2008 Woodie Awards
A&E editor ends Lenten confusion
With the help of Father Arokia Raj Samala of St. Joseph's Catholic Church, arts and entertainment editor Maddisun Fowler has come up with the answers to a few commonly asked questions about the Lenten season.
Maddisun Fowler
Issue date: 3/1/07 Section: Religion & Politics
- Page 1 of 2 next >
1) What is Lent?
Lent is a time to put God once again at the center of our life, to abandon sin and go back to God. (Lent was established in the church originally as a preparation for baptism and for Easter celebration and later, as a period of repentance of sin for those already baptized. Lent always will remain a period during which we ought to share more intensely in the suffering and death of Jesus so as to share more fully in his resurrection.)
2) When does Lent begin,
and when does it end?
The season of Lent spans 40 days beginning on Ash Wednesday and climaxing during Holy Week with Holy Thursday , Good Friday and concluding the Saturday before Easter.
3) Why do Catholics
go through Lent?
After 2,000 years, this time of Lent continues to be as important for us as it was for the early church. Whether baptized already or about to receive baptism, the church urges us to a radical change in our way of life. In his letter to the Christians of Rome, Paul tells us of what this radical change should consist: "...in dying to sin and in rising to a new life." (Rom. 6:1-11)
4) Why does Lent
last for 40 days?
Jesus fasted 40 days before he began his public life. In the Bible, 40 is a significant number. Moses went to the mountain to seek the face of God for 40 days in prayer and fasting. The people of Israel were in the wilderness for 40 years for the preparation of their entry into the Promised Land.
The prophet Elijah fasted for 40 days as he journeyed in the wilderness to the Mountain of God. So we are called to journey with the Lord during this special season of prayer, fasting, almsgiving and penance as we prepare to celebrate the feast of Easter, the Christian Passover.
5) How does our prayer life change during Lent?
During Lent, we pray more and better than usual, we do penance and we help those in need more than what we are doing normally.
6) What is Ash Wednesday,
Lent is a time to put God once again at the center of our life, to abandon sin and go back to God. (Lent was established in the church originally as a preparation for baptism and for Easter celebration and later, as a period of repentance of sin for those already baptized. Lent always will remain a period during which we ought to share more intensely in the suffering and death of Jesus so as to share more fully in his resurrection.)
2) When does Lent begin,
and when does it end?
The season of Lent spans 40 days beginning on Ash Wednesday and climaxing during Holy Week with Holy Thursday , Good Friday and concluding the Saturday before Easter.
3) Why do Catholics
go through Lent?
After 2,000 years, this time of Lent continues to be as important for us as it was for the early church. Whether baptized already or about to receive baptism, the church urges us to a radical change in our way of life. In his letter to the Christians of Rome, Paul tells us of what this radical change should consist: "...in dying to sin and in rising to a new life." (Rom. 6:1-11)
4) Why does Lent
last for 40 days?
Jesus fasted 40 days before he began his public life. In the Bible, 40 is a significant number. Moses went to the mountain to seek the face of God for 40 days in prayer and fasting. The people of Israel were in the wilderness for 40 years for the preparation of their entry into the Promised Land.
The prophet Elijah fasted for 40 days as he journeyed in the wilderness to the Mountain of God. So we are called to journey with the Lord during this special season of prayer, fasting, almsgiving and penance as we prepare to celebrate the feast of Easter, the Christian Passover.
5) How does our prayer life change during Lent?
During Lent, we pray more and better than usual, we do penance and we help those in need more than what we are doing normally.
6) What is Ash Wednesday,
Be the first to comment on this story