Lent

In the Roman Rite, Lent begins on Ash Wednesday and continues for forty days, plus Sundays. Lent ends with the celebration of the Evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday. By the year 325, forty days of fasting before Easter was customary. These forty days were associated with Jesus’ forty-day fast in the desert (Matthew 4:1-11). The number forty, which is a symbol of a time of testing, is also associated with:

• the forty-day fasts of Moses and Elijah,
• forty days of rain during the Flood, and
• the forty years that the people of Israel wandered in the wilderness.

The Sundays of this season are numbered: from the First Sunday of Lent to the Fifth Sunday of Lent. The following Sunday, called Passion (Palm) Sunday, marks the beginning of Holy Week.

Lent prepares us for Easter. During Lent, therefore, we do the following things:

• Fast (develops self-discipline and creates a sense of solidarity with those around the world who are struggling),
• Give alms (gives us an opportunity to share material blessings),
• Remember our baptism (gives us an opportunity to reconnect with our baptismal promises), and
• Pray for ourselves and for all people (gives us the opportunity to grow in self-awareness through a good examination of conscience).

This is a special time for catechumens as they prepare to be baptized and received into the Church.

The combination of prayer and fasting is a powerful experience. Whenever we are faced with what may appear to be insurmountable troubles, we may notice a difference if we add fasting to our prayer lives. Jesus reminds us that some situations require the power that comes from prayer and fasting, as fasting helps us to develop self-discipline. This self-discipline can spill over into our thoughts and attitudes as well. We can fast from certain foods, or we may need to fast from negative thoughts and habits. Inner peace requires self-discipline. Fasting can help move us closer to that peace.

Jesus fasted and prayed

Jesus spent time in the desert fasting and preparing before his public ministry. His actions reveal something powerful to us: we need to prepare if we are to serve in his kingdom. If our spirit is not prepared to serve Christ, our ministry will suffer. Since Jesus prayed and fasted before his public mission, we are called to do the same.

Pray without ceasing! (1 Thessalonians 5:17)

Ash Wednesday

Because the date of Easter changes from year to year, Ash Wednesday can occur on any day from February 4 to March 11. Ash Wednesday was originally intended for penitents, who were excluded for a time from the community of faith. (Covering oneself with ashes as a sign of repentance began before Christianity.) Now Lent begins on this day. We are called to make a commitment to “turn away from sin and turn toward the Gospel.” Ash Wednesday begins a lengthy process of self-examination where we look at different areas of our lives and ask questions about our thoughts, intentions, words and actions. As we repeat this process year after year, we should see growth in many areas as we move away from ignorance and towards understanding and healing. Our faith development should move us out of ignorance, into learning, and finally into a state of restoration.

As many of you know, Msgr. Charles Pope writes the Question and Answer Column for Our Sunday Visitor. He recently published an excellent blog post that is worthy of sharing with you here.

For those of you too busy to read the full article, here are some important take-aways (but we encourage you to read the whole blog post and share with others):

• A lie consists in speaking a falsehood with the intention of deceiving … To lie is to speak or act against the truth in order to lead someone into error … The gravity of a lie is measured against the nature of the truth it deforms, the circumstances, the intentions of the one who lies, and the harm suffered by its victims. If a lie in itself only constitutes a venial sin, it becomes mortal when it does grave injury to the virtues of justice and charity (CCC 2482 – 2484).
• Life sometimes presents us with difficulties that are not easily overcome. But to adjust moral principles to accommodate anomalies is to engage in a kind of casuistry that does harm to moral principles. Sometimes the best we can do is to shrug humbly and say, “Well it’s wrong to lie, but let’s trustingly leave the judgment on this one up to God, who knows our struggles and will surely factor in the fearsome circumstances.”

“A child is born for us, a son is given to us.” (Is. 9:6)

“To you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is the Messiah, the Lord.”(Lk. 2:11)

Christmas season is celebrated from evening prayer of Christmas Eve until Sunday after the Epiphany, or after January 6. Christmas season celebrates:

• Christ’s birth
• Early Manifestations

Key feasts in this season include:

• December 25 The Solemnity of the Nativity of our Lord
• Sunday within the octave is the Feast of the Holy Family
• December 26 Feast of St. Stephen
• December 27 Feast of St. John, Apostle and Evangelist
• December 28 Feast of the Holy Innocents
• January 1, Solemnity of the Feast, Mary, Mother of God
• January 6, Epiphany
• Sunday after Epiphany is the Feast of the Baptism of our Lord

Christmas season moves us to consider the implications of the Incarnation. The incarnation meant that God had entered our understanding of time. Why would God choose to visit us in the flesh? The Church teaches that God became flesh for several reasons:

• To save us by reconciling us with God
• So that we might know God’s love
• To be our model of holiness
• So that we can be partakers, or share, in the divine nature

God came in the flesh because God loves us. This loves reveals something about the mercy of God. Whenever we are tempted to despair or to question God’s plan for us, it helps to recall Jesus among us. He came so that we might know God’s love.

Dating of Christmas

While the exact date of Jesus’ birth is not known, the Church came to celebrate his birth on December 25. Some early writers, like Hippolytus of Rome (ca. 204), was one of the first to note that Jesus was born on December 25. The feast of the dedication of the Temple of Jerusalem was celebrated on that day as well. The date given by Hippolytus, however, may have been inspired by a well-known Roman feast. The feast of Christmas developed in the 4^th century when it replaced the Sol Invictus, or the Roman Feast of the invincible sun. Jesus, then, replaced this feast as he is the truth light that overcomes darkness and sin. Jesus is the light of the world.

During the Advent seasons of our lives, we work, pray and fast to prepare for the birth of Jesus in our lives. When we are ready and restored, Jesus takes over and is born in us: Christmas. “It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me” (Gal. 2:20). The joy of the birth of Jesus, however, does not end here. We are called to show this mystery to others: Epiphany.

The Spirit of the Season:

This diagram shows the process that repeats itself in our lives. Reflection on the significance of the Christmas of Season makes Jesus present now. He desires to be made manifest in us. We, in turn, are asked to be awake so that we can hear his calling. Pope Benedict XVI once taught that “to wake up means to leave that private world of one’s own…and to develop a receptivity for God.” Self-awareness leads to an awakening of spirit so that we can be aware of where God is calling us to be and to learn.