LENTEN
SEASON: A Moment of God’s Invitation to
Return to Him
PIUSRALPH EFFIONG,
SMMM
INTRODUCTION
The service of Ash Wednesday has come and gone. The ashes have
been washed off, but the spirit of the event continues with a forty day of
Lenten walk with the Lord through prayer, fasting and alms giving. The annual
observance of Lent is a special season for each and every one of us. It is a
moment of sober reflection and response to God’s invitation for repentance. This
period goes beyond public show of piety, but interior self-examination. Which
ignite in us the thirst to approach God with humility and self-emptiness and
not with the pharisaic attitude. Our repentance must come from the heart as
Prophet Joel exclaimed (cf. Joel 2:12-13). Through its twofold themes of repentance and
baptism, the season of Lent disposes both the catechumens and the faithful to
celebrate the paschal mystery. Catechumens are led to the sacraments of
initiation by means of the rite of election, the scrutinies, and catechesis.
While the faithful on the other hand, listening more intently to the word of
God and devoting themselves to prayer, and are prepared through a spirit of
repentance to renew their baptismal promises. (cf. Ceremonial of Bishops no. 249). No wonder Pope
Emeritus Benedict XVI in one of his Lenten homilies avers: "Lent is like a
long 'retreat' during which we can turn back into ourselves and listen to the
voice of God, in order to defeat the temptations of the Evil One. It is a
period of spiritual 'combat' which we must experience alongside Jesus, not with
pride and presumption, but using the arms of faith: prayer, listening to the
word of God and penance. In this way we will be able to celebrate Easter in
truth, ready to renew the promises of our Baptism."
Bearing this in mind that
we are going to reflect with you as we journey with the Lord within these forty
days of spiritual exercise. Before we proceed let us dig deep a bit into the
threshold of the tradition and custom behind this season of Lent and its
significance, then God’s invitation for repentance and Church’s teaching on the
Lenten observances.
HISTORICAL
BACKGROUND OF LENTEN SEASON
The term “Lent” which
we employ to denote the forty days of fasting, prayer and almsgiving preceding
Easter festival of our redemption, 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,
Quaresima
in Italian, and Tessarakosti in Greek, meaning the “forty
days”, or more literally the “fortieth day”. This therefore is an imitation of
the Greek name for Lent tessarakoste (fortieth), a word formed on the
analogy of Pentecost (pentecoste), which last was use for the Jewish
festival before New Testament times. (www.newadvent.org). The custom of this period is
dated to the Apostolic era. That is why some theologians are of the opinion
that the season of Lent was established by the apostles themselves or in the
immediate post-apostolic era at the latest. They assumed
this season of fasting was closely connected with preparation for Easter
baptisms - a practice likewise considered to be of apostolic foundation (cf.
Romans 6), and observed everywhere throughout the Church since its earliest
days. Also some of the fathers of the Church supported this view, for instance
St. Leo exhorts his hearers to abstain that they may “fulfill with their fasts
the apostolic institution of the forty days”. Taking a closer look into most of
the ancient sources on the custom of Lenten season, it reveals a more gradual
historical development. While fasting before Easter seems to have been ancient
and widespread, the length of the fast varied significantly from place to place
and across generations. Towards the latter half of the 2nd century
for instance, In Gaul, Irenaeus of Lyons and there in the North Africa Tertullian tell us
that the preparatory fast lasted one or two days, or forty hours—commemorating
what was believed to be the exact duration of Christ’s time in the tomb. By the
mid-third century, Dionysius of Alexandria speaks of a fast of up to six days
practiced by the devout in his See; and the Byzantine historian Socrates
relates that the Christians of Rome at some point kept a fast of three weeks.
Only following the Council of Nicaea in 325 AD. (cf. Peter Gunning, The Paschal or Lent Fast: Apostolic and Perpetual (Oxford, UK: John Henry Parker, 1845, pp. 82-85).
In the light of this, we find in the early years of the fourth
century the first mention of the term tessarakoste which means “fortieth”. This
term occurs in the fifth canon of the Council of Nicaea in 325 AD. Soon after the Council of Nicaea, the theory speculates, this fast
would have been moved from its original position after Theophany and joined to
Easter creating the Lent we know today.
Notably, St. Athanasius in his
festal letter enjoined his flock to observe a forty day fast. And in 339 AD,
while returning from Rome still re-emphasized the obligation to fast. Despite this justified suspicion, there are other indicators
revealing that the post-Theophany fast may be something more than a late
fabricated legend. As early as the mid-third century, we begin to find
references to a forty-day fasting period that is not specifically connected to
Easter. The earliest of these is found in a series of Homilies on Leviticus composed
by Origen, a third-century
theologian
from Alexandria, Egypt. To dissuade Christians from observing the Jewish Day of
Atonement, Origen argues that “we [Christians] have forty days dedicated to
fasting; we have the fourth [Wednesday] and sixth day [Friday] of the week on
which we regularly fast.” (Homilies on
Leviticus 10.2:5-6; English translation in Gary Wayne
Barkley, Origen:
Homilies on Leviticus: 1-16, Fathers of the Church
83 Washington, DC: Catholic University of America Press, 1990), pp. 206-207).
However, how this period came to
be forty days duration is believed to be a predominant influence from the
episode of Israelites experience in the Wilderness (cf. Deut 8:2-5; Ps 95:10),
forty days Moses was in the Mount and received the law of God, (cf. Ex 24:18),
forty days that Moses was in the mount after the sin of the Golden Calf, (cf.
Deut 9:18, 25), forty days of Elijah in Horeb, (cf. 1Kgs 19:8), forty days of
Jonah and Nineveh, (cf. Jonah 3:4); and in the Christian Testament (New
Testament), Christ fasted for forty days and forty nights (cf. Matt 4:2), for
forty days after resurrection Christ was on the earth with His disciples. The
number “forty” is mentioned 143 times in the scripture to symbolize trial,
testing or probation.
It is so believed that on
account of this historic events and its importance in the salvation history of
man that the Lenten season is being designated with forty days of prayer,
fasting and alms giving.
GOD’S INVITATION
TO REPENTANCE
God’s unfathomable
mercy upon humanity cannot be measured. Beginning from creation He has been in
constant communication with man and later in history through the prophets. God
created all and saw that it was beautiful and left the first man – Adam with an
instruction which he could not keep (cf. Gen 3:1-13). Thus bringing about the
beginning of man’s suffering and death. Just as St. Paul’s epistle to the Romans
will say: that through one man sin and death entered the world, and through
Christ life was given back to humanity by the redemptive power of His paschal
mystery. (cf. Rom 5:12-15). That is why at the
appointed time God sent His only begotten that whosoever believed in Him may
have eternal life. (cf. Jn 3:16).
In allusion to God’s
invitation to repentance, prophet Ezekiel earlier prophesized, “If a wicked man
turns away from all the sins he has committed and keeps all God’s decrees and
does what is just and right, he will surely live; he will not die. None of his
offences will be remembered against him. Because of the righteous things he has
done he will live.” (Ezekiel 18:21-22). Prophet Joel further cried out: …
return to the Lord with all your heart, with fasting, weeping and mourning.
(cf. Joel 2:12-13). This same
proclamation was made by Christ in the New Testament inviting you and I to
repent of our sins for the kingdom of God is at hand. (cf. Matt 4:17). God in
any way does not desire the death of a sinner rather He often give him or her
an opportunity to make amends. The time is here before us to say a total “yes”
to Him who is ever ready to receive us no matter the gravity of our offences as
in the parable of the prodigal son. (cf. Lk 15:11-32). That is why the public
ministry of Christ had the message of repentance at the centre. The act of
repentance is not a matter of season or time, it is a continuous spiritual
exercise which demands an interior self-examination.
It is an acknowledgement that we are sinners and that we need a Saviour. One of
the clearest pictures of this message came in the person of John the Baptist,
forerunner of the Messiah. His message was simply, “Repent and be baptized.” He
simply told the people that they were lost and in need of repentance. This
message has not changed since that time. This same invitation is what the Holy
Mother Church presents before us during this solemn season of Lent, with an
invitation to grab it with sincere observance of the spiritual exercise behind to
it.
CHURCH’S
TEACHING ON LENTEN OBSERVANCES
The Season of Lent
remains a period for the preparation for the great festival of Easter, an event
which reminds us of the salvation brought about through Christ’s paschal
mystery of passion, death and resurrection. According to the Liturgical Year
General Norms (LYGN) no. 27, the liturgy of this Season prepares both the
catechumens and faithful for the celebration of the paschal mystery by the
various stages of Christian initiation, and recalling of the baptism promises
as well as doing penance in preparation for Easter respectively.
Within this season in the Church’s liturgical
year, Gloria is omitted in all Masses with Alleluia and in the Divine Office as
well, the Te Deum is as well omitted
during the Office. The weekdays of Lent from Ash Wednesday to Saturday before
Palm Sunday take precedence over the memorials of a saint occurring on a
particular day. (cf. Instructions on the
Liturgy of the Hours no. 237 – 239, pp. xiv-xv). During this period except
for some genuine need or pastoral advantage Votive Masses and daily Masses for
the Dead are not permitted. Altar is not decorated with flowers during Lent,
while musical instruments are not used except on Laetare Sunday and for Solemnities and feasts or to sustain
singing.
In addition to these
stipulated guidelines, the Church urges us to try as much as we could to avoid
every occasion of sin, to repent and return to God by a good sacramental confession and do
appropriate penance both those imposed at confession and other voluntary acts
of penance. Regular attendance at Stations of the Cross every Wednesday and
Friday is highly encouraged. The universal Church law also stipulates fasting
and abstinence from meat, or from some other food as determined by the Bishop’s
conference on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. (cf. Canon 1251). The Canon
further states that the law of abstinence binds those who have completed their
fourteenth year of age, while the law for fasting binds those who have
completed their sixteenth year of age and have not reached sixty years of age.
Above all the pastors of souls and parents are to ensure that even those who by
reason of their age are not bound by the law of fasting and abstinence, are
taught the true meaning of penance. (cf. Canon 1252). Following the Church’s
teaching on the Lenten observances, penance and abstinence exercising within
this moment in the liturgical life of the Church point to: recalling the memory of the passion and
death of the Lord, sharing in Christ’s suffering, as an expression of inner
conversion and as a form of reparation for sin.
CONCLUSION
The code of Canon law
states clearly that all Christ’s faithful are obliged by divine law, each in
his or her own way, to do penance. However, so that all may be joined together
in a certain common practice of penance…. On these days Christ’s faithful are
in special manner to devote themselves to prayer, to engage in works of piety
and charity, and to deny themselves, by fulfilling their obligations more
faithfully and especially by observing the fast and abstinence which the canons
prescribe. (Canon 1249). With this ecclesiastical injunction in mind, we are
bound by conscience for our spiritual growth and sanctification of our souls to
keep to this rules, not for the sake of keeping but reflecting soberly over the
mysteries surrounding them.
As we
journey with the universal Church within these forty days of prayer, fasting
and abstinence let us prayerfully remind God of our weakness with the words of
St. Gregory the Great: “Remember, Lord, though frail we be, by your own kind
hand were we made; and help us, lest our frailty cause your great name to be
betrayed”. (An Extract from a Hymn
composed by him, used for the Season of Lent, Divine Office Vol. II p. 572*).
Finally, my dear
brothers and sisters in Christ, let us once more pause, ponder and remind ourselves
of these words by Fulton J. Sheen, "Lenten practices of giving up
pleasures are good reminders that the purpose of life is not pleasure. The
purpose of life is to attain to perfect life, all truth and undying ecstatic
love – which is the definition of God. In pursuing that goal we find happiness.
Pleasure is not the purpose of anything; pleasure is a by-product resulting
from doing something that is good. One of the best ways to get happiness and
pleasure out of life is to ask ourselves, 'How can I please God?' and, 'Why am
I not better?' It is the pleasure-seeker who is bored, for all pleasures
diminish with repetition." Wishing you all a spirit-filled Lenten Season.
