Exploring The Meaning And Practices Of Lent In Christianity – I was raised in the church my whole life, but I was raised in a religious tradition that did not follow the church calendar. Well, if they did, I was paying less attention than I thought (which, if you knew me as a teenager, you know is very possible). When I began attending worship at a United Methodist congregation, I was introduced to the church calendar, including the concept of Lent. As I grew in my relationship with God, I not only began to better understand Lent (and all the church’s calendar seasons), but I developed an appreciation for its impact on my life each year. As a result, I became the youth director at the same UMC. When I served at a local church, I tried to share the practice of Lent with teenagers who were involved in the ministry in hopes that they would find a way to strengthen their relationship in Christ.
Lent is a season of preparation for Easter lasting 40 days, not counting Sundays, extending from Ash Wednesday to Easter each year. As you can imagine setting the number of days to 40 is not a coincidence at all. The 40 days of Lent are set as a reminder of the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert in preparation for his time in ministry to the world. Yes, that desert time when Satan came on the scene to tempt Jesus on three separate occasions.
Exploring The Meaning And Practices Of Lent In Christianity
One of the beauties of Lent is that there is no rule book to follow. The point of Lent mentioned earlier is to prepare our hearts for Easter where we celebrate the Resurrection of our Lord. Jesus spent those days fasting in the desert, denying himself the comfort of food. With this in mind, many Christians choose to fast from certain things, such as certain foods, or habits such as social media or watching television. During Lent, the idea is that we give up our desires and die to ourselves. Also, instead of fasting from something, other disciples take the opportunity of Lent to add or expand on spiritual disciplines such as prayer, Bible reading, or others. Remember that there is no formula for success in how you celebrate Lent.
Begin The National Eucharistic Revival With Living With Christ
Jesus spent those 40 days denying himself through fasting, to prepare for his journey through death, resurrection, and subsequent ministry. Lent allows us to recognize and remember and prepare for our journey from sin and death to life and love with Jesus. A former pastor I had the privilege of serving with once said this when discussing critical events in our lives. “It’s not that we forget them, it’s that we fail to remember them.” Think about important historical events that happened in your lifetime. Chances are you remember exactly where you were when you got the news, so you didn’t forget it at all, but you failed to remember it… well until I remind you. The same goes for Lent. This is a great way to avoid failing to remember what Jesus went through in the wilderness, but also the consequences we celebrate on Easter Sunday. May your Lenten season prepare you well for the celebration of our Risen Lord, and may you share a time of remembrance with the young people you enjoy serving. May your Easter joy be greater.
It’s easy to lose the meaning of Lent. Our Lenten penances can become like New Year’s resolutions—they become a way to accomplish things we want to change about ourselves and our lives, like skipping breakfast to lose weight. Quitting or habits you want to lose. A time, instead of using them around Jesus.
So how to do Lent differently this year, drawing closer to Jesus through spiritual lessons that support your Lenten penance? Check out our recommendations to strengthen your spiritual life this Lent.
You probably think you know the meaning of Lent and why we fast. But there is so much depth to this incredible season that the Church allows us to prepare for our spiritual rebirth at Easter. The following books will help you deepen your understanding of fasting and the purpose of fasting.
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As we spend time reflecting on Jesus’ great sacrifice for us on the cross, it is appropriate to go to confession during Lent. Whether you go to confession once a week or haven’t for years, reading about the sacraments in the books below will help you be grateful for what God has done for you.
The more we pray, and the richer our prayer life, the closer we will be to God and the easier it will be to follow His commandments. Everyone has their own preferred way of praying, but we can all improve how we pray. The topics we recommend below cover different ways to pray, but they can all help you develop a deeper relationship with the Lord.
Although not exactly a spiritual text, the Stations of the Cross is a beautiful and lovely work of meditation on the passion of our Lord and therefore the devotion deserves a mention here. But this process can also be meaningless if we read meaningless words, or if our mind is constantly wandering. Two ways to improve this are to pray them yourself (in addition to praying them with your parish, as this is a good practice), and to try a new form of Stations that gives you a new perspective on the Passion. Visualization can help to reflect. Below are our recommendations. The season of Lent has different meanings to different people. Lent is unfamiliar and strange to some. For others, it’s something they grew up with but now prefer to avoid.
But, for many, Lent is a rich and meaningful time of deep spiritual engagement. In this post, we’ll explore what Lent is and how to incorporate it in a meaningful way.
Celtic Practices To Deepen Your Faith This Lent
I grew up in a family that practiced Lent every year. I remember going to church at the beginning of Lent and wearing ashes on my forehead for the rest of the day.
My mom did a chocolate fast every year, which meant the whole family was forced to give up sweets for a few months (she made cookies).
We didn’t eat meat on Friday either. But unlike some of my friends who got paid for filet-o-fish from McDonald’s, my family wasn’t into fast food.
The best part of Lent was “Fat Tuesday”, the day before Lent when we knew Lent would begin the next day.
What We Believe
The season of Lent has different meanings for different people based on their experience and context. For some, Lent can feel unfamiliar and a bit strange. For others, Lent is something they grew up with but now tend to skip. For many, Lent is a rich and meaningful season of deep engagement and spiritual formation.
As a pastor in a Protestant context, I sometimes hear people dismiss Lent as a “Catholic thing” to be avoided. They say that for Lent Catholics, we shouldn’t do anything.
Although Lent is practiced by Catholics, it’s not really strictly a “Catholic thing.” Devotees of all denominations have found Lent to be meaningful and spiritually constructive.
Although it is more common in “liturgical churches” that follow a church calendar (Anglican, Lutheran, etc.) (note: every church follows a liturgy), Lent is a common practice in many evangelical and non-denominational churches. It has become common practice. .
Teaching Children About Lenten Sacrifice
Lent is a 40-day period that runs until Easter each year. Penance is the focus throughout the season of Lent, along with deep spiritual engagement and preparation for the joy of Easter.
The number 40 has special significance with over 100 different occurrences in the Bible. Some of the most notable include:
Lent begins on Ash Wednesday (March 2, 2022) and ends on Easter Sunday (April 17, 2022). People often fast or give something up during Lent (more on that below), but it’s not necessarily Sunday because Sunday is the day Jesus rose from the dead, and therefore, there is always an Eid day.
During Lent we are invited to change how we normally engage and live in order to focus more on Jesus and experience his transformation.
Lent At St. Peter’s — St. Peter’s Church
Fasting has three traditional pillars: prayer, fasting and charity. You can think of these as three different focus areas or ways to lean into Lent—three different ways to engage with intention and focus this season.
Jesus commanded all three in his Sermon on the Mount found in Matthew 6:1-18.
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