Others have modified the fasting observance to allow each individual to choose the item from which they will fast. Fasting : Traditionally, Lent involves fasting from all meat for forty days (fish is permitted).Our condition is terminal, our need great. We are sinful, broken, separated from God, and completely unable to save ourselves. Prayer: Beginning with Ash Wednesday, Christians spend intentional time in prayer considering our desperate need for God’s mercy and forgiveness.What are the practices of Lent?Īlthough Lenten practices vary depending on denomination and congregation, it generally includes three primary areas of focus: This equates to a total of forty days, not including Sundays. Dating back to at least the fourth century and known as Tessarakosti in Greek and Quadragesima in Latin, “the Forty”, Lent is marked on the liturgical calendar beginning on Ash Wednesday and culminating the Saturday before Easter. Although predominantly a Catholic and Orthodox practice, Christians of all denominations can and do observe Lent in an effort to prepare the heart, mind, and body for the celebration of Christ’s resurrection on Easter Sunday. Many Christians worldwide spend the six weeks before Easter by observing Lent. Whether it is due to my age, my experience, or my growing awareness of my deep need for saving, I don’t want to miss the significance of my need or the cost my Father paid to meet it. The more I learned, the more I longed to add a Lenten practice to my Easter celebrations. That’s when I began to dig into the meaning of Lent, its rich history, purpose, and practice. It is difficult to give more than a head nod to Jesus’ sacrifice and our salvation in a one-hour church service on a Sunday morning. And yet, when it occupies only a single day in our calendar year, the significance is easily swallowed up in the day’s activity. Easter holds tremendous implications for the believer and seeker. Although Easter held plenty of celebration, it lacked slow reflection. An hour or so later, we floated out of the church, our souls filled with the Good News and our bellies ready to be filled with the feast my mom prepared at home.Īs I matured, both physically and spiritually, I noticed a growing hunger for something different, something more sober and sacred. ![]() After waking up and finding hidden plastic eggs filled with jelly beans and foil-covered chocolate eggs, we dressed in our Easter finery, and drove to our church where we announced “He is risen!” and sang hymns like “Because He Lives” and “Crown Him With Many Crowns” with gusto and in four-part harmony. Easters were happy occasions in our family. Like I said, a kindergartner.Īll laughter aside, I celebrated decades of Easters without Lent, and I was no worse for wear for its absence. I thought they smudged their makeup, not attended a church service. I confess I attempted to wipe a friend’s forehead clean on Ash Wednesday more than once. And a lint-en practice was faithfully cleaning the filter after each load. In fact, to my knowledge, lint was that fuzz you pull out of the dryer when your laundry is done. Although Easter was a highlight of our holiday year, Lent was not. ![]() I grew up in a non-denominational, contemporary Christian church right in the middle of the Bible belt. When it comes to the Christian practice of Lent, I consider myself about as much of an expert as a kindergartner in calculus.
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