A Word from the Fold
Lent and Easter 2020 edition of the Seasonal Shepherd's Staff
Observing a Holy Lent
The season of Lent lasts 40 days (not including the 6 Sundays) from Ash Wednesday to Holy Saturday. From the earliest days of the Church, Lent was the time in which catechumens were prepared through a course of religious instruction that culminated in baptism and one’s welcome into the Body of Christ, the Church as part of the Great Vigil of Easter. In the first three centuries of the Church as word spread about this new community of believers, converts to the faith were mostly adults.
However, according to bible.org, infant baptism also arose as a universal practice early on in the life of the Church. The reasons for this include understanding baptism as initiation into the community of faith and the washing away of original sin. Moreover, it was thought that there was a real spiritual impact on the person being baptized as they received the grace and forgiveness of God in the rite of baptism. The article went on to note that references to the universal practice of infant baptism was spoken of by Augustine as early as 400 AD in light of the understanding that infants are born with original sin.
Today the period of Lent is less about preparing for baptism but is nonetheless a penitential time marked by prayer, fasting and repentance. Christians are invited in the liturgy of Ash Wednesday to “observe a holy Lent” by setting apart time for self-reflection. To this end, practices of self-denial and going without something significant are thought to help in this journey of Lenten preparation for the joyous celebration of Easter.
The last 10 years or so have seen a rise in alternative ways to observe Lent so as to offer practices that encourage faith and growth in the Fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). In 2015, Time magazine featured Pope Francis’ writing on what he calls “the globalization of indifference” that threatens all Christian believers. The Pontiff wrote “whenever our interior life becomes caught up in its own interests and concerns, there is no longer room for others, no place for the poor. God’s voice is no longer heard, the quiet joy of his love is no longer felt, and the desire to do good fades.” He continues that, “We end up being incapable of feeling compassion at the outcry of the poor, weeping for other people’s pain, and feeling a need to help them, as though all this were someone else’s responsibility and not our own.”
There are lots of ways to observe a holy Lent. At the website YourModernFamily.com, author Becky Mansfield offers a list of 10 unique things to give up for Lent. These include ideas like: Not buying anything you don’t need; Throw/Give away 40 things for 40 days; Say 3 encouraging things to your spouse and kids daily; and Replace 30 minutes of TV or screen time with 30 minutes of prayer or bible reading.
However you choose to observe this Lenten season, I hope that you will find a way to connect with God and with others to grow in appreciation of God’s love for you.
Melissa