Yesterday was Mardi Gras; that’s French for “Fat Tuesday”, an excuse to "party hearty" the day before Ash Wednesday. Ash Wednesday begins the season of Lent on the (western) Christian calendar.
I’m clueless about all this, but since my wife Kim's family (on her mother's side) is mostly Louisana French and Roman Catholic she keeps me up to speed. Lent is a season of reflection and repentance—giving up some things for a while. Lent is a good time for spiritual self-examination.
According to Wikipedia Lent is the period (season) from Ash Wednesday to Holy
Saturday. Easter always falls on a Sunday between March 22 and April 25. Ash Wednesday falls forty-six days before Easter. That's forty days not counting Sundays. The traditional reason for not counting Sunday is that fasting was considered inappropriate on Sunday, the day commemorating the Resurrection of Jesus.
Easter celebrates the Resurrection of Christ, while Lent is a time of preparation for Holy Week. Holy Week recalls the events preceding and during the crucifixion of Jesus. These forty days in Lent are marked by fasting, both from foods and festivities, and by other acts of penance. The three traditional practices to be taken up with renewed vigor during Lent are prayer (justice towards God), fasting (justice towards self), and almsgiving (justice towards neighbor). Today, some people give up something they enjoy, and often give the time or money spent doing that to charitable purposes or organizations.
Now, I go to lengths to explain all of this because it is new to me. It was not part of my faith tradition growing up. Oh, we were religious, to be sure. We celebrated the real meaning of Easter and I knew all about the crucifixion and resurrection. But all I knew of lent was confined to the clothes dryer filter.
So what shall we give up? And why should you and I limit these disciplines of prayer, fasting and generosity to a particular season of the year? I am reminded of an old hymn we sang in church, "When I Survery the Wondrous Cross": the final verse, sung with gusto in light of God's grace and Christ's sacrifice..."Were the whole realm of nature mine, that would be a present far too small. Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all". Every day should have a touch "Ash Wednesday" to it.
~ Father, slow me down and humble me today. Help me to reflect on your mercy and grace. Empower me to pray, fast and honestly reflect on where I stand with You. Help me to give you my all every day. Amen.
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I didn't grow up with the tradition of celebrating Lent, either. It is a shame that carnal celebrations like Carnival get more attention that the spiritual practices like observing Lent. Thanks for futhering my understanding in this area.
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