lent notes

Notes & Activities on the Season of Lent



















1. Why does the Church have a Liturgical Calendar?

The liturgical year, also known as the church year, consists of the cycle of liturgical seasons in Christian churches which determines when feast days, including celebrations of saints, are to be observed, and which portions of Scripture are to be read either in an annual cycle or in a cycle of several years. Distinct liturgical colors may appear in connection with different seasons of the liturgical year. The dates of the festivals vary somewhat between the different churches, though the sequence and logic is largely the same.

2. When does Lent begin?
Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, which is the day on which they faithful have their foreheads signed with ashes in the form of a Cross (see piece on Ash Wednesday). It is also a day of fast and abstinence.

3. What determines the date of Ash Wednesday?
Ash Wednesday, in the calendar of Western Christianity, is the first day of Lent and occurs 46 days before Easter. It is a moveable feast, falling on a different date each year because it is dependent on the date of Easter. It can occur as early as February 4 or as late as March 10

4. How long is Lent?
The duration of lent lasts 40 days

5. Why are Sundays not considered Lenten Days?
Because Sunday is the day on which Christ arose, making it an inappropriate day to fast and mourn our sins. On Sunday we must celebrate Christ's resurrection for our salvation. It is Friday on which we commemorate his death for our sins. The Sundays of the year are days of celebration and the Fridays of the year are days of penance.
6. Where else in Scripture is the number 40 mentioned?
A. Forty days Moses was in the mount and received the law of God, Exodus 24:18
B. Forty days Moses was in the mount after the sin of the Golden Calf, Deuteronomy 9:18,25.
C. Forty days of the spies, issuing in the penal sentence of the 40 years, Numbers 13:26, 14:34.
D. Forty days of Elijah in Horeb, 1Kings 19:8.
7. How is the date for Easter calculated in the West?

Computus is the calculation of the date of Easter in the Christian calendar. The name has been used for this procedure since the early Middle Ages, as it was one of the most important computations of the age.
8. What is the purpose of Lent?

Many Christians throughout the world observe Lent. Catholic, Orthodox, and many Protestants benefit from this annual time of sacrifice and simplicity.

9. What are the three things that the Church encourages us to do during Lent?
a)fasting

b)charity

c)scripture reading and praying

10. Which Sacrament does the Church encourages us to receive during Lent?

The church wants us to take part in the sacrament of penance

11. What are the official Lenten Regulations of the Church?

he Catholic Church, in an attempt to help Catholics do at least a minimum during Lent, asks all Catholics to fast and abstain from meat on certain days. Fasting means to limit food to one full meal a day with the possibility of two smaller meals (not adding up to a full meal) as needed. Abstinence means not eating meat, although fish is allowed.

Catholics 14 years of age or older are to abstain from meat on Ash Wednesday and all the Fridays of Lent. Catholics between the ages of 14 and 59 are also to fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. If one's work or health make it inadvisable fast or abstain from meat, they are not obligated to do so.

At one time, people gave up all dairy products and meat during all of Lent. Since chickens continue to produce eggs and cows milk, the custom developed to make the milk into cheese and color the eggs so that when Easter arrived, no food would be wasted.