Few Frequently Asked Questions
About
LENT
Q: What
is Lent?
A:
Historically, Lent is the forty day period before Easter, excluding
Sundays, it began on Ash Wednesday and ended on Holy Saturday (the day
before Easter Sunday). In recent years, this has been modified so that
it now ends with evening Mass on Holy Thursday, to prepare the way for
Triduum.
Q: Why are
Sundays excluded from the reckoning of the forty days?
A: Because Sunday is the day
on which Christ arose, making it an inappropriate day to fast and mourn
our sins. On Sunday we must celebrate Christ's resurrection for our salvation.
It is Friday on which we commemorate his death for our sins. The Sundays
of the year are days of celebration and the Fridays of the year are days
of penance.
Q:
Why are the forty days called Lent?
A: They are called Lent because
that is the Old English word for spring, the season of the year during which
they fall. This is something unique to English. In almost all other languages
its name is a derivative of the Latin term Quadragesima, or "the forty days."
Q: Why is Lent
forty days long?
A: Because forty days is a traditional
number of discipline, devotion, and preparation in the Bible. Thus Moses
stayed on the Mountain of God forty days (Exodus 24:18 and 34:28), the spies
were in the land for forty days (Numbers 13:25), Elijah traveled forty days
before he reached the cave where he had his vision (1 Kings 19:8), Nineveh
was given forty days to repent (Jonah 3:4), and most importantly, prior
to undertaking his ministry, Jesus spent forty days in wilderness praying
and fasting (Matthew 4:2).
Since Lent if a period of prayer and fasting, it is fitting for Christians
to imitate their Lord with a forty day period. Christ used a forty day period
of prayer and fasting to prepare for his ministry, which culminated in his
death and resurrection, and thus it is fitting for Christians to imitate
him with a forty day period of prayer and fasting to prepare for the celebration
of his ministry's climax, Good Friday (the day of the crucifixion) and Easter
Sunday (the day of the resurrection).
Thus the Catechism of the Catholic Church states:
"'For we have not a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses,
but one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sinning'
[Heb 4:15]. By the solemn forty days of Lent the Church unites herself each
year to the mystery of Jesus in the desert." (CCC 540).
Q: When does Lent begin?
A: Lent begins on Ash Wednesday,
which is the day on which they faithful have their foreheads signed with
ashes in the form of a Cross (see piece on Ash Wednesday). It is also a
day of fast and abstinence.
Q: What is a
day of fast and abstinence?
A: Under current canon law in
the Western Rite of the Church, a day of fast is one on which Catholics
who are eighteen to sixty years old are required to keep a limited fast.
In this country, one may eat a single, normal meal and have two snacks,
so long as these snacks do not add up to a second meal. Children are not
required to fast, but their parents must ensure they are properly educated
in the spiritual practice of fasting. Those with medical conditions requiring
a greater or more regular food intake can easily be dispensed from the requirement
of fasting by their pastor.
A day of abstinence
is a day on which Catholics fourteen years or older are required to abstain
from eating meat (under the current discipline in America, fish, eggs, milk
products, and condiments or foods made using animal fat are permitted in
the Western Rite of the Church, though not in the Eastern Rites.) Again,
persons with special dietary needs can easily be dispensed by their pastor.
Q: Is there
a biblical basis for abstaining from meat as a sign of repentance?
A: Yes. The book of Daniel states:
"In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia . . . 'I, Daniel, mourned for
three weeks. I ate no choice food; no meat or wine touched my lips; and
I used no lotions at all until the three weeks were over.'" (Daniel 10:1-3)
Q:
Isn't abstaining from meat one of the "doctrines of
demons" Paul warned about in 1 Timothy 4:1-5?
A: Short answer: Not unless Daniel
was practicing a doctrine of demons.
Long answer: When Paul warned of those who "forbid people to marry and order
them to abstain from certain foods" he has in mind people with the Manichean
belief that sex is wrong and certain foods, like meat, are intrinsically
immoral. (Thus the spiritual ideal for many modern New Agers is a celibate
vegetarian, as in the Eastern religions.)
We know that Paul
has in mind those who teach sex and certain foods are intrinsically immoral
because he tells us that these are "foods which God created to be received
with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth. For everything
God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with
thanksgiving, because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer" (1
Tim. 4:3b-5).
Sex and all kinds of food are good things (which is why the Catholic Church
has marriage for a sacrament and heartily recommends the practice eating
to its members), and this is precisely why it is fitting for them to be
given up as part of a spiritual discipline. Thus Daniel gave up meat (as
well as wine, another symbol of rejoicing) and Paul endorses the practice
of temporary celibacy to engage in a special spiritual discipline of increased
prayer (1 Corinthians 7:5). By giving up good things and denying them to
ourselves we encourage an attitude of humility, free ourselves from dependence
on them, cultivate the spiritual discipline of being willing to make personal
sacrifices, and remind ourselves of the importance of spiritual goods over
earthly goods.
In fact, if there
was an important enough purpose, Paul recommended permanently giving up
marriage and meat. Thus he himself was celibate (1 Corinthians 7:8), he
recommended the same for ministers (2 Timothy 2:3-4), and he recommended
it for the unmarried so they can devote themselves more fully to the Lord
(1 Corinthians 7:32-34) unless doing so would subject them to great temptations
(1 Cointhians 7:9). Similarly, he recommended giving up meat permanently
if it would prevent others from sinning (1 Corinthians 8:13).
Thus Paul certainly had nothing against celibacy or giving up meat -- even
on a permanent basis -- so long as one wasn't saying that these things are
intrinsically evil, which is what he was condemning the "doctrines of demons"
passage.
Since the Catholic
Church only requires abstinence from meat on a temporary basis, it clearly
does not regard meat is immoral. Instead, it regards it as the giving up
of a good thing (which in less economically developed regions -- including
the whole world until very recently -- was expensive and thus eaten at festive
occasions, making it a sign of rejoicing) to attain a spiritual goal.
Q: On what basis
does the Church have the authority to establish days of fast and abstinence?
A: On the authority of Jesus Christ.
Jesus told the leaders of his Church, "Whatever you bind on earth will be
bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven"
(Matthew 16:19, 18:18). The language of binding and loosing (in part) was
a rabinnic way of referring to the ability to establish binding halakah
or rules of conduct for the faith community. It is thus especially appropriate
that the references to binding and loosing occur in Matthew, the "Jewish
Gospel." Thus the Jewish Encyclopedia states:
"BINDING AND LOOSING (Hebrew, asar ve-hittir) . . . Rabinnical term for
'forbidding and permitting.' . . .
"The power of
binding and loosing as always claimed by the Pharisees. Under Queen Alexandra
the Pharisees, says Josephus (Wars of the Jews 1:5:2), 'became the administrators
of all public affairs so as to be empowered to banish and readmit whom they
pleased, as well as to loose and to bind.' . . . The various schools had
the power 'to bind and to loose'; that is, to forbid and to permit (Talmud:
Chagigah 3b); and they could also bind any day by declaring it a fast-day
( . . . Talmud: Ta'anit 12a . . . ). This power and authority, vested in
the rabbinical body of each age of the Sanhedrin, received its ratification
and final sanction from the celestial court of justice (Sifra, Emor, 9;
Talmud: Makkot 23b).
"In this sense Jesus, when appointing his disciples to be his successors,
used the familiar formula (Matt. 16:19, 18:18). By these words he virtually
invested them with the same authority as that which he found belonging to
the scribes and Pharisees who 'bind heavy burdens and lay them on men's
shoulders, but will not move them with one of their fingers'; that is 'loose
them,' as they have the power to do (Matt. 23:2-4). In the same sense the
second epistle of Clement to James II ('Clementine Homilies,' Introduction
[A.D. 221]), Peter is represented as having appointed Clement as his successor,
saying: 'I communicate to him the power of binding and loosing so that,
with respect to everything which he shall ordain in the earth, it shall
be decreed in the heavens; for he shall bind what ought to be bound and
loose what ought to be loosed as knowing the rule of the Church.'" (Jewish
Encyclopedia 3:215).
Thus Jesus
invested the leaders of this Church with the power of making halakah for
the Christian community. This includes the setting of fast days (like Ash
Wednesday).
To approach the issue from another angle, every family has the authority
to establish particular family devotions for its members. Thus if the parents
decide that the family will engage in a particular devotion at a particular
time (say, Bible reading after supper), it is a sin for the children to
disobey and skip the devotion for no good reason. In the same way, the Church
as the family of God has the authority to establish its own family devotion,
and it is a sin for the members of the Church to disobey and skip the devotions
for no good reason (though of course if the person has a good reason, the
Church dispenses him immediately).
Q:
In addition to Ash Wednesday, are any other days during
Lent days of fast or abstinence?
A: Yes. All Fridays during Lent
are days of abstinence. Also, Good Friday, the day on which Christ was crucified,
is another day of both fast and abstinence.
All days in Lent are appropriate for fasting or abstaining, but canon law
does not require fasting on those days. Such fasting or abstinence is voluntary,
like a freewill offering.
Q: Why are Fridays
during Lent days of abstinence.
A: This is because Jesus died
for our sins on Friday, making it an especially appropriate day of mourning
our sins (just as Sunday, the day on which he rose for our salvation is
an especially appropriate day to rejoice) by denying ourselves something
we enjoy. During the rest of the year Catholics in this country are permitted
to use a different act of penance on Friday in place of abstinence, though
all Fridays are days of penance on which we are required to do something
expressing sorrow for our sins, just as Sundays are holy days on which we
are required to worship and celebrate God's great gift of salvation.
Q:
Are acts of repentance appropriate on other days during
Lent?
A: Yes. Thus the Code of Canon
Law states:
"All Fridays through the year and he time of Lent are penitential days and
time throughout the universal Church" (CIC 1250).
Q: Why are acts
of repentance appropriate at this time of year?
A: Because it is the time leading
up to the commemoration of Our Lord's death for our sins and the commemoration
of his resurrection for our salvation. It is thus especially appropriate
to mourn the sins for which he died. Human have an innate psychological
need to mourn tragedies, and our sins are tragedies of the greatest sort.
Due to our fallen nature humans also have a need to have set times in which
to engage in behavior (which is why we have Sundays as a set time to rest
and worship, since we would otherwise be likely to forget to devote sufficient
time to rest and worship), it is appropriate to have set times of repentance.
Lent is one of those set times.
Q:
What are appropriate activities for ordinary days
during Lent?
A: Giving up something we enjoy
for Lent, doing of physical or spiritual acts of mercy for others, prayer,
fasting, abstinence, going to confession, and other acts expressing repentance
in general.
Q: Is the custom
of giving up something for Lent mandatory?
A: No. However, it is a salutary
custom, and parents or caretakers may choose to require it of their children
to encourage their spiritual training, which is their prime responsibility
in the raising of their children.
Q:
Since Sundays are not counted in the forty days of
Lent, does the custom of giving up something apply to them?
A: Customarily, no. However, since
the giving up of something is voluntary to begin with, there is no official
rule concerning this aspect of it. Nevertheless, since Sundays are days
of celebration, it is appropriate to suspend the Lenten self-denial on them
that, in a spiritual and non-excessive way, we may celebrate the day of
Our Lord's resurrection so that that day and that event may be contrasted
with the rest of the days of Lent and the rest of the events of history.
This heightened contrast deepens the spiritual lessons taught by the rest
of Lent.
Q: Why is giving
up something for Lent such a salutary custom?
A: By denying ourselves something
we enjoy, we discipline our wills so that we are not slaves to our pleasures.
Just as indulging the pleasure of eating leads to physical flabbiness and,
if this is great enough, an inability to perform in physically demanding
situations, indulging in pleasure in general leads to spiritual flabbiness
and, if this is great enough, an inability to perform in spiritual demanding
situations, we when the demands of morality require us to sacrifice something
pleasurable (such as sex before marriage or not within the confines of marriage)
or endure hardship (such as being scorned or persecuted for the faith).
By disciplining the will to refuse pleasures when they are not sinful, a
habit is developed which allows the will to refuse pleasures when they are
sinful. There are few better ways to keep one's priorities straight than
by periodically denying ourselves things of lesser priority to show us that
they are not necessary and focus our attention on what is necessary.
Q:
Is the denying of pleasure an end in itself?
A: No. It is a only a means to
an end. By training ourselves to resist temptations when they are not sinful,
we train ourselves to reject temptations when they are sinful. We also express
our sorrow over having failed to resist sinful temptations in the past.
Q: Is there
such a thing as denying ourselves too many pleasures?
A: Most definitely. First, God
made human life contingent on certain goods, such as food, and to refuse
to enjoy enough of them has harmful consequences. For example, if we do
not eat enough food it can cause physical damage or (in the extreme, even
death). Just as there is a balance between eating too much food and not
eating enough food, there is a balance involved in other goods.
Second, if we do
not strike the right balance and deny ourselves goods God meant us to have
then it can generate resentment toward God, which is a spiritual sin just
as much as those of engaging in excesses of good things. Thus one can be
led into sin either by excess or by defect in the enjoyment of good things.
Third, it can decrease our effectiveness in ministering to others.
Fourth, it can deprive us of the goods God gave us in order that we might
praise him.
Fifth, it constitutes the sin of ingratitude by refusing to enjoy the things
God wanted us to have because he loves us. If a child refused every gift
his parent gave him, it would displease the parent, and if we refuse gifts
God has given us, it displeases God because he loves us and wants us to
have them.
Q:
Is that balance the same for all people?
A: No. For example, with the good
of food, people who are by nature physically larger need more food than
people who are physically smaller. Similarly, people who have higher metabolisms
or who do manual labor for a living need more food than people with slower
metabolisms or who have less active lifestyles. The same is true with regard
to other goods than food. The St. Paul speaks of this in regard to the good
of married life:
"I wish that all were as I myself am. But each has his own special gift
from God, one of one kind and one of another. To the unmarried and the widows
I say that it is well for them to remain single as I do. But if they cannot
exercise self-control, they should marry. For it is better to marry than
to be aflame with passion" (1 Corinthians 7:7-9).
Thus some are
given the gift of being able to live without the good of married life in
order that they may pursue greater devotion to God (1 Cor. 7:32-34) or to
pursue greater ministry for others (2 Timothy 2:3-4), as with priests, monks,
and nuns. God gives these people special graces to live the life which they
have embraced, just as he gives special graces to the married to live the
life they have embraced.
Q: Aside from
Ash Wednesday, which begins Lent, what are its principal events?
A: There are a variety of saints'
days which fall during Lent, and some of these change from year to year
since the dates of Lent itself change based on when Easter falls. However,
the Sundays during the Lenten season commemorate special events in the life
of Our Lord, such as his Transfiguration and his Triumphal Entrance into
Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, which begins Holy Week. Holy week climaxes with
Holy Thursday, on which Christ celebrated the first Mass, Good Friday, on
which he was Crucified, and Holy Saturday -- the last day of Lent -- during
which Our Lord lay in the Tomb before his Resurrection on Easter Sunday,
the first day after Lent.
