Many Christians across the globe are observing this period as lent, which began on Ash Wednesday. It marks the forty-day fasting and prayers of Jesus Christ in the wilderness.
Lent is a special time of prayer, penance, sacrifice and good works in preparation for the celebration of Easter.
Unlike the New Year, Christmas and other holidays that are celebrated by the secular, non-religious world, the Lenten season is observed by dedicated religious believers.
From Ash Wednesday to Easter, many adherents of the Christian faith fast or abstain from certain foods or physical pleasures for forty days. This is done to supposedly imitate Jesus Christ’s forty-day fast in the wilderness. People vow to give up anything, as long as it prepares them for Easter.
Lent becomes more regularized after the legalization of Christianity in AD 313. One can safely conclude that, by the end of the fourth century, the forty-day period of Easter preparation known as lent existed, and that prayer and fasting constituted its primary spiritual exercises.
Of course, the number “forty” has always had special spiritual significance regarding significance preparations. For instance, on Mount Sinai, preparing to receive the Ten Commandments, Moses stayed there with the Lord for forty days and forty nights, without eating any food or drinking any water. Prophet Elijah walked forty days and forty nights to the mountain of the Lord, Mount Horeb. Most importantly, Jesus fasted and prayed for forty days and forty nights in the desert before He began His public ministry.
During lent and Good Friday, the faithful fast, having only one full meal a day and smaller snacks to keep up one’s strength and abstain from meat. On the other Fridays during lent period, the faithful abstain from meat. People are still encouraged to give up something for lent as a sacrifice.
Moreover, an emphasis must be placed on performing spiritual works. Although the practices may have evolved over the centuries, the focus remains the same-to repent of sin, to renew our faith and to prepare to celebrate joyfully the mysteries of our salvation.
Whatever be the case and whichever way one looks at it, Lent is a solemn observance in the liturgical year of many Christian dominations, lasting for a period of approximately six weeks, leading up to Easter Sunday. The traditional purpose of lent is the preparation of the believer through prayer, penance, repentance, almsgiving and self-denial.
Its institutional purpose is heightened in the annual commemoration of the Holy Week, marking the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ, which recalls the events of the Bible when Jesus is crucified on Good Friday, which then culminates in the celebration on Easter Sunday of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.
During lent, many of the faithful commit to fasting or giving up certain types of luxuries as a form of penitence. It should be a period of fasting, moderation and self-denial traditionally observed by Catholics and some Protestant denominations.
Fasting can be a good thing and God is pleased when we repent of sinful habits. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with setting aside some time to focus on Jesus’ death and resurrection. However, repenting of sin is something we should be doing everyday in life, not just for the period of lent.
The key is to focus on repenting of sin and consecrating oneself to God. Lent should not be a time of boasting of one’s sacrifice or trying to earn God’s favour or increasing His love.
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