Lent
Lent is for Easter what Advent is for Christmas. This is a forty-day preparation for the celebration of the resurrection of Christ. The themes of this season are discipline and sacrifice. The use of forty days parallels the recurring theme of the number forty in the Bible, from the Israelites' forty years in the wilderness to Jesus' forty days in the wilderness. These weeks are crucial for self-examination, self-denial, and heartfelt repentance in order that believers might be able to receive God's great act of love and redemption. Though termed forty days, this period actually consists of forty days plus Sundays.
Lent originated in the very earliest days of the Church as a preparatory time for Easter, when the faithful rededicated themselves and when converts were instructed in the faith and prepared for baptism. By observing the forty days of Lent, some believe that an individual imitates Jesus' withdrawal into the wilderness for forty days.
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Lent is for Easter what Advent is for Christmas. This is a forty-day preparation for the celebration of the resurrection of Christ. The themes of this season are discipline and sacrifice. The use of forty days parallels the recurring theme of the number forty in the Bible, from the Israelites' forty years in the wilderness to Jesus' forty days in the wilderness. These weeks are crucial for self-examination, self-denial, and heartfelt repentance in order that believers might be able to receive God's great act of love and redemption. Though termed forty days, this period actually consists of forty days plus Sundays.
Lent originated in the very earliest days of the Church as a preparatory time for Easter, when the faithful rededicated themselves and when converts were instructed in the faith and prepared for baptism. By observing the forty days of Lent, some believe that an individual imitates Jesus' withdrawal into the wilderness for forty days.
Return to Did you know | Next Page
