Even as we enter a penitential season, I’d like to reflect on penance in a festive season. This topic does have an application to Lent. Every Sunday celebrates the Resurrection, but Sundays still remain part of the Lenten season. Today is the First Sunday of Lent, for instance, not a Read more…
Lent originated from the intense preparation of catechumens on the days preceding the Easter Vigil, as they prepared to receive Baptism: They who are to be baptized shall fast on Friday, and on Saturday the bishop shall assemble them and command them to kneel in prayer. And laying his hand upon Read more…
Medieval Lent was, to say the least, a lot harder. The season’s origins come from the early catechumenate, which led converts through a multi-day period of intense prayer and fasting before their initiation at the Easter vigil. Eventually, this time extended to forty days, in imitation of Christ’s fasting in Read more…