tree. The ashes remind us that life is short. Now is the time to "turn away from sin and be faithful to the Gospel."
On Palm Sunday we remember the entrance of Jesus into the city of Jerusalem as the crowds cheered, "Hosanna to the Son of David; blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord." A few days later, the crowd would yell, "Crucify him." Mass today includes the reading of the Passion of Jesus, this year from the Gospel of Matthew, and draws us toward the celebration of the Triduum at the end of the week.
The Triduum or "Three Days" begins with the Mass of the Lord's Supper on Holy Thursday and ends in the evening of Easter Sunday. Although this time period encompasses four days, the days are counted in a more ancient way from sunset of one day to sunset the next making three days.
The Mass on Holy Thursday commemorates the Last Supper of Jesus. At this time Jesus washed the feet of his disciples and told them that they should wash one another's feet.
Good Friday services include the proclamation of the Passion of Jesus according to Saint John and an opportunity to venerate the cross.
The Church calls the Easter Vigil the "Mother of all Vigils." It begins with a service that proclaims Christ as the Light that pierces the darkness in our world, continues with accounts of salvation history from Scripture, includes the initiation of new members and renewal of baptismal promises for members, and ends with the Liturgy of the Eucharist and First Communion for those newly initiated into the Church.
On Easter Sunday we celebrate the resurrection of Christ. "Dying he destroyed our death and rising he restored our life."
The Easter Season continues the celebration of Christ's resurrection with 50 days of rejoicing.
Forty days after the resurrection, Jesus ascended into heaven and took his place in glory at the right hand of God the Creator. We celebrate the Ascension on the Seventh Sunday of Easter.
Pentecost ends the Easter Season and is the commemoration of the coming of the Holy Spirit to the apostles as found in the Acts of the Apostles 2:1-12.
