Why Forty Days? Well, we
find in the Old and New Testament a lot of examples for this time frame of
prayer and fasting. Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, which is actually forty-six
days before Easter. We say that Lent is forty days in number because the six
Sundays are excluded from the rigors of Lent in order to afford the faithful a
time to pause and rejuvenate, gathering new strength. Since the restructuring
of the Liturgical Year after Vatican II, the Easter Triduum, which begins on
Holy Thursday, is not included in the Lenten season, so the actual days of
rigorous Lenten observance are approximately forty days. The number forty is
found frequently in the Holy Scripture to signify a time of penitential preparation sent from God. The Old Testament
is replete with examples of the use of forty: God punished mankind by sending a
flood over the earth that lasted forty days and forty nights[1];
the people of Ninevah repented with forty days of fasting when Jonah preached
the destruction of Ninevah[2];
Moses and the Hebrew people wandered in the desert for forty years[3];
the Prophet Ezekiel had to lie on his right side for forty days as a figure of
the siege that was to bring Jerusalem to destruction[4];
the Prophet Elijah fasted and prayed on Mount Horeb for forty days[5];
and finally, Moses fasted forty days and forty nights while on Mt. Sinai[6].
In the New Testament we find Our Lord fasting and praying for forty days and
forty nights in the desert in preparation for the public ministry that would
end in his redeeming death[7].
He is the new Adam who overcomes the
temptations of the devil and remains faithful to God; the new Israel, who
reveals himself as God’s Servant by his total obedience to the divine will, in
contrast to those who provoked God in the desert. The Church sets aside the forty days of Lent in order that we
might imitate Our Lord by our fasting, prayer, self-denial and good works, and
thereby prepare our hearts for an Easter renewal. “By the solemn forty days of
Lent the Church unites herself each year to the mystery of Jesus in the
desert.”[8]
■ Fr. Agustin, Pastor.martes, 28 de febrero de 2012
Second Sunday of Lent 2012 (B)
Why Forty Days? Well, we
find in the Old and New Testament a lot of examples for this time frame of
prayer and fasting. Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, which is actually forty-six
days before Easter. We say that Lent is forty days in number because the six
Sundays are excluded from the rigors of Lent in order to afford the faithful a
time to pause and rejuvenate, gathering new strength. Since the restructuring
of the Liturgical Year after Vatican II, the Easter Triduum, which begins on
Holy Thursday, is not included in the Lenten season, so the actual days of
rigorous Lenten observance are approximately forty days. The number forty is
found frequently in the Holy Scripture to signify a time of penitential preparation sent from God. The Old Testament
is replete with examples of the use of forty: God punished mankind by sending a
flood over the earth that lasted forty days and forty nights[1];
the people of Ninevah repented with forty days of fasting when Jonah preached
the destruction of Ninevah[2];
Moses and the Hebrew people wandered in the desert for forty years[3];
the Prophet Ezekiel had to lie on his right side for forty days as a figure of
the siege that was to bring Jerusalem to destruction[4];
the Prophet Elijah fasted and prayed on Mount Horeb for forty days[5];
and finally, Moses fasted forty days and forty nights while on Mt. Sinai[6].
In the New Testament we find Our Lord fasting and praying for forty days and
forty nights in the desert in preparation for the public ministry that would
end in his redeeming death[7].
He is the new Adam who overcomes the
temptations of the devil and remains faithful to God; the new Israel, who
reveals himself as God’s Servant by his total obedience to the divine will, in
contrast to those who provoked God in the desert. The Church sets aside the forty days of Lent in order that we
might imitate Our Lord by our fasting, prayer, self-denial and good works, and
thereby prepare our hearts for an Easter renewal. “By the solemn forty days of
Lent the Church unites herself each year to the mystery of Jesus in the
desert.”[8]
■ Fr. Agustin, Pastor.
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