On Wednesday, February 17, 2010, we begin one of the most important seasons of the church year – the season of Lent.

What is Lent?

The word “Lent” comes from the Anglo-Saxon word lencten, or spring, the time of year when the days begin to lengthen. Lent itself is always the same period of time, but its starting date is tied to the movable feast of Easter and can be as early as February 4 or as late as March 10.

Originating in the fourth century of the church, the season of Lent spans 40 days (excluding Sundays) beginning on Ash Wednesday and climaxing during Holy Week with Holy Thursday (Maundy Thursday), Good Friday, and concluding Saturday before Easter. Originally, Lent was the time of preparation for those who were to be baptized, a time of concentrated study and prayer before their baptism at the Easter Vigil, the celebration of the Resurrection of the Lord early on Easter Sunday. But since these new members were to be received into a living community of Faith, the entire community was called to preparation. Also, this was the time when those who had been separated from the Church would prepare to rejoin the community.

Today, Lent is marked by a time of prayer and preparation to celebrate Easter. Since Sundays celebrate the resurrection of Jesus, the six Sundays that occur during Lent are not counted as part of the 40 days of Lent, and are referred to as the Sundays in Lent. The number 40 is connected with many biblical events, but especially with the forty days Jesus spent in the wilderness preparing for His ministry by facing the temptations that could lead him to abandon his mission and calling. Christians today use this period of time for introspection, self examination, and repentance.

Lenten Program

To help us prepare for the celebration of Christ’s resurrection at Easter, the Cathedral offers a program of devotion and reflection during the season of Lent.

Ash Wednesday – February 17, 2010

Ash Wednesday gets its name from the practice of placing ashes on the foreheads of the faithful as a sign of repentance and a reminder of our mortality. Traditionally, the ashes for the Ash Wednesday service come from burning the palm fronds from the previous year’s Palm Sunday celebration. The ashes combined with oil are used by the Priest to make the Sign of The Cross, first on his/her own forehead and then on each of those present, with the words: "Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return."

Wednesdays during Lent:

Each Wednesday evening during Lent, we begin our introspection with the Stations of the Cross; a devotion to the passion of Christ consisting of prayers and meditations on fourteen occurrences that were experienced by Christ on His way to the crucifixion.

During the time of the crusades (1095-1270), it became popular for pilgrims in the Holy Land to walk in the footsteps of Jesus to Calvary. After the Moslems recaptured the Holy Land pilgrimages were too dangerous. As a result, the Stations of the Cross became a popular substitute pilgrimage throughout Europe. Originally done only outdoors, the Stations were allowed inside churches in the mid-18th century. The devotion may be conducted personally by the faithful, making their way from one station to another and saying the prayers, or by having an officiating celebrant move from cross to cross while the faithful make the responses.

The Stations of the Cross (5:30 p.m.) is followed by a light Lenten soup supper (6:15 p.m.) and a short program.

For our Lenten program and your own personal spiritual journey, Dr. Delbert L. Penrod will be working from the book “The Apostolic Preaching of the Cross” by Leon Morris, who was the Vice Regent of Ridley College of Melbourne, Australia.

Please join us!