What is Lent?

Lent History, Customs, Prayers, FAQ, Traditions, & More

Lent Definition and Summary

Lent is the period of fasting leading up to the feast of Easter, recalling Jesus' 40-day fast in the wilderness. Catholic Lent begins on Ash Wednesday and ends right before the evening Masses of Holy Thursday, although Lenten penance continues through Holy Saturday. In 2012, Lent begins on February 22 in the Western Church (dates in other years). Prayers: Lent Prayers

Basic Facts About Lent

Liturgical Color(s): Violet (Purple)
Type of Holiday: Fast
Time of Year: Immediately following Ordinary Time after Epiphany; calendar date varies
Duration: Liturgically Lent lasts 44 Days, begins on Ash Wednesday and ends before the Paschal Triduum (and includes Sundays). The traditional Lenten fast is observed for 40 days, starting on Ash Wednesday, going through Holy Week, excluding Sundays.
Celebrates/Symbolizes: Jesus' wilderness fast; Preparation for Easter
Alternate Names: Great Lent
Scriptural References: Matthew 4:1-11; Luke 4:1-13

Introduction

Many Christians throughout the world observe Lent. Catholic, Orthodox, and many Protestants look forward to this annual time of sacrifice and simplicity. For non-Christians, Lent can be a bit of a mystery. For some, Lent is a period of going on a diet; for others, it is when Catholic co-workers show up to work with ashes on their heads, and fast food restaurants start selling fish sandwiches. So what is Lent?

In basic terms, Lent is the season before Easter, in the West lasting liturgically from Ash Wednesday until the Mass of Holy Thursday exclusive (see General Norms for the Liturgical Year and Calendar). The evening of Holy Thursday begins the The Easter Triduum, which lasts from Holy Thursday to the Evening Prayer of Easter Day. However, Lenten fasting and penance continue until the end of Holy Week, and all of Holy Week is included in the traditional 40 day Lenten fast, despite Lent ending liturgically on Holy Thursday. We should note that in many Protestant churches, the liturgical season of Lent continues through Holy Saturday, although in current Catholic discipline, Lent ends liturgically before Holy Thursday. While Sundays are typically excluded from the Lenten fasting and abstinence restrictions, and are not numbered in the traditional "40 Days" of Lent, they are still part of the Lenten season, as can be seen from their Lenten themes. Thus, the way Lent is observed in the Catholic Church can be a bit tricky, because the actual modern liturgical season of Lent (lasting 44 days, including Sundays) is numbered slightly differently than the traditional 40 day Lenten fast , which excludes Sundays.

The purpose of Lent is to be a season of fasting, self-denial, spiritual growth, conversion, and simplicity. Lent, which comes from the Teutonic (Germanic) word for springtime, can be viewed as a spiritual spring cleaning: a time for taking spiritual inventory and then cleaning out those things which hinder our corporate and personal relationships with Jesus Christ and our service to him. Thus it is fitting that the season of Lent begin with a symbol of repentance: placing ashes mixed with oil on one's head or forehead. However, we must remember that our Lenten disciplines are supposed to ultimately transform our entire person: body, soul, and spirit, and help us become more like Christ. Eastern Christians call this process theosis, which St. Athanasius describes as "becoming by grace what God is by nature."

There are a few basic tasks that traditionally have been associated with Lent. Many of these have a long history. These are fasting, almsgiving, and prayer. In addition, reading the Scriptures and the Church's Writings can help one grow during Lent. Let's look at each of these suggestions individually.

Fasting: The Western Rite of the Catholic Church requires its members age 18 to 59 to fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, unless a physical condition prevents otherwise. This means only one full meal is permitted in a fast day. The Fridays of Lent are days of required abstinence, meaning meat, and soups or gravies made of meat, are not permitted. Abstinence is required of those age 14 and older. For more details, please scroll down to our FAQ or click here for detailed Catholic Fasting Guidelines. Most Protestant churches that celebrate Lent do not have these official requirements. However, when we "give something up" for Lent, we are embracing a form of fasting, an excellent spiritual discipline. Eastern Christians have a more rigorous fast, abstaining from meat, wine, oil, dairy products, and even fish. Check out Great Lent Fasting Guidelines for more information on Eastern Lent information, including fasting guidelines. Some people choose to give up sins (gossip, drunkenness, etc) for Lent. In this way, Lent represents a spiritual training time to overcome evil. Pope St. Leo, for example, emphasized that fasting from wrath is required along with food. Some give up things they have an inordinate desire for, e.g. sweets, caffeine, etc. We have listed various things you can give up for Lent here. By giving these up, the person fasting learns to control a particular part of his or her life, which leads to greater self-discipline even when Lent is over. As such in Lent we are able to learn, examine, and get under control our material excesses. Whatever you decide to fast from, remember, as Steven Clark likes to say: "Lent is more than a diet." Lent is about spiritual results, not material ones. So, while losing a few pounds may be a nice side benefit, all fasting should be done for God's glory and spiritual growth.

Prayer: Lent is a good time to develop or strengthen a discipline of daily prayer. The Liturgy of the Hours, an ancient practice of praying throughout the day, is a good place to start. A good goal for Lent would be to read Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer everyday. If you already do that, perhaps you could add noon or night prayer (also called Compline). Contemplative prayer, based around the idea of silence or listening for God, is also well suited to Lent. There are also many excellent form prayers that reflect the penitential mood of Lent. The Litany of the Precious Blood, The Great Litany (Anglican Use Version), and The Decalogue are very appropriate for the season. We can also find many excellent prayers for Lent from the Scriptures. The Seven Penitential Psalms are excellent for prayer, as is the apocryphal Prayer of Manasseh. Praying The Rosary throughout Lent can be rewarding too. Many excellent poems (including "Hymn to God the Father" by John Donne) and Lenten Canticles emphasize Lenten themes. Theology and liturgy should always be prayer, so a good discipline for Lent would be to make an effort to attend worship services whenever possible. Daily mass would be very rewarding.

Almsgiving (Charity): While Lent is about giving something up (i.e. fasting), it is also about putting something positive in its place. The best way to remove vice is to cultivate virtue. Lent has been a traditional time of helping the poor and doing acts of charity and mercy. While as Christians this is a year round calling, Lent is a good time to examine ways to get involved and to make resolutions to actually do them. Giving alms can be done in more ways than just giving out money to people on the street. It can be done by helping your family, friends, and neighbors out of tight situations or being more generous to hired help. However, one of the best ways to give alms is to get out of your comfort zone a little bit, maybe by volunteering for a charity or a shelter. There are many lay religious orders, which devote much of their time to charity. Lent is a perfect time to discern a call to these or any other ministry. Some good charity organizations include Society of St. Vincent DePaul (Catholic), Sisters of Charity (Anglican), Order of St. Andrew (Ecumenical), Catholic Relief Services, Habitat for Humanity (Ecumenical), The Hunger Site (Ecumenical), Samaritan's Purse (Ecumenical).

Scripture Reading: When facing temptation in the desert, Jesus relied on Scripture to counter the wiles of the devil. It is a formidable weapon for us as well. Biblical illiteracy among Christians of all types is rampant and, quite honestly, shameful. Lent is an excellent time to remedy this problem. One way to read Scripture is to use the lectionary of the Liturgy of the Hours. This will get you through most of the Bible in two years. The Bible is even online! If you are thinking along different lines than the Liturgy of the Hours, it may be helpful to promise to read two chapters a day of a particular book or maybe finish a medium sized book by Easter. Reading the Church Fathers can also be helpful to spiritual growth. Here are some Scripture readings with meditations.

History

Lent probably originated with the pre-Easter baptismal rituals of catechumens, although the number of days set aside for fasting varied according to region. Irenaeus (AD 180) testifies to the variety of durations of pre-Easter fasts in the second century. Tertullian (AD 200) suggests that Catholics fasted two days prior to Easter, but that the Montanists (a heretical sect that Tertullian later joined) fasted longer. However, the number forty, hallowed by the fasts of Moses, Elijah, and especially Jesus, probably influenced the later fixed time of 40 days. The Canons of Nicaea (AD 325) were the first to mention 40 days of fasting. Initially the forty day Lenten fast began on a Monday, and was intended only for those who were preparing to enter the Church at Easter. Lent still begins on a Monday in many Eastern Churches. Eventually the West began Lent on Ash Wednesday, and soon the whole Church, and not just catechumens, observed the Lenten fast. The East has no equivalent to Ash Wednesday.

The earliest fasts of Lent tended to be very strict, allowing one meal a day, and even then meats, eggs, and other indulgences were forbidden. The Eastern Churches follow this today. Now, in the Western Church, only Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are enjoined as strict fast days, but Fridays are set aside for abstinence from meat. Sundays are not a part of the Lenten fast, because Sunday is always a feast of the resurrection. However, the Sundays of Lent are still a part of the Lenten liturgical season in the Western Church, and the worship services tend to be more simple and austere than normal. They lack the Gloria, and the joyous "alleluias" of the Easter season. The Western liturgical color of Lent is violet, symbolizing royalty and penitence. Like Sundays, other major solemnities, such as St. Joseph and the Annunciation, take precedence over Lenten observances in the Church calendar. These days provide a break from the Lenten fast. However, at least in the current Western Church, Lent nearly always trumps the observances of minor feast days. Too many festivals take away from the simple and penitential spirit of the Lenten season. Certain devotions and liturgies have developed during the Lenten season, including (in the West), the Stations of the Cross.

Worship And Prayer Resources

Prayers for Lent (Lenten Prayers)
Lent Prayers of the Faithful I
Prayers and Hymns in Preparation for Great Lent
Church Fathers Lenten Reading Plan (complete version: lentfatherscomplete.pdf)
Church Fathers Lenten Reading Plan LITE (Shorter Edition)
The Litany of the Precious Blood of Jesus
The Great Litany (Anglican Use)
The Decalogue
Seven Penitential Psalms (in English)
Seven Penitential Psalms (in Latin)
Lenten Canticles
Stations of the Cross
Suggestions for your Lenten Fast
Lent Sermon I Pope St. Leo
Lent Sermon II Pope St. Leo
Lent Sermon IV Pope St. Leo
Lent Sermon VIII Pope St. Leo
Lent Sermon XI Pope St. Leo

Lent Art, Photos, and Images

Jesus on the Cross With Mary (D. Bennett)	Temptation of Christ (Botticelli)	St. Thomas of Villaneuva Distributing Alms (Murillo)	Praying Shepherd (Pieter Bruegel II)
The Fast Day Meal (Chardin)

Order Prints/Download High Resolution Images (Some Not Available)
Images Related to Holy Week
More Liturgical Artwork

Lent and Church Year Books

Lent Reading List
More Christian & Church Year Books

Traditions and Symbols

Traditions
Lenten Disciplines: Fasting, Almsgiving, Scripture Reading, Prayer
Stations of the Cross
Making Pancakes on Shrove Tuesday (the eve of Ash Wednesday)

Symbols
Crucifix and Cross
Ashes
Fish
Lamp and Oil
Two Scourges
The Color Violet

Lent Games and Educational Materials

Lent Crossword Puzzle (html)
Lent Crossword Puzzle Answers (html)
Lent Crossword Puzzle (pdf)
Interactive Lent Crossword Puzzle

Frequently Asked Questions

1. I am penitential everyday. Why do you only do it for 40 days out of the year?
We also believe it's important to be penitential everyday, if by that you mean confessing our sins and making amends to God and those humans whom we have offended. However, if you mean that Christianity is always about fasting and self-denial, then we would respectfully disagree. Christianity is also a religion of feasting. The resurrection of our Lord and his triumph over death should fill us with great joy. However, Christianity also has a penitential and somber side. Our Lord was crucified before he was raised. So, we also don't believe in feasting all the time either. There are proper times for each, which is the beauty of the Church year.

2. Why Only Work on Spiritual Discipline 40 Days a Year?
Spiritual discipline and growth in Jesus are not limited to 40 days of the year and should occur everyday. Likewise, things done during Lent should always be done with the purpose of integrating them into our entire Christian life. Here the spring-cleaning analogy works well. Lent is a time of extra intense spiritual house cleaning, where the focus on prayer, fasting and almsgiving becomes the most important and supersedes all else. Although many claim to do this kind of self-evaluation frequently, I'd say it's a safe bet that traditions without Lent rarely come close to devoting even forty days to it.

3. What is Mardi Gras?

4. What is Shrove Tuesday?

5. Why Doesn't My Church Observe Lent?
For some reason many churches, even though they celebrate Christmas and Easter, ignore Lent entirely. Why? Well, some Christians believe that Lent places too much emphasis on sin, guilt, and wrongdoing, and they would prefer to do away with what they consider to be such outdated talk. Churches that have been influenced by the Radical Reformation, including Baptists, Pentecostals, and so-called "Non-Denominational" churches, have never observed Lent, probably because it is a "tradition" of the Church, not explicitly commanded in the Bible. However, the idea of Lent, emulating our Lord's 40 days in the wilderness, is certainly a Bible-based tradition. Another possible reason (which is tied to the first two reasons) is that Lent is difficult, and requires that we examine material and spiritual excesses in our lives. It is contrary to our culture's idea that everything (including one's faith) must be happy, easy, and have mass popular appeal. Of course, such ideas are secular modern and postmodern ideals, not based on the Bible, Jesus, or Christian history. The reality is that Jesus' life was full of poverty, simplicity, and sacrifice, ideals we strive for our entire lives, but focus on during Lent.

6. What are The Western Catholic Lenten Fasting and Abstinence Guidelines?
The minimum the Catholic Church expects is fasting on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, and abstinence on the Fridays of Lent. Fasting means eating only one full meatless meal on that day. However, one may still eat a breakfast and even a lunch in addition to a full meal if the two additional small meals do not add up to a second full meal. Snacking is not allowed. Drinking coffee, tea, juices, etc, between meals is permitted on fast days. Abstinence requires abstaining from meat, and soups and gravies made from meat, for the entire day. Meat is defined as the "flesh meat of warm-blooded animals." This is the reason why Catholics often eat fish on Fridays, but anything meatless works. The requirements are slightly different for those of certain ages. Fasting is only required of those from ages 18-59, and abstinence is required of all people 14 and older, although parents are expected to teach their children the reasons behind their fasting, etc. Those with health conditions are excluded. Note that some Western bishop conferences may have more strict/less strict fast and abstinence requirements, so it is wise to check with your local parish for local fast and abstinence expectations. Also, Eastern Catholic Rites have different fasting guidelines. These are simply the minimum expectations. Additional forms of self-denial, within reason, can also be spiritually beneficial.

7. What if a Solemnity (such as the Annunciation or St. Joseph) Falls on a Friday? Do We Have to Abstain from Meat?
In the most recent version of Latin Canon Law, Canon 1251 specifically states that if a solemnity falls on a Friday, Catholics are not bound to abstain from meat. However, Canon 1253 states that Conferences of Bishops can determine exact Lenten observances for local Catholics, so it is always best to check with your local priest if you have questions related to abstinence and fasting.

8. What Are The Names of the 3 Days Before Ash Wednesday?
These three days, beginning with the Sunday before Ash Wednesday are collectively known as "Shrovetide." The Sunday Before Ash Wednesday has been called Hall Sunday, meaning hallowed or holy Sunday, and Carling Sunday from the European custom of eating parched peas fried in butter (carlings) on this day. The Monday before Ash Wednesday has been called Hall Monday, Callop Monday, named for a food eaten that day, and Blue Monday, named because on this Monday the penitence of Lent is approaching, thus causing some to have feelings of depression, symbolized by the color blue. However, others have called the day Merry Monday, because for some, it is a day to party before Lent. Tuesday has been called Hall Night, Shrove Tuesday (see #3 above), Pancake Day (see #3 above), and Mardi Gras (see #3 above).

9. What is Laetare Sunday?

About ChurchYear.Net

In the course of a year, the Church celebrates the unfolding of the mystery of Christ, beginning with Advent, anticipating his first coming, and reaching a high point at Easter, the feast of feasts, celebrating Christ's resurrection. Through the Church Year, which includes the seasonal, daily, and yearly cycles of Christian time, we commemorate, and participate in, events in the lives of Jesus and his followers, through sanctified time. Thus, we experience in symbol what Jesus and his followers did in reality. We do this through daily prayer (The Liturgy of the Hours), worship, the Eucharist, the sacraments, art, changing colors, canticles, psalms, antiphons, symbols, and other means.

The Church Year, including all liturgical celebrations and times of prayer, is one of the most meaningful dimensions of the Catholic faith. Many Christians of all traditions feel drawn to this system of holy time, and prefer to orient their lives around the Christian calendar instead of the secular calendar. Postmodern men and women feel especially drawn to many elements of Sanctified Time: mystery, connection to the past, and a multitude of religious symbols and experiential elements. Thus the Church Year is a postmodern Catholic evangelism tool, and a means of spiritual growth for all who use it.

We now have All About...! pages for every season of the Church Year, and have many All About...! pages for various feasts, fasts, and holy days of the Church Year. Each All About...! page has a history, general facts, scriptural references, traditions, symbols, links, worship resources, sermons, an FAQ, and more material related to the particular season or holy day. We also have a helpful Church Year and Liturgy Dictionary, to define certain unfamiliar terms and practices. We are expanding our resources to include general prayers, language resources, and other tools peripherally related to celebrating the Church Year, but still important to its celebration. Enjoy!

If you have any suggestions or information you would like to add to our Church Year. Net pages, please contact us.

This page written by Jonathan Bennett and David Bennett. Last updated 03-01-2011.