All About Lent

EWTN ^ | 1996 | James Akin

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All comments and thoughts welcomed.

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Lent and Easter: A Sourcebook for Families

The History of Lent

The Mystery of Lent

Practice During Lent

Message of the Holy Father for Lent 2002

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What is Lent?

Sunday Soundbite by Father Greg Friedman, O.F.M. What is Lent?
RealAudio
These days, a Catholic may be able to tell your age by the way you explain Lent. Hello, I'm Father Greg Friedman. American Catholic.org presents this series of "Sunday Soundbites" for the season of Lent. Older Catholics, who remember Lent in the 1930s, 40s or 50s—or perhaps even earlier—may first think of this season as a time of penance. Lent was when you gave up something—like food or going to the movies— in order to do penance for sin. Since the Church has restored the rite of initiating adults into the Christian faith, Lent has taken on a different meaning—one that goes back to the fourth and fifth centuries. At that time, the 40 days before Easter were the final stage of preparation for those about to be baptized. The rest of the Church prayed and fasted in solidarity with them. Today, with the presence in most Catholic parishes of a group of adults visibly making ready to receive the sacraments of initiation at the Easter Vigil, Lent has regained that "baptismal" emphasis. We still can decide on a Lenten observance—fasting, prayer, almsgiving—but we do it with the purpose of recalling our Baptism, of deepening our commitment to Christ. And we do it in solidarity with those preparing to be baptized or received into the Church. The readings for each Sunday in Lent have been chosen by the Church to relate to the journey of faith each of us undertakes, to our basic baptismal call to be part of Christ. Some of the selections, from the Gospel of John, for example, have been used for centuries to recall the meaning of Baptism. For people about to be baptized, these Scripture passages take on a powerful meaning indeed. The meditations you will find here on our Web site will call attention to the various "baptismal connections" for each Sunday. Those who are already baptized, are still on a journey. Our faith must be renewed, our baptismal promises affirmed, each time we gather with the Church for the Eucharist, where we hear God's Word and come to the table to be transformed into the Body of Christ. We bring to that experience our questions, our sinfulness, our hunger and thirst, our need to grow, our longing for God. As you reflect with me through these "Sunday Soundbites," let's pray for each other as we make our Lenten journey of faith. I'm Father Greg Friedman for AmericanCatholic.org. Franciscan Father Greg Friedman, O.F.M., is executive producer of educational religious videos for St.Anthony Messenger Press. He also helps develop Web-based projects for the Press, including OnceCatholic.org and FranciscanRadio.org. He assists each weekend at a parish that ministers to college students and serves as a member of the leadership team of the Cincinnati-based Franciscan Friars.

[Salvation]

Lenten Ping!

Catholic Discussion Ping!

Please notify me via Freepmail if you would like to be added to or removed from the Catholic Discussion Ping list.

[sockmonkey]

Question: When I was growing up (50's and early 60's), most Catholics that I knew abstained from meat during all of Lent, Sundays included.
Now it seems that most Catholics I know, tell me that was never the practice, that Sunday was always a day of feasting, never fasting. Most of these Catholics grew up during the late 60's to 70's.
Have Lenten Practices changed? I'm a Convert, but it seems more lax now than what I recall from the practices of Catholics I knew in my youth.

[wai-ming]

Thanks for the informative post on Lent.

Someone once asked me what I was "giving up" for Lent. Is personal sacrifice during Lent a requirement for Christians, or just Catholics?

I understand there is a connection between Mardi Gras, Carnival (in Brazil), Fat Tuesday and Ash Wednesday.

Talk about going from one extreme to the other.

[nickcarraway]

Lenten Pretzels

Fr. William Saunders

The pretzel has its origins as an official food of Lent. However, much of the information available is based on tradition that has been handed down through the ages. Nevertheless, the Vatican library actually has a manuscript illustrating one of the earliest pictures and descriptions of the pretzel (Manuscript Code no. 3867).

In the early Church, the Lenten abstinence and fasting laws were more strict than what the faithful practice today. Many areas of the Church abstained from all forms of meat and animal products, while others made exceptions for food like fish. For example, Pope St. Gregory (d. 604), writing to St. Augustine of Canterbury, issued the following rule: "We abstain from flesh, meat, and from all things that come from flesh, as milk, cheese and eggs." Second, the general rule was for a person to have one meal a day, in the evening or at three o’clock in the afternoon, and smaller snacks to maintain strength. So a need arose for a very simple food which would fulfill the abstinence and fasting laws.

According to pretzel maker Snyder’s of Hanover, a young monk in the early 600s in Italy was preparing a special Lenten bread of water, flour and salt. To remind his brother monks that Lent was a time of prayer, he rolled the bread dough in strips and then shaped each strip in the form of crossed arms, mimicking the then popular prayer position of folding one’s arms over each other on the chest. The bread was then baked as a soft bread, just like the big soft pretzels one can find today. (To be fair, some traditions date the story to even the 300s.)

Because these breads were shaped into the form of crossed arms, they were called bracellae, the Latin word for "little arms." From this word, the Germans derived the word bretzel which has since mutated to the familiar word pretzel.

Another possibility for the origins of the word pretzel is that the young monk gave these breads to children as a reward when they could recite their prayers. The Latin word pretiola means "little reward," from which pretzel could also be reasonably derived.

Apparently, this simple Lenten food became very popular. Pretzels were enjoyed by all people. They became a symbol of good luck, long life and prosperity. Interestingly, they were also a common food given to the poor and hungry. Not only were pretzels easy to give to someone in need, but also they were both a substantial food to satisfy the hunger and a spiritual reminder of God knowing a person’s needs and answering our prayers.

Another interesting story involving pretzels arises in the late 1500s, when the Ottoman Moslem Turks were besieging the city of Vienna, Austria. The Turks could not break the city’s defenses, so they began to tunnel below ground. The monks in the basement of the monastery were baking pretzels and heard the sound of digging. They alerted the guard and saved the city.

The soft pretzels eventually evolved into hard baked pretzels. Another story is that a young apprentice baker dozed off while tending to the oven where the pretzels were baking. The oven fire began to die out, he awoke, and then stoked up the oven. In the end, he over-baked the pretzels. At first the master baker was upset, but soon discovered that the hard pretzels were also delicious. These hard pretzels were less perishable than the soft, and thereby easy to have available to give to the poor and hungry.

Here we find another "fun" tradition of our faith, just like Easter eggs or hot cross buns. Actually, a good Lenten family activity would be to make pretzels, explaining to the children their significance. The real challenge for this author is to find some justification for adding beer to the Lenten pretzel tradition.

Lenten Pretzels

[NYer]

Have Lenten Practices changed? I'm a Convert, but it seems more lax now than what I recall from the practices of Catholics I knew in my youth.

Like you, I too grew up during the 50's and 60's, but was raised in a catholic family, attending catholic schools. We were taught that Ash Wednesday and Good Friday were days of fast and abstinence. Throughout Lent, Fridays were always days of abstinence. I have never met any catholic who abstained for 40 days, unless it was by personal choice. (Ironically, the reason we were given for abstaining on Fridays was to encourage the sale of fish.)

It was also our practice to "give up" something of importance. For the kids, this challenge was usually in the form of candy. Our Easter baskets were always packed with all sorts of candy. Even then, I recall that sense of accomplishment, knowing that I had made it to the end without succumbing to temptation.

I also recall that during Lent, the statues in the church were covered. I haven't seen that practice in many years. On Good Friday, following afternoon services, the altar was stripped bare and the Holy Eucharist removed from the Tabernacle, leaving the door open. You are right, though, to point out that Lenten devotions were taken more seriously then than now.

As a convert, you will enjoy this story. A while back, one of the guests on Journey Home, was a couple who had just converted to catholicism. They spoke of the first Lent following their decision to convert. Though not yet catholics, they decided to follow a Lenten practice of either "giving up" or "taking on". After considerable discussion, they felt the most challenging thing to do would be to attend daily mass. After 40 days, they continued the practice, noting how much strength they had gained from the experience.

I feel Lent should be a time for personal sacrifice, and that we must be honest with ourselves in its selection. Daily mass is an excellent practice, as is time spent reading the bible or mediting on selected passages. More importantly, it is a time to reach out to others.

[NYer]

Q: What are appropriate activities for ordinary days during Lent?

A: Giving up something we enjoy for Lent, doing of physical or spiritual acts of mercy for others, prayer, fasting, abstinence, going to confession, and other acts expressing repentance in general.

Here are some interesting suggestions, compliments of EWTN

WHAT TO GIVE UP . . .

Give up complaining. . . . . . . .focus on gratitude.
Give up pessimism. . . . . . . . . become an optimist.
Give up harsh judgments . . .think kindly thoughts.
Give up worry. . . . . . . . . . . . . trust Divine Providence.
Give up discouragement. . . . .be full of hope.
Give up bitterness. . . . . . . . . . turn to forgiveness.
Give up hatred. . . . . . . . . . . . . return good for evil.
Give up negativism . . . . . . . . .be positive.
Give up anger. . . . . . . . . . . . . .be more patient.
Give up pettiness. . . . . . . . . . .become mature.
Give up gloom. . . . . . . . . . . . . .enjoy the beauty that is all                                                      around you.
Give up jealousy. . . . . . . . . . . .pray for trust.
Give up gossiping. . . . . . . . . . .control your tongue.
Give up sin. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . turn to virtue.
Give up giving up. . . . . . . . . . . hang in there!

[Desdemona]

BTTT

[Salvation]

During Lent: Fasting is encouraged but not mandated during Lent excepting the designated days. Abstaining from meat on Fridays and Ash Wednesday. This is different for me also than when I was growing up. I still try to fast and definitely abstain from meat on Ash Wednesday and all the Fridays.

**Q: In addition to Ash Wednesday, are any other days during Lent days of fast or abstinence?

A: Yes. All Fridays during Lent are days of abstinence. Also, Good Friday, the day on which Christ was crucified, is another day of both fast and abstinence. All days in Lent are appropriate for fasting or abstaining, but canon law does not require fasting on those days. Such fasting or abstinence is voluntary, like a freewill offering.**

[Salvation]

**Mardi Gras, Carnival (in Brazil), Fat Tuesday**

Yes, in anticipation of the heavy fasting and abstinence previously encouraged by the Catholic Church, these festivals were a light-hearted approach (eat-out) to the forty days of perceived suffering during Lent.

I'll see if I can find additonal info about them.

[Salvation]

Thanks for this informative post. I was not aware of the popularity of pretzels during Lent. No beer, right? Just pretzels. LOL!

[Salvation]

**After considerable discussion, they felt the most challenging thing to do would be to attend daily mass. After 40 days, they continued the practice, noting how much strength they had gained from the experience.**

This is an excellent choice if it is at all possible.

During Lent our church has small faith-sharing groups that concentrate on the upcoming week's first and second reading, the responsorial psalm, and the Gospel.

This "once a week joining together with people from the parish is a wonderful way to strengthen your parish through evangelization, increase volunteerism and promote stewardship also.

Disciples in Mission

[Salvation]

**Give up complaining. . . . . . . .focus on gratitude.
Give up pessimism. . . . . . . . . become an optimist.
Give up harsh judgments . . .think kindly thoughts.
Give up worry. . . . . . . . . . . . . trust Divine Providence.
Give up discouragement. . . . .be full of hope.
Give up bitterness. . . . . . . . . . turn to forgiveness.
Give up hatred. . . . . . . . . . . . . return good for evil.
Give up negativism . . . . . . . . .be positive.
Give up anger. . . . . . . . . . . . . .be more patient.
Give up pettiness. . . . . . . . . . .become mature.
Give up gloom. . . . . . . . . . . . . .enjoy the beauty that is all around you.
Give up jealousy. . . . . . . . . . . .pray for trust.
Give up gossiping. . . . . . . . . . .control your tongue.
Give up sin. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . turn to virtue.
Give up giving up. . . . . . . . . . . hang in there!**

What a wonderful list!!!!! Thank you

[Desdemona]

When I was growing up (50's and early 60's), most Catholics that I knew abstained from meat during all of Lent, Sundays included.
Now it seems that most Catholics I know, tell me that was never the practice, that Sunday was always a day of feasting, never fasting.

At one time, yes, this was the practice. In fact it wasn't just meat.

Mardi Gras, or "Fat Tuesday" had the purpose of being the last day of cleaning out the larder before Lent. It started as less of two week of parties than 7-10 days of eating up all the cheese, eggs, meat, etc., in storage. The dietary practices changed and became a big party. Unfortunately, it has now gotten out of hand in some places. But that's where it comes from.

[Desdemona]

Pretzel Recipe from http://www.geocities.com/joelle109/Lenten_Pretzels.html

1 Tb honey or sugar

1 package yeast

1 1/2 Cups lukewarm water

1 tsp salt

4 Cups flour

1 egg, beaton

Course or kosher salt



Add honey to the water; sprinkle in the yeast and stir until dissolved. Add salt, blend in the flower and knead the bread until smooth.

Cut dough into pieces. Roll them into ropes and twist into pretzel shapes. You can make large or small pretzels, but to cook at the same rate, they need to be one size.

Place on lightly greased cookie sheets. Brush with beaten egg. Sprinkle with course salt.

Bake at 425 for 12-15 minutes until pretzels are golden brown.

[Salvation]

Lenten Reflections

Thanks for this link. Day by day reflections.....................

[Salvation]

Message of His Holiness John Paul II for Lent 2003