Lent with the Saints

    

LENT 

SAINTS J.B. Midgley All booklets are published thanks to the generous support of the members of the Catholic Truth Society

CATHOLIC TRUTH SOCIETY PUBLISHERS TO THE HOLY SEE

    

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CONTENTS The Passover of the Lord .......................................3 Preparing for the Feast of Feasts...........................5 Call to Prayer..........................................................9 Call to Conversion and Repentance....................26 Call to Almsgiving and Charity...........................44 Call to Penance, Self-denial and Fasting ............55 Looking towards Easter .......................................65 Index ......................................................................67

    

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

THE PASSOVER OF THE LORD 

The forty days preparation for the sublime feast of Easter includes the memory of the Passover meal of the Old Covenant, the celebration of the love and mercy of God the Father who delivers His chosen people from slavery in anticipation of the redemption of all mankind and release from the bondage of sin. The sacrificial, innocent lamb is eaten with unleavened bread, and its blood sprinkled on the doorposts of Hebrew dwellings so that the avenging angel knows which homes to “pass over” and so exclude them from the destroying plague.

The Passover Meal that Jesus longs to share with his disciples is the prologue to the suffering and death which achieves human redemption, restores the Covenant with Israel, glorifies His Father, and is a foretaste of the heavenly Banquet of God’s reign. He wants them to remember God’s wonderful deeds of old which, through Him and with their co-operation, are still accomplished now and in ages still to come. In family communion with them, He establishes the Eternal Covenant and institutes the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist, a transformed Passover that is a perpetual memorial of the immensity of the love He shows in His Passion, Death, and Resurrection.

    

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LENT

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I owe a debt of gratitude to Jack Robbins for invariable support and wise counsel in this and other endeavours for the Catholic Truth Society.

J.B.M, Downham Market, Feast of All Saints.

    

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

PREPARING FOR THE  FEAST OF FEASTS

The early Christians prepared for Easter with a fast of two or three days that later extended to the seven we now observe as Holy week. By the fourth century, the practice had become a ‘Lent’ of forty days, beginning on Ash Wednesday, after the examples of Moses, Elias and, most particularly, emulating the length of Our Lord’s fast in the desert. It became a season when the faithful implored God’s mercy, were therefore expected to show mercy to others, and the money saved by fasting was given as alms to help the poor (cf. Ex 34:28; 1K 19:8; Mt 4:1-13).

The Second Vatican Council, 1962-1965, draws attention to this holy time when Catechumens were first prepared for receiving the Sacrament of Baptism, and encourages today’s Church to honour the Baptismal features of the Lenten Liturgy. The Council Fathers remind the faithful of the importance of ardent prayer, giving close attention to the Word of God, and adopting a penitential spirit so that the Paschal Mysteries are worthily celebrated. They point out the social consequences of sin, but emphasise that the virtue of penance lies in the detestation of sin as an offence against God. The whole Church must engage in penitential

    

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practices, and has an obligation in charity to pray for sinners. They conclude that the “Paschal fast be kept sacred and observed everywhere on Good Friday and, when possible, prolonged throughout Holy Saturday, so that the joys of Resurrection Sunday may be visited on uplifted and responsive spirits.” (cf. Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy).

“The Church’s prayer expresses the programme for Lent in the shortest and clearest terms: ‘God our Saviour, bring us back to you and fill our minds with your wisdom. May we be enriched by our observance of Lent.’ While we are exhorted to repent, we cannot bring about our own conversion, and that it is always God who acts first and helps us to offer fitting service and praise, live the faith we profess, and trust His promise of eternal life. In Jesus He constantly turns to His people, renews their life and gives them joy. Conversion is to walk with Jesus on His way, having decided to accept our dependence on the creative love of God who brings us back... Let us pray as trustful children because the word of the Redeemer stands firm:’ Have faith I have overcome the world’” (Pope Benedict XVI).

Like the prophets before Him, Our Lord calls His disciples to conversion and penance, but He advises

    

PREPARING

FOR THE

FEAST

OF

FEASTS

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against the ostentation of those who pray, fast, and give alms in order to win public approval. The interior conversion of heart is more important, otherwise the visible signs are empty and illusory. During Lent, the Church encourages acts of penance motivated by a genuine turning to God and a determination to please Him. It is a time of cleansing, when a renewed commitment sustains the desire to change, strengthens the spirit, and brings us closer to our rejoicing Father, as we pray, fast, and help others who are in need. (cf. Mt 6:1-6, 16-18; Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1430).

Pope St Leo the Great (d.461) introduces this collection of Lenten prayers and reflections: “As we approach the season of Lent and the days leading to the Easter festival which focus attention on the mysteries of our redemption, the need for religious preparation is proclaimed...These forty days which have been instituted by the Apostles should be given over to fasting. This means not just reducing food which benefits soul and body, but the elimination of unworthy habits. To these we should add almsgiving which, under the name of mercy, covers a multitude of praiseworthy deeds of charity.

So all the faithful, though unequal in worldly possessions, are equal in the inspiration of their

    

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spiritual lives and can achieve an equal standing in loving all their brothers and sisters in the human race...If we show love to those in any kind of distress then we are blessed with the virtue of charity and are at peace.”