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Brief History Of Lent

The Extent of the Season of Lent

The "forty days" of Lent** constitute the first part of the whole paschal cycle that reaches from Ash Wednesday through Triduum until Pentecost Sunday. Seen in its relationship to the Easter celebrations, Lent serves as a preparation for the Easter mysteries.

Lent itself begins on Ash Wednesday with the proclamation from the prophet Joel, "Proclaim a fast..." It ends at the Evening Mass of the Lord's Supper on Holy Thursday, the start of Triduum.

Lent actually includes six Sundays. Since the revision of the liturgical calendar in 1969, the sixth Sunday of Lent has been called Passion (Palm) Sunday.

This "sixth Sunday" begins what has been know traditionally as Holy Week, whose purpose is to remember "Christ's passion, beginning with his Messianic entrance into Jerusalem." [General Norms for the Liturgical Year and Calendar, 31] So, the last several days of Lent serve as a sort of bridge to Triduum.

Note that the Chrism Mass occurs during Lent. Even though the Sacramentary recommends that it take place on Holy Thursday morning - still part of Lent - many dioceses choose to set the time earlier to allow priest and bishop and people time to make proper preparations for Triduum.

Further, the Rite of Election and the three Rites of Scrutines during Lent highlight the final stages of the journey of the catechumens who prepare for the rites of initiation at the Easter Vigil.

B. The Origins of the Season of Lent

-- 1. Fasting as a most ancient preparation for Easter

The celebration of Christ's resurrection on Easter Sunday became the primary feast of the year at a fairly early date. Christians fasted to prepare for the vigil of Holy Saturday. They also had maintained a fast on Fridays for some time when these two fasts were joined together to help people prepare for the vigil.

This became the foundation upon which was eventually built the forty days of fasting and baptismal preparation in the Western Christian Church:

"... the 5th century historian, Socrates... describes a fast of three consective weeks before Easter... These three weeks of Lent, directly linked to the catechumenate in Rome, develop into a fast of forty days by the 4th century..." [Lizette Larson-Miller, "Lent" in The New Dictionary of Sacramental Worship, p. 681]

-- 2. A different kind of fasting in early Christianity

It is instructive that a different kind of fast develops among Christians in Alexandria, Egypt. A six day fast appears as a preparation for Easter as early as the 3rd century. But, it is not associated with the catechumen's preparation; it is an ascetical fast in imitation of Jesus' fast of forty days in the desert.

This Egyptian monastic practice influenced Celtic monks and came to provide a more penitential focus for this 'season' as adult baptisms waned in the 6th century. Infant baptism was on the rise in this era because of fewer adults to baptize and the impact of the doctrine of original sin:

"In the theological space created by the diminishing of the baptismal dimensions of Lent, the penitential aspects, which were also present from the earliest references to Lent, blossomed in full growth... [especially seen in] the rise of canonical penance and the order of penitents." [Larson-Miller, p. 682]

-- 3. Lent becomes more penitential; Ash Wednesday develops as its starting point.

Ash Wednesday was established as the start of the Lenten fast by the 7th century. Due to the fact that Rome had had the practice of fasting from Monday through Saturday by the 6th century, the addition of those several days before the First Sunday of Lent created a forty day period of fasting before Triduum.

Those of us who remember the Latin Mass will also recall the several Sundays of preparation for Lent - Quinquagesima, Sexagesima, and Septuagesima [Sundays before Easter] that were added in Rome by the 7th century.

The Ash Wednesday practice of placing ashes on the foreheads of the faithful originated in Spain and Gaul (6th to 9th century France). These older liturgical centers connected the distribution of ashes to entrance into the order of penitents.

"Although not at first related to the season of Lent, the custom gained popularity as many of the penitential practices once reserved for serious public sinners became standard for all the faithful. It was not until 1091, when Pope Urban II ordered the imposition of ashes on the heads of all the faithful, that the reception of ashes became mandatory and the Wednesday... became known as Ash Wednesday." [Larson-Miller, p. 684]

This shows that, by the 11th century, the focus of Lent had become primarily focused on penance, while the notion of baptismal preparation of catechumens eroded.

-- 4. Palm Sunday receives more emphasis

The sixth Sunday of Lent retained its focus and title, "Passion Sunday," into the medieval period in the city of Rome. However, the commemoration of Jesus' entrance into Jerusalem began to take on a growing importance outside the Eternal City.

Beginning at least in the 4th century Jerusalem, the procession of the people with palms grows in popularity (even though this practice may have originated elsewhere).

The composition of the glorious hymn, All Glory, Laud, and Honor (Theodulph of Orleans, 8th century) witnesses to the existence of such processions in medieval cities and towns.

C. Contemporary Lenten Practice

The Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy (1963) helped restore the baptismal focus to Lent:

"The two elements which are especially characteristic of Lent - the recalling of baptism or the preparation for it, and penance - should be given greater emphasis in the liturgy and in liturgical catechesis. It is by means of them that the Church prepares the faithful for the celebration of Easter." [CSL 109, quoted in Larson-Miller, p. 685]

The bishops of Vatican II called for a retrieval of the 4th to 6th century practices that comprised Christian initiation. Years of research and consultation bore fruit in the publication of the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults in 1988.

Lent now coincides with the final preparation of the catechumens for Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist at the Easter Vigil. This period is called the "Period of Purification and Enlightenment." It follows immediately upon the Rite of Election on the First Sunday of Lent and draws both the Elect and the faithful into a time of deepening conversion.

Notice the presider's prayers during Lent, especially the opening prayer. Many of them direct our attention toward the celebration of the Easter mysteries as much as - or even more so - than toward our own acts of mortification.

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