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Lent - Introduction
Lent is the forty-day season before Easter which was traditionally marked by fasting and prayer. In the Western church fasting has fallen out of favour, but many Christians will still choose a treat - often chocolate or alcohol - and abstain from this during Lent, donating the money saved to the Church or other charitable causes.
There is no biblical mandate for Lent - it isn't a sacrament instructed by Jesus - but was developed by the early church to prepare Christians for the celebration of the death and resurrection of Jesus through prayer, penitence, charitable giving and self denial for the annual celebration of the death and resurrection of Jesus.
Although there is no biblical mandate for Lent there is considerable biblical references to forty days, including the time Jesus spent in the desert where he was tempted by Satan; the forty days Moses spent on Mount Sinai with God; the forty days and nights Elijah spent walking to Mount Horeb; the forty days and forty nights of rain during Noah's flood; the forty years the Hebrew people spent travelling to the Promised Land and the forty days the city of Nineveh had to repent in Jonah's prophecy of judgement.
Lent runs from Ash Wednesday until Holy Saturday. The actual dates vary each year as Easter is a "movable feast". In 2009 Ash Wednesday is 25th February and Holy Saturday is 11th April. Holy Saturday is the day between Good Friday and Easter Sunday. Recently, some sections of the media have mistakenly begun calling this day Easter Saturday - but Easter Saturday is actually the Saturday after Easter Sunday.
The six Sundays in Lent do not count as part of the 40 days and the fasting does not apply. This is because every Sunday is a mini-feast day in which Christ's Resurrection is celebrated.
The word Lent is derived from the Old English word 'Lencten', which means 'spring'. Before the Middle Ages Lent was referred to by the Latin name quadragesima. This is translated from the Greek word tessarakoste which means, literally, the fortieth day before Easter.
Lent - The Bishop's Lent Appeal
‘Children, love must not be a matter of theory or talk; it must be true love which shows itself in action.’
1 John 3.18
The Bishop of Lichfield's Lent Appeal provides an annual opportunity for churches and churchgoers to raise vital funds for essential caring projects here in Lichfield Diocese and across the world. This year, under the banner Yebo, gogo , the appeal is funding a number of pojects working to support elderly people.
Lent - Online Pilgrimage to the Holy Land
Christian Aid is organising an online pilgrimage to the Holy Land this year, giving you the opportunity to pray for the peace of Jerusalem and the holy Land. During the pilgrimage you will be challenged to go beyond hearing about the people in the Holy Land and will instead, hear from them.
Every day through Lent, this virtual pilgrimage will take you on an interactive journey. Using short videos, podcasts, photo galleries, prayers and stories it will bring the Holy Land alive. We will follow a route that takes in many of the locations mentioned as part of Jesus' journey towards Jerusalem. And along the way you will be able to find out more about issues, connect with other users, share your views and take part in actions that will help change lives.
Lent - A Heart for Creation
Last year the four bishops in the Diocese of Lichfield issued a Lent Challenge to help Christians mark the traditional fast in a modern way. The challenge - 'A Heart for Creation' - encourages us to think about the environment and about how we can play our part to reduce our carbon footprint and tackle global warming. Many found it a useful exercise and we are making it available again this year. For each day during Lent we provide a fact, a challenge relevant to the fact, and a prayer, poem or Bible passage for reflection.
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