Ash Wednesday & Lent 4Qs

1. "What's the point of wearing ashes?"

2. "What is Lent? Why is it called Lent?"

3. "Why abstain from meat when Jesus made all foods clean?"

4. "Why fast publicly when Jesus said not to draw attention to it?"

 

 

1. "What's the point of wearing ashes?"

 

Answer: Ashes have a two-fold symbolism signifying repentance and mortality. In the Old Testament, when expressing sorrow for sin or crying out to God for mercy, people would repent in "sackcloth and ashes" (e.g. Jonah 3: 5-6). The ashes signify our desire to turn back to God in Lent. Secondly, the ashes signify our mortality as all of our bodies will one day return to dust.

 

[This two-fold symbolism is confirmed with the two sayings one hears when receiving ashes. Some hear, "You are dust and to dust you shall return," which emphasizes our mortality.

(Ecclesiastes 3:20)

While this somber symbol may sound dismal, there's an upshot for every Christian. Although our bodies will one day be reduced to dust, Jesus Christ will raise us up again on the Last Day (John 6:44). Although we may have committed serious sins, the Good News is that Jesus has come to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9).]

 

2. "What is Lent, and why is it called Lent?"

 

Answer: Lent is a 40-day season before Easter when we focus on prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. These spiritual practices allow us to make more room for God in our lives. The word "Lent" comes from an older word for Spring, since the season is supposed to be a time of spiritual renewal. 

Catholic Encyclopedia definition: https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09152a.htm

 

3. "Why abstain from meat when Jesus made all foods clean?"

 

Answer: We agree that Jesus made all foods clean (cf. Acts 10) and that meat is not ritually unclean like pork was under the Old Covenant. Nonetheless, Jesus acknowledges the value in fasting, and implies its continuation when he says, "The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in that day" (Mark 2:20).

 

During Lent, fasting is understood to mean a particular refraining from all food and drink. Abstinence is understood to mean a refraining from meat. Both are meant to be sacrifices that highlight our need for Christ. "Man does not live by bread alone" (Matthew 4:4) nor on meat alone. 

 

4.  "Why fast publicly when Jesus said not to draw attention to it?"

 

Answer: It's true that Jesus says, “And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward" (Matthew 6:16). 

 

Jesus highlights that we must not fast publicly to flaunt our religiosity or to showcase how great we are. Our interior disposition should be one of humility, reverence, and repentance. This is generally true. But this is not the only kind of fast spoken of in the Bible. 

 

In a section describing repentance, the Old Testament prophet Joel says, "Blow the horn in Zion! Proclaim a fast, call an assembly!" (Joel 2:15). 

 

In Jonah, we read that the people of Ninevah repented and called for a public fast, "And the people of Ninevah believed God. They called for a fast and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least of them . . . By the decree of the kind and his nobles: Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything. Let them not feed or drink water, but let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and let them call out mightily to God" (Jonah 3:5-8).

So, we find Old Testament warrant for a public fast signifying the need for a whole group of people to repent. Likewise, Lent is a season where the Church, i.e. the City of God on Earth, is called to fast and repent. 

 

This is no contradiction to Jesus's teaching in Matthew 6. All who partake in the fast can heed Jesus's teachings and avoid seeking outward praise and attention from the fast. 

source: John DeRosa

https://www.catholic.com/profile/john-derosa

Stations of the Cross Graphics and Prayer Sources

Over @  La Dolce Vita you will find a wonderful post. Bia shares a beautiful idea.
I have the votives and the mantle . . . . Now I just need to get the photos up on my mantle!
As I searched for appropriate graphics I found such wonderful art and information! I had to share!


Norwalk Stations of the Cross
http://www.gwynethleech.com/pages.php?content=gallery.php&navGallID=2&activeType=nonNestGall

These Stations were painted by David O'Connell (1898-1976) and hung in the church in Chichester in the early 1960s.

Father Jonathan Martin, while at St Richard's, wrote this description:

"It has to be said that this particular set of the Stations of the Cross is not everyone's "cup of tea". The style of these paintings is quite different from the style of the Stations that usually adorn the walls of our churches. There is an apparent inaccessibility about that demands a certain amount of time and energy on the part of the onlooker. But time spent lingering over each painting will be repaid.

"The distinctive style of O'Connell's work, the "scored canvas", if you like, powerfully conveys the brutality and violence associated with the last journey of Christ. It peaks at the Crucifixion, and then, as Christ alone hangs on the cross, the freneticism subsides and a kind of exhausted tranquility takes over."

(Taken with permission from The Stations of the Cross a booklet by Fr Jonathan Martin, 1999.
http://www.strichardschichester.co.uk/strichards/oconnollart.shtml

The Fisheaters has a description of a very familiar and popular way of making the Stations of the Cross using the meditations written by St. Alphonsus Liguori (A.D. 1696-1787); that method (including meditations, prayers and the Stabat Mater stanzas) with Scriptural references added. You can download these (without the graphics below) in Microsoft Word's .doc format (16 pages).

The author of this website is adamantly opposed to the form of the Stations as outlined in the USCCB website. I appreciate finding the meditations by St. Alphonsus Liguori, the addition of Scripture and the Stabat Mater  -- but I do not agree with the apparent distrust of the Biblical Stations as shared by JPJII (see USCCB link below).  If any of my readers can shed light on the reasons for the Fisheaters view, please enlighten me.

Carolyn Gates
The Stations of the Cross series was a commissioned work for St. Bede's Episcopal Church in Forest Grove, Oregon, just outside Portland.

The commission was a wonderful project for me both artistically and spiritually. The Stations of the Cross have traditionally been used as a visual means of following in the footsteps of Christ's Passion, and as such is used as a spiritual tool by church goers.

I spent two months working on the initial drawings and compositions, and another three months painting the 14 watercolors below. The installation was held in February of 2005.

At the beginning of 2008, a Catholic church volunteer in Malaysia emailed me, requesting permission to use these images on the church Web site, noting that she "finds [the artwork] very unusual." I granted them this permission, and thus began a very unexpected blessing that has come out of the painting of the Stations. Since that first request, many more requests have come in from all over the world. Go to my Out and About page to see a listing of Geographic Locations where requests have come from.

In order to gain permission for use of my images, I require a description of the project in written form. If I feel that the request meets the use for which these paintings were intended, then I will send an electronic use agreement that the requesting party needs to agree to. I ask that a written request be made for each project.
http://www.cmgates.com/Stations.htm

Lyn Maxwell
Stations of the Cross, St Gregory's Church
http://www.lynmaxwell.com/galleries/stations_single_pages/stat_one.htm

Stations (Black and White) These may be just right for our family Stations --  history and geography included http://servus.christusrex.org/www1/jsc/TVCmenu.html 
More history and geography in photographs HERE - http://www.thecross-photo.com/The_Way_of_the_Cross.htm

ART & THE BIBLE -- wonderful

http://www.artbible.info/art/way-of-the-cross.html


The Vatican -- only one graphic in my quick perusal --- excellent source (obviously!)
and the USCCB -- JPJII 1991
Prayers and Direction
Order of St Benedict -- beautiful, prayerful and poetic (no graphics)


 

    Baltimore Basilica - Baltimore, MD
    Church of the Nativity - Atherton, CA
    Dominican Monastery - Detroit, MI
    Holy Trinity - Georgetown, Washington, DC
    Loretto Chapel - Santa Fe, NM
    Oblates of St. Francis de Sales - Childs, MD   
    Old Sacred Heart Cathedral - Detroit, MI
    Our Lady of Consolation, Basilica and National Shrine - Carey, OH
    Upper Church  -  Lower Church
    Our Lady of the Rosary - San Diego, CA
    Pictures & Prayers from an old Bible
    St. Andrew - Roanoke, VA
    St. Anne - Mackinac, MI
    St. Francis of Assisi - Triangle, VA
    St. Maria in Transpontina - Rome, Italy
    St. Martin de Porres - Peoria, IL
    St. Matthew's Cathedral - Washington, D.C.
    St. Mary's - Emmitsburg, MD
    St. Peter's - Bricktown, NJ
    St. Raphael's - Bethesda, MD   
    St. Térèsa of Lisieux - National Shrine - Royal Oak, MI

Burying the Alleluia

Remember to bury the Alleluia on Ash Wednesday.



See also:
http://catholicnotebook.blogspot.com/2008/03/burying-alleluia-connection-to-easter.html
http://catholicnotebook.blogspot.com/2009/02/bury-alleluiah.html

A Great Silence Reigns on Earth

Holy Saturday . . . what does this day mean?   When I was younger the stillness of waiting for Easter Sunday was frightening to me.  Where was Jesus? What was He doing?  What did it mean in the Apostles Creed when Catholics said, "he descended into hell."  Why didn't we say that at the Methodist Church? WHY would he go there? And what the heck did the Easter Bunny have to do with anything??

The answers (except about the bunny) were there in the CCC.   I have added the color red to some of the footnotes. Red footnotes are Biblical references which are especially helpful when I talk to Protestant friends.

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631 Jesus "descended into the lower parts of the earth. He who descended is he who also ascended far above all the heavens."⁴⁷⁶ The Apostles' Creed confesses in the same article Christ's descent into hell and his Resurrection from the dead on the third day, because in his Passover it was precisely out of the depths of death that he made life spring forth:

Christ, that Morning Star, who came back from the dead, and shed his peaceful light on all mankind, your Son who lives and reigns for ever and ever. Amen.⁴⁷⁷

Paragraph 1. Christ Descended into Hell
632 The frequent New Testament affirmations that Jesus was "raised from the dead" presuppose that the crucified one sojourned in the realm of the dead prior to his resurrection.⁴⁷⁸ This was the first meaning given in the apostolic preaching to Christ's descent into hell: that Jesus, like all men, experienced death and in his soul joined the others in the realm of the dead. But he descended there as Savior, proclaiming the Good News to the spirits imprisoned there.⁴⁷⁹
633 Scripture calls the abode of the dead, to which the dead Christ went down, "hell" - Sheol in Hebrew or Hades in Greek - because those who are there are deprived of the vision of God.⁴⁸⁰ Such is the case for all the dead, whether evil or righteous, while they await the Redeemer: which does not mean that their lot is identical, as Jesus shows through the parable of the poor man Lazarus who was received into "Abraham's bosom":⁴⁸¹ "It is precisely these holy souls, who awaited their Savior in Abraham's bosom, whom Christ the Lord delivered when he descended into hell."⁴⁸² Jesus did not descend into hell to deliver the damned, nor to destroy the hell of damnation, but to free the just who had gone before him.⁴⁸³
634 "The gospel was preached even to the dead."⁴⁸⁴ The descent into hell brings the Gospel message of salvation to complete fulfillment. This is the last phase of Jesus' messianic mission, a phase which is condensed in time but vast in its real significance: the spread of Christ's redemptive work to all men of all times and all places, for all who are saved have been made sharers in the redemption.
635 Christ went down into the depths of death so that "the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live."⁴⁸⁵ Jesus, "the Author of life", by dying destroyed "him who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and [delivered] all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong bondage."⁴⁸⁶ Henceforth the risen Christ holds "the keys of Death and Hades", so that "at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth."⁴⁸⁷

Today a great silence reigns on earth, a great silence and a great stillness. A great silence because the King is asleep. The earth trembled and is still because God has fallen asleep in the flesh and he has raised up all who have slept ever since the world began. . . He has gone to search for Adam, our first father, as for a lost sheep. Greatly desiring to visit those who live in darkness and in the shadow of death, he has gone to free from sorrow Adam in his bonds and Eve, captive with him - He who is both their God and the son of Eve. . . "I am your God, who for your sake have become your son. . . I order you, O sleeper, to awake. I did not create you to be a prisoner in hell. Rise from the dead, for I am the life of the dead."⁴⁸⁸

IN BRIEF
636 By the expression "He descended into hell", the Apostles' Creed confesses that Jesus did really die and through his death for us conquered death and the devil "who has the power of death" (Heb 2:14).
637 In his human soul united to his divine person, the dead Christ went down to the realm of the dead. He opened heaven's gates for the just who had gone before him.

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476 Eph 4:9-10.
477 Roman Missal, Easter Vigil 18, Exsultet.
478 Acts 3:15; Rom 8:11; 1 Cor 15:20; cf. Heb 13:20.
479 Cf. 1 Pet 3:18-19.
480 Cf. Phil 2:10; Acts 2:24; Rev 1:18; Eph 4:9; Pss 6:6; 88:11-13.
481 Cf. Ps 89:49; 1 Sam 28:19; Ezek 32:17-32; Lk 16:22-26.
482 Roman Catechism I, 6, 3.
483 Cf. Council of Rome (745): DS 587; Benedict XII, Cum dudum (1341): DS 1011; Clement VI, Super quibusdam (1351): DS 1077; Council of Toledo IV (625): DS 485; Mt 27:52-53.
484 1 Pet 4:6.
485 Jn 5:25; cf. Mt 12:40; Rom 10:7; Eph 4:9.
486 Heb 2:14-15; cf. Acts 3:15.
487 Rev 1:18; Phil 2:10.
488 Ancient Homily for Holy Saturday: PG 43, 440A, 452C; LH, Holy Saturday, OR.

From the Office of Readings for Holy Saturday

Something strange is happening—there is a great silence on earth today, a great silence and stillness. The whole earth keeps silence because the King is asleep. The earth trembled and is still because God has fallen asleep in the flesh and he has raised up all who have slept ever since the world began. God has died in the flesh and hell trembles with fear.

He has gone to search for our first parent, as for a lost sheep. Greatly desiring to visit those who live in darkness and in the shadow of death, he has gone to free from sorrow the captives Adam and Eve, he who is both God and the son of Eve. The Lord approached them bearing the cross, the weapon that had won him the victory. At the sight of him Adam, the first man he had created, struck his breast in terror and cried out to everyone: ‘My Lord be with you all.’ Christ answered him: ‘And with your spirit.’ He took him by the hand and raised him up, saying: ‘Awake, O sleeper, and rise from the dead, and Christ will give you light.’

I am your God, who for your sake have become your son. Out of love for you and for your descendants I now by my own authority command all who are held in bondage to come forth, all who are in darkness to be enlightened, all who are sleeping to arise. I order you, O sleeper, to awake. I did not create you to be held a prisoner in hell. Rise from the dead, for I am the life of the dead. Rise up, work of my hands, you who were created in my image. Rise, let us leave this place, for you are in me and I am in you; together we form only one person and we cannot be separated.

For your sake I, your God, became your son; I, the Lord, took the form of a slave; I, whose home is above the heavens, descended to the earth and beneath the earth. For your sake, for the sake of man, I became like a man without help, free among the dead. For the sake of you, who left a garden, I was betrayed to the Jews in a garden, and I was crucified in a garden.

See on my face the spittle I received in order to restore to you the life I once breathed into you. See there the marks of the blows I received in order to refashion your warped nature in my image. On my back see the marks of the scourging I endured to remove the burden of sin that weighs upon your back. See my hands, nailed firmly to a tree, for you who once wickedly stretched out your hand to a tree.

I slept on the cross and a sword pierced my side for you who slept in paradise and brought forth Eve from your side. My side has healed the pain in yours. My sleep will rouse you from your sleep in hell. The sword that pierced me has sheathed the sword that was turned against you.

Rise, let us leave this place. The enemy led you out of the earthly paradise. I will not restore you to that paradise, but I will enthrone you in heaven. I forbade you the tree that was only a symbol of life, but see, I who am life itself am now one with you. I appointed cherubim to guard you as slaves are guarded, but now I make them worship you as God. The throne formed by cherubim awaits you, its bearers swift and eager. The bridal chamber is adorned, the banquet is ready, the eternal dwelling places are prepared, the treasure houses of all good things lie open. The kingdom of heaven has been prepared for you from all eternity.

Magnificat On-Line

The Magnificat on-line is free 
during Holy Week and April!

Hiding the Alleluia During Lent

Question: Why Don't Roman Catholics Sing the Alleluia During Lent?

 

Answer:
Throughout the liturgical year, the Catholic Church makes certain changes to the Mass to reflect the liturgical season. Next to the change in the color of the priest's vestments, the absence of the Alleluia during Lent is probably the most obvious.

The Meaning of the Alleluia

The Alleluia comes to us from Hebrew, and it means "praise Yahweh." Traditionally, it has been seen as the chief term of praise of the choirs of angels, as they worship around the throne of God in Heaven. It is, therefore, a term of great joy, and our use of the Alleluia during Mass is a way of participating in the angels' worship. It is also a reminder that the Kingdom of Heaven is already established on earth, in the form of the Church, and that our participation in Mass is a participation in Heaven.

Our Lenten Exile

During Lent, however, our focus is on the Kingdom coming, not on the Kingdom having come. The readings in the Masses for Lent and in the Liturgy of the Hours focus heavily on the spiritual journey of Old Testament Israel toward the coming of Christ, and the salvation of mankind in His death and resurrection.
We, too, are on a spiritual journey, toward the Second Coming and our future life in Heaven. In order to emphasize that journey, the Church, during Lent, removes the Alleluia from the Mass. We no longer sing with the choirs of angels; instead, we acknowledge our sins and practice repentance so that one day we may again have the privilege of worshiping God as the angels do.

The Return of the Alleluia at Easter

That day come triumphally on Easter Sunday—or, rather, at the Easter Vigil, on Holy Saturday night, when the priest chants a triple Alleluia before he reads the Gospel, and everyone present responds with a triple Alleluia. The Lord is risen; the Kingdom has come; our joy is complete; and, in concert with the angels and saints, we greet the risen Lord with shouts of "Alleluia!"

SOURCE: About Catholicism

Preparing for the Mass - Sunday, February 28, 2010 (Cycle C)

2nd Sunday in Lent
Readings:
Genesis 15:5-12, 17-18
Psalm 27:1,7-9, 13-14   (The Lord is my light and my salvation)
Philippians 3:17-4:1
Luke 9:28-36

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Reflection on First Reading:

*1 Abram has been called and has lived awhile trusting the God who has invited him. He has left his homeland, but he has a bit of a complaint. Having land and having children are signs of God’s loving blessing. Abram has neither and this is how the drama of our First Reading opens.

The voice of God invites Abram to count the stars and then come to know that his descendants will be even more than all the visible array.

Note that it was during the day that God told this to Abram. . . . can one see the stars during the day?

Ahhhh, what a wonderful message to those paying attention to Holy Scripture. Abram know the stars are there and that he will see them later, He knows by faith.

Abram both makes a statement of faith and doubt at the same time. God has told him that he will possess a great land having many riches. Abram asks reverently about how he will know. This tension is resolved by the ritual of covenant-making.

The animals are halved and the two parties agreeing to the history of the relationship, the promises and conditions of the pact walk between the slain animals. By doing this gesture of partnership, they are saying to each other, that if the covenant is broken, the offending partner wishes that he be likewise split in half.

While Abram is in a deep mystical slumber, God passes between the animals in the form of fire and pledges a great land-deal to Abram and his many offspring.

The wonderful connection to the Gospel:

*1 God has made a covenant with us through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. This covenant comes to us with a history, promises and directions. The history is contained in our Jewish and Christian Scriptures. The promises are made in terms of the life to come. The direction is that we are to listen to God’s beloved Son who tells us all that we too, share his being beloved.

The 2nd Reading:  ( from http://prepareformass.wordpress.com/ )

He will change our lowly body to conform with his glorified body by the power that

enables him also to bring all things into subjection to himself.

Jeff Cavins' reflection on the Gospel:

In today’s gospel reading, Jesus is transfigured before Peter, James, and John on a mountain and appears in dazzling white clothing along with Moses and Elijah. This scene happens shortly after Peter’s confession that Jesus is the Christ, Son of the Living God. God reaffirms this statement on the Mount of Transfiguration by declaring that Jesus is His Son. From this moment, Jesus sets out for Jerusalem. He now begins His road to the cross. Jesus speaks with Moses and Elijah about His coming “departure for Jerusalem.” Their words to Jesus must have been reassuring to Him. We can travel in our Lenten journey with the assurance of God’s plan for our lives and with the assurance that Jesus is the Christ.

Scott Hahn's reflection on the Gospel:

In today’s Gospel, we go up to the mountain with Peter, John and James. There we see Jesus “transfigured,” speaking with Moses and Elijah about His “exodus.”
The Greek word “exodus” means “departure.” But the word is chosen deliberately here to stir our remembrance of the Israelites’ flight from Egypt.
By His death and resurrection, Jesus will lead a new Exodus - liberating not only Israel but every race and people; not from bondage to Pharaoh, but from slavery to sin and death. He will lead all mankind, not to the territory promised to Abraham in today’s First Reading, but to the heavenly commonwealth that Paul describes in today’s Epistle.
Moses, the giver of God’s law, and the great prophet Elijah, were the only Old Testament figures to hear the voice and see the glory of God atop a mountain (see Exodus 24:15-18; 1 Kings 19:8-18).
Today’s scene closely resembles God’s revelation to Moses, who also brought along three companions and whose face also shone brilliantly (see Exodus 24:1; 34:29).

But when the divine cloud departs in today’s Gospel, Moses and Elijah are gone. Only Jesus remains. He has revealed the glory of the Trinity - the voice of the Father, the glorified Son, and the Spirit in the shining cloud.

Jesus fulfills all that Moses and the prophets had come to teach and show us about God (see Luke 24:27).

• He is the “chosen One” promised by Isaiah (see Isaiah 42:1; Luke 23:35), 

• the “prophet like me” that Moses had promised (see Deuteronomy 18:15; Acts 3:22-23; 7:37). 

• Far and above that, He is the Son of God (see Psalm 2:7; Luke 3:21-23).

“Listen to Him,” the Voice tells us from the cloud. If, like Abraham, we put our faith in His words, one day we too will be delivered into “the land of the living” that we sing of in today’s Psalm. We will share in His resurrection, as Paul promises, our lowly bodies glorified like His.

Catechism 556 -

• On the threshold of the public life: the baptism; 
• on the threshold of the Passover: the Transfiguration. 

Jesus’ baptism proclaimed “the mystery of the first regeneration”, namely, our Baptism; the Transfiguration “is the sacrament of the second regeneration”: our own Resurrection.

From now on we share in the Lord’s Resurrection through the Spirit who acts in the sacraments of the Body of Christ. The Transfiguration gives us a foretaste of Christ’s glorious coming, when he “will change our lowly body to be like his glorious body.” But it also recalls that “it is through many persecutions that we must enter the kingdom of God”:  

Peter did not yet understand this when he wanted to remain with Christ on the mountain. It has been reserved for you, Peter, but for after death. For now, Jesus says:

“Go down to toil on earth, to serve on earth, to be scorned and crucified on earth. Life goes down to be killed; Bread goes down to suffer hunger; the Way goes down to be exhausted on his journey; the Spring goes down to suffer thirst; and you refuse to suffer?” 

Holy Priesthood Blog: Fr. Joel's homily for Feb 28  Lent2 - Listen to Jesus (8:50) 

When you find yourself in a cloud, listen to the voice of Jesus. Like Abraham, we are in a covenant with God. Live according to that covenant by listening to Jesus.

SOURCES:
Jeff Cavins
Scott Hahn
Center for the Liturgy 
*1 Larry Gillick, S. J., of Creighton University’s Deglman Center for Ignatian Spirituality, writes this reflection for the Daily Reflections page on the Online Ministries web site at Creighton.
http://www.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/online.html
Abraham graphic: My Catholic Tradition
Transfiguration Icon : The Coptic Network
Transfiguration image: Carl Bloch artist 
The CCC 
Holy Priesthood blog - Father Joel

Did the Twelve Apostles Keep Lent?

A wonderful post by Taylor Marshall over @ Canterbury Tales.

Pope Saint Leo the Great (d. 461) maintained that the forty days of Lent were instituted by the Apostles:

"ut apostolica institutio quadraginta dierum jejuniis impleatur."
(Patrologia Latina 54, 633)

"That the Apostolic institution of forty days might be fulfilled by fasting."

St. Jerome (d. 420) and the church historian Socrates (d. 433) also assumed the apostolic institution of the forty days of fasting before the celebration of Christ's resurrection.
However, the apostolic institution of "forty days" is difficult to maintain when we examine Eusebius' Church History (5, 24) in which he preserves an epistle of St. Irenaeus to Pope St. Victor (reigned from A.D. 189 to 199) in connection with the Paschal (Easter) controversy of the second century. Not only was there confusion about the date of the Christian Pascha (either Nisan 14 or Sunday thereafter), but Christians also debated as to whether the preceding fast should be for one day, two days, or forty hours. It seems that neither the Roman Christians nor the Eastern Christians knew of a "forty day" fast before Pascha.

Nevertheless, by the fourth century, the "forty days" of fasting prior to Pascha seem to be universally observed. St. Athanasius' Paschal letter for A.D. 331 reports that all the Christian of Alexandria, Egypt keep a "forty day" fast prior to Pascha/Easter. In his Paschal letter for A.D. 339, he mentions how the "forty day" fast prior to Pascha/Easter is universally kept by all the Churches: "to the end that while all the world is fasting, we who are in Egypt should not become a laughing-stock as the only people who do not fast but take our pleasure in those days."

The fifth canon of the Council of Nicea in A.D. 325 also confirms that "forty days" are kept as days of penance prior to Pascha.

My Conclusion:
My opinion is this. The Apostle instituted a strict fast to be kept for "the day on which the bridegroom was taken away" (Lk 5:35) - the day that we call Good Friday. The "forty hour" tradition mentioned by Irenaeus likely refers to the estimated time that Christ was in the tomb (3pm Friday till sometime before light on Sunday). Consequently, the apostolic fast began on what we call Good Friday and ended on Easter.

Hence, second century Christians believed that there was a special fast immediately before the commemoration of Christ's Resurrection, but the forty day tradition probably developed later. However, I think it is safe to say that a pre-Easter fast is of "apostolic institution," since it is already universally assumed by the 180s.

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Note: In a previous post, Marshall looked at the biblical significance of Lent as it relates to the number "forty" as a penitential sign of fasting and prayer (see: Lent: Why Forty Days?).

The Pretzel

There are special foods for Lent. Hot cross buns are traditionally eaten on Good Friday, for example. (An interesting recipe book is A Continual Feast, by Evelyn Birge Vitz, published by Ignatius Press.)

A food that symbolizes prayer and fasting is the pretzel (from the Latin word, bracellæ, "arms".) It is a traditional Lenten bread of very ancient origin. Early Christians made the bread from flour, salt and water only, shaping it to represent the folded arms in prayer, just as they are made to this day. 

The German tribes who invaded Rome called the bracellæ "brezel'" or "prezel". Pretzels are traditionally eaten throughout Lent, and in some places are especially associated with Saint Joseph's Day [March 19] which usually falls within Lent. 

A recipe for soft pretzels follows:

Pretzels
The pretzel represents the shape of the penitent's crossed arms, and was a traditional Lenten food in central European towns.This recipe is for a chewy soft pretzel, like those hot pretzel vendors sell.

Combine in a mixing bowl:
1 cup warm water
1 package (1 1/2 T) active dry yeast
1 tsp sugar

Add and beat at least 3 minutes:
1 1/2 cups sifted all purpose flour
2 Tbsp soft butter
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp sugar

Stir in 1 1/4 cups sifted all purpose flour and knead until the dough loses its stickiness.

Let the dough rise in a covered greased bowl until it is doubled in bulk (this is called "proofing" the dough). Punch down and divide it into 12 pieces. Roll each piece into a long rope and form it into a pretzel shape. Place the pretzels on a greased baking sheet and let them rise until almost doubled in bulk. Preheat oven to 475°F.

In a large non aluminum kettle, prepare a boiling solution of
4 cups water
5 tsp baking soda

With a slotted spoon, carefully lower the pretzels into the water and boil about 1 minute or until they float to the top. Return them to the greased sheet. Sprinkle them with coarse salt. (Sea salt or Kosher salt.) Bake the pretzels until they are nicely browned, about 10-12 minutes. Pretzels are best when eaten while still warm, but they may be stored in an air tight container for up to a week, or frozen. (Makes twelve 6-inch pretzels)

SOURCE: Women for Faith and Family

Ash Wednesday

On Ash Wednesday we begin “The Forty Days” as it is called elsewhere in the world. That period in our liturgical year in which we do what we can call annual maintenance of the soul and spirit. The scripture on Ash Wednesday is rich with instructions for the faithful on the three main actions we take in this season; prayer, fasting, and alms giving. The “what’s” and “how’s” are given to us in detail. It is the “why” that is left up to us and it is that “Why” that gives us the most trouble.

During our Lenten journey we are to repair our spiritual selves by examining our past actions and correcting them against the base-line of right actions found in scripture and the teaching magisterium of the Church. It is openly examining our actions that become problematic. This is true for a couple of reasons;

1. first, we can’t remember all of the things we have done if we are only looking back during lent;
2. second, we can rationalize what we have done so it does not appear to be a problem.

There is a solution. Our reflection must be consent during the whole year and during lent, we review where we are and pledge to go forward. We look at each facet of our lives – work, family, social, and spiritual and ask; Is this what God wants me to do and if not what must I change? It’s not easy, but then we have forty days.

Ash Wednesday is a day of fasting and abstinence in the Church. We will not be required to refrain from eating, and abstain from meat again until Good Friday, the day after Lent ends. Let us offer our hunger to those for whom hunger is constant. We offer our goods for those who have none. We offer our prayers for all peoples, that they too might turn away from sin and return to the Good News of Jesus Christ.

From: Servant of The Word

Preparing for the Mass - April 5 2009

Palm Sunday of The Lord's Passion

 

The Readings (NAB)

Reading 1 Is 50:4-7

. . . . The Lord GOD is my help,
therefore I am not disgraced;
I have set my face like flint,
knowing that I shall not be put to shame.

Responsorial Psalm Ps 22:8-9, 17-18, 19-20, 23-24
My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?

Reading II Phil 2:6-11
Christ Jesus, though he was in the form of God,
did not regard equality with God
something to be grasped.
Rather, he emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave,
coming in human likeness;
and found human in appearance,
he humbled himself,
becoming obedient to the point of death,
even death on a cross.
Because of this, God greatly exalted him
and bestowed on him the name
which is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bend,
of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that
Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.

Gospel
Mk 14:1—15:47 or 15:1-39
While they were eating,
he took bread, said the blessing,
broke it, and gave it to them, and said,
"Take it; this is my body."
Then he took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them,
and they all drank from it.
He said to them,
"This is my blood of the covenant,
which will be shed for many.
Amen, I say to you,
I shall not drink again the fruit of the vine
until the day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God."

. . . . And as they reclined at table and were eating, Jesus said,
"Amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me,
one who is eating with me."
They began to be distressed and to say to him, one by one,
"Surely it is not I?"

. . . Then they came to a place named Gethsemane,
and he said to his disciples,
"Sit here while I pray."
He took with him Peter, James, and John,
and began to be troubled and distressed.
Then he said to them, "My soul is sorrowful even to death.
Remain here and keep watch."
He advanced a little and fell to the ground and prayed
that if it were possible the hour might pass by him;
he said, "Abba, Father, all things are possible to you.
Take this cup away from me,
but not what I will but what you will."
When he returned he found them asleep.
He said to Peter, "Simon, are you asleep?
Could you not keep watch for one hour?
Watch and pray that you may not undergo the test.
The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak."

. . . They brought him to the place of Golgotha
— which is translated Place of the Skull —
They gave him wine drugged with myrrh,
but he did not take it.
Then they crucified him and divided his garments
by casting lots for them to see what each should take.
It was nine o'clock in the morning when they crucified him.
The inscription of the charge against him read,
"The King of the Jews."
With him they crucified two revolutionaries,
one on his right and one on his left.
Those passing by reviled him,
shaking their heads and saying,
"Aha! You who would destroy the temple
and rebuild it in three days,
save yourself by coming down from the cross."
Likewise the chief priests, with the scribes,
mocked him among themselves and said,
"He saved others; he cannot save himself.
Let the Christ, the King of Israel,
come down now from the cross
that we may see and believe."
Those who were crucified with him also kept abusing him.
At noon darkness came over the whole land
until three in the afternoon.
And at three o'clock Jesus cried out in a loud voice,
"Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?"
which is translated,
"My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"
Some of the bystanders who heard it said,
"Look, he is calling Elijah."
One of them ran, soaked a sponge with wine, put it on a reed
and gave it to him to drink saying,
"Wait, let us see if Elijah comes to take him down."
Jesus gave a loud cry and breathed his last.
At mass this is when we all kneel and pause for a short time.
The veil of the sanctuary was torn in two from top to bottom.
When the centurion who stood facing him
saw how he breathed his last he said,
"Truly this man was the Son of God!"

First, For the children.

Now for us BIG KIDS.




". . . . If (then) we want to follow our leader without stumbling through prosperity and through adversity, let us keep our eyes upon him, honored in the procession, undergoing ignominy and suffering in the passion, yet unshakably steadfast in all such changes of fortune.

Lord Jesus, you are the joy and salvation of the whole world; whether we see you seated on an ass or hanging on the cross, let each one of us bless and praise you, so that when we see you reigning on high we may praise you forever and ever, for to you belong praise and honor throughout all ages. Amen."

(from Sermon 3 -Guerric of Igny*-  on Palm Sunday 2. 5: SC 202, 190-93.198-201)

Thoughts from the Early Church



Connect the Gospel to our experience: We often think of humility in terms of self-effacement. At its deepest level, humility is about embracing the truth of who we really are and who we are called to become. (Living Liturgy)

sources:
Center for Liturgy Index Page - choose date
Working With the Word  (The Order of St. Benedict, Inc., Collegeville, Minnesota) 
 Living Liturgy: Spirituality, Celebration, and Catechesis
for Sundays and Solemnities Year B - 2009, p. 93.
Joyce Ann Zimmerman, CPPS; Kathleen Harmon, SNDdeN;
and Christopher W. Conlon, SM

*Guerric of Igny (c. 1070/80-1157), about whose early life little is known, probably received his education at the cathedral school of Tournai, perhaps under the influence of Odo of Cambrai (1087-92). He seems to have lived a retired life of prayer and study near the cathedral of Tournal. He paid a visit to Clairvaux to consult Saint Bernard, and is mentioned by him as a novice in a letter to Ogerius in 1125/1256. He became abbot of the Cistercian abbey of Igny, in the diocese of Rheims in 1138. A collection of fifty-four authentic sermons preached on Sundays and feast days have been edited. Guerric’s spirituality was influenced by Origen.

Learning About What Freedom Means

On freedom . . . . "He mistakenly thought that freedom could be found in the opportunity to do what he wanted; he didn't realize that freedom comes not from the opportunity to choose, but from choosing the right thing. Instead of finding freedom, he became enslaved to his own selfish desires."

On wisdom . . . . "Wisdom teaches us that unless we are free to say no to something, we are not free to say yes to it. During Lent we are reminded that our free will of saying “yes” and “no” is a gift from a loving parent."


This is from a beautiful article called, The Freedom in Lent.   Check out the whole post over at La Dolce Vita.

The author  ends with a wonderful quote . . . . . John Paul II said, “Freedom consists not in doing what we like, but in having the right (or the free will) to do what we ought”.

"Burying the Alleluia" Connection to Easter Eggs

Remember Burying the Alleluia on Ash Wednesday morning? According to Benedictine Father Aelred Rosser, "'Burying the Alleluia' makes the connection between eggs (the Alleluia Egg) and Easter. The Easter egg hunt is, among other things, a hunt for the Alleluia we hid or buried at vespers before Ash Wednesday." Here is the rest of the story!

At the Easter vigil, according to Father Lambro (see the Burying the Alleluia post), "as the sun was rising, the congregation went back to the graveyard, where the coffin was exhumed. It was carried back to the church, where the abbot took the scroll out and intoned the 'Alleluia' - signaling the great joy that Christ had risen from the dead," he said.

According to Diana Macalintal, writing in the Feb. 2004 issue of Eucharistic Ministries, "the ritual can be traced back to the Middle Ages, when the practice of 'burying the Alleluia' became popular on the eve of Septuagesima (Latin for "70") Sunday, the third Sunday before Lent. (Eucharistic Ministries 239, Feb. 2004). This lay-led ritual included a solemn procession to the church cemetery with a plaque, scroll, banner or even a coffin inscribed with the word 'Alleluia.' The 'Alleluia' was then laid to rest with the hope of its resurrection on Easter Sunday."

We bid a temporary farewell to the beloved "Alleluia" at the beginning of the journey in order that we can truly enter into the spirit of the Easter season as the three-fold "Alleluia" bursts forth into glory heralding the resurrection of Christ at the Easter Vigil.

According to Benedictine Father Aelred Rosser, "'Burying the Alleluia' makes the connection between eggs (the Alleluia Egg) and Easter, which I always tried to make in Easter sermons. The Easter egg hunt is, among other things, a hunt for the Alleluia we hid or buried at vespers before Ash Wednesday."

"By easy association," he said, "it's acting out of the Resurrection narrative in which Mary Magdalene goes a-hunting for the hidden/risen Christ and says: 'They have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid him.' We 'Bury the Alleluia'/hide the eggs precisely because we know we're going to dig it up/find them again. It's a profession of faith in resurrection."

But the monk added, "There's nothing particularly 'monastic' about the practice in its origins or its observance - except, perhaps, in the sense that it was preserved in monasteries even when it fell into disuse."

No Sack Cloth!

"And when you fast, do not look dismal, like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by men. Truly, I say to you, they have their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by men but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you." (Matthew 6:16-18)

Fasting & Feasting

This is specifically posted to help us all remember the joy in sacrifice. . . .the riches it can bring . . . . to help us see the bigger picture. H/T to Esther at Catholic Mom in Hawaii for this wonderful post.

Fast from judging others;
Feast on Christ dwelling in them.

Fast from apparent darkness;
Feast on the reality of light.

Fast from thoughts of illness;
Feast on the healing power of God.

Fast from words that pollute;
Feast on phrases that purify.

Fast from discontent;
Feast on gratitude.

Fast from anger;
Feast on patience.

Fast from pessimism;
Feast on optimism.

Fast from worry;
Feast on divine order.

Fast from complaining;
Feast on appreciation.

Fast from negatives;
Feast on affirmatives.

Fast from pressure;
Feast on unceasing prayer.

Fast from hostility;
Feast on nonresistance.

Fast from bitterness;
Feast on forgiveness.

Fast from self-concern;
Feast on compassion for others.

Fast from personal anxiety;
Feast on Eternal truth.

Fast from discouragement;
Feast on hope.

Fast from facts that depress;
Feast on truths that uplift.

Fast from lethargy;
Feast on enthusiasm.

Fast from suspicion;
Feast on trust.

Fast from shadows of sorrow;
Feast on sunlight of serenity.

Fast from idle gossip.
Feast on purposeful silence.

--William Arthur Ward

H/T to Esther at Catholic Mom in Hawaii for this wonderful post.

Fast and Abstinence: In Perspective...

Yolen Jenuky sells mud cookies in Cite Soleil, the poorest section of Haiti's capitol city, Port au Prince.

Thank you to A Concord Pastor Comments. This is his post - it was so moving and informative that I have posted it here in its entirety.

Fast and Abstinence In Lent
All Christians are called to special prayer, fasting and caring for the poor in the season of Lent. Each person determines how he or she will personally live out these ancient Lenten exercises. In addition to personal Lenten practices, Catholics are also called to a communal practice of self-denial through fasting and abstinence.

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti - It was lunchtime in one of Haiti's worst slums, and Charlene Dumas was eating mud. With food prices rising, Haiti's poorest can't afford even a daily plate of rice, and some take desperate measures to fill their bellies. Charlene, 16 with a 1-month-old son, has come to rely on a traditional Haitian remedy for hunger pangs: cookies made of dried yellow dirt from the country's central plateau. The mud has long been used by pregnant women and children here as an antacid and source of calcium. But in places like Cite Soleil, the oceanside slum where Charlene shares a two-room house with her baby, five siblings, and two unemployed parents, cookies made of dirt, salt, and vegetable shortening have become a regular meal. "When my mother does not cook anything, I have to eat them three times a day," Charlene said. Her baby, named Woodson, lay still across her lap, looking even thinner than the slim 6 pounds, 3 ounces, he weighed at birth. Though she likes their buttery, salty taste, Charlene said the cookies also give her stomach pains. "When I nurse, the baby sometimes seems colicky, too," she said.

Ash Wednesday Is a Day of Fast and Abstinence
On Ash Wednesday, Catholics over 14 years of age are expected to abstain from eating meat on this day. Catholics 18 years of age and up to the beginning of their 60th year are expected to fast: taking only one full meal and two other light meals, eating nothing between meals.

Food prices around the world have spiked because of higher prices for oil, which is needed for fertilizer, irrigation, and transportation. Prices for basic ingredients such as corn and wheat are also up sharply, and the increasing global demand for biofuels is pressuring food markets as well. The problem is particularly dire in the Caribbean, where island nations depend on imports and food prices are up 40 percent in places… At the market in the La Saline slum, a two-cup portion of rice now sells for 60 cents, up 10 cents from December and 50 percent from a year ago. Beans, condensed milk, and fruit have gone up at a similar rate, and even the price of the edible clay has risen over the past year by almost $1.50. Dirt to make 100 cookies now costs $5, the cookie makers say. Still, at about 5 cents apiece, the cookies are a bargain compared with food staples. About 80 percent of people in Haiti live on less than $2 a day and a tiny elite controls the economy.

All the Fridays of Lent Are Days of Abstinence
Catholics over 14 years of age are expected to abstain from eating meat on the Fridays of Lent.

Merchants truck the dirt from the central town of Hinche to the La Saline market, a maze of tables of vegetables and meat swarming with flies. Women buy the dirt, then process it into mud cookies… Carrying buckets of dirt and water up ladders to the roof of the former prison for which Fort Dimanche is named, they strain out rocks and clumps on a sheet, and stir in shortening and salt. Then they pat the mixture into mud cookies and leave them to dry under the scorching sun. The finished cookies are carried in buckets to markets or sold on the streets. A reporter sampling a cookie found that it had a smooth consistency and sucked all the moisture out of the mouth as soon as it touched the tongue. For hours, an unpleasant taste of dirt lingered… Marie Noel, 40, sells the cookies in a market to provide for her seven children. Her family also eats them. "I'm hoping one day I'll have enough food to eat, so I can stop eating these," she said. "I know it's not good for me." (By Jonathan M. Katz, Associated Press, January 31, 2008)

Good Friday Is a Day of Fast and Abstinence
On Good Friday, Catholics over 14 years of age are expected to abstain from eating meat on this day. Catholics 18 years of age and up to the beginning of their 60th year are expected to fast: taking only one full meal and two other light meals, eating nothing between meals.

From Soutenus: During Lent you might want to place the money save by fasting and abstinence aside for people in poverty. Go to the St. Boniface Haiti Foundation to learn about their nutrition programs.

Prayer, Fasting & Almsgiving

“Each year, Lent offers us a providential opportunity to deepen the meaning and value of our Christian lives, and it stimulates us to rediscover the mercy of God so that we, in turn, become more merciful toward our brothers and sisters. In the Lenten period, the Church makes it her duty to propose some specific tasks that accompany the faithful concretely in this process of interior renewal: these are prayer, fasting and almsgiving.”

(Pope Benedict XVI from MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS BENEDICT XVI FOR LENT 2008)

.

The first day of Lent is today, Ash Wednesday.
We follow the example of the people of Nineveh, who did penance in sackcloth and ashes. On Ash Wednesday the Church helps us to humble our pride by reminding us that the consequence of sin is of a death sentence. She sprinkles our head with ashes and says:

"Remember, man, that thou art dust, and unto dust shalt thou return."

Preparing for Lent

“Lent is a retreat that the Church gives us in order to re-focus on what should be first in our lives. The purpose of Jesus' life was to glorify the Father and save the world. ..Lent is not first a time of giving up but a time to re-choose to be the victim of Christ, the Lamb. It is a time to live the Beatitudes.” (Fr. Dominique, OSJ)

What Is Lent?

Lent is a penitential season lasting 40 days. Lent enables the us to prepare for the celebration of the Lord’s Passion, Death and Resurrection.

The holy season that is connected to Lent is the Paschal Mystery.

You might notice that this is also the time that Catechumens prepare for Christian initiation. Current Church members prepare for Easter by actively remembering their Baptism. Lent is a special time for works of penance. You will often hear, “What are you giving up for Lent?” The most popular forms of penance seem to be extra prayer and scripture reading/reflection, fasting and almsgiving. Let us diligently remind ourselves of WHY we do these works of penance. . . .
Even in the early Church, Lent was the season for prayerful and penitential preparation for the feast of Easter.

Here is a great bit of etymology: Jesus' victory is our renewal, our “spring” — which is the meaning of the Anglo-Saxon word, “lenten” or Lent. In this penitential season we have the opportunity to seek spiritual renewal. We have this wonderful a 40-day retreat with Our Lord called LENT.

Ash Wednesday is this week. It is one of my favorite days of the year. It is the clear reminder to “Repent and believe the gospel” (Mk 1:15). For the next forty days, we, the faithful, willingly submit to fasting and self-denial in imitation of Jesus as he went through his forty-days in the desert. He not only fasted but battled Satan's triple temptations while in the desert.

His battle was external, for Jesus could not sin. Our battle is more interior, but we are armed with the knowledge of Christ’s Easter victory over sin and death. With works of penance we become acutely aware of the battles the world, the flesh and the devil. This is a time when the soul often experiences great growth.

I love how Sister Mary Martha says it, “Lent is our opportunity to walk a mile in Jesus feet'. Not Jesus' everyday feet. His feet on the way to the cross. We are trying to identify with Jesus' suffering.”

Let us, as St. Francis of Assisi said, “follow in the footsteps of the poor and crucified Christ.”

Sources: Original Text (JGM & MG) by Jennifer Gregory Miller and Margaret Gregory

http://www.catholicculture.org/lit/activities/view.cfm?id=1010

http://asksistermarymartha.blogspot.com/2007/02/lental-soup.html