From Latin quadragesima, is known as Lent to the liturgical period of preparation for Easter . Lent, which begins with the Ash Wednesday and ends the Holy Thursday , it is a time of penance for the faithful of the Roman Catholic Church and of certain evangelical churches.
It could be said that Lent is the forty day period before Easter . This figure (forty days) has an important symbolism according to different fragments of the Bible , like the forty-day retreat he made Jesus in the desert and the retreat of Moses in the desert for the same amount of days. The biblical flood, on the other hand, lasted forty days, while the Jewish people marched forty years through the desert.
The Church considers Lent as a time of regret , atonement of guilt (for the sins committed) and conversion. The faithful must strengthen their faith to approach Christ through acts of reflection and penance.
The traditional practices of Lent, with the fast and the abstinence , go back to 4th century . It began as part of a period of renewal for the Church and is still preserved in much of the world. However, penances are becoming less rigorous, especially in Western countries. Fasting should consist of a single daily meal, while the abstinence It means not eating meat.
Beyond fasting, Lent can be lived through the sacrament of Confession , prayer and positive attitudes.
Forty days of penance
It is worth mentioning that this period varied with the passing of the years. At first its duration was not fixed, but it was made up of a couple of weeks, sometimes longer and sometimes less, in which people tried approaching holiness through actions that were believed could make them better children of God. But in the fourth century, this duration was set at 40 days and since then it has remained immovable.
At present, Lent is found composed of six weeks, before Sunday of Easter. The reason why this structure was established is that, as Sunday is the day of the Lord, in which fasting cannot be performed, in order that penance covering 40 days it was necessary to add four more days to the amount that formed Lent in its origins. Thus being able to imitate those 40 days of fasting of Christ in the desert. Thus, Lent consists of forty days from Ash Wednesday to Holy Saturday, discounting Sundays.
It is important to note that in ancient times this period was closely related to the time of renewal of the land, that is to say with the agricultural calendar. The position of the sun and the moon were therefore taken into account; maintaining that custom, today the first day of Lent is counted after Sunday that continues to the first full moon of northern spring, in the North Hemisphere.
The last week of Lent is known as Holy Week; These days the penance becomes even more intense and the faithful must perform as many acts of purification as they can to approach that perfection preached by the Church, theoretically.
In many countries during these days there are processions and celebrations of all kinds in which religious life is promoted. Unfortunately, while the church urges its followers to fast and become people of good, on the other hand it continues to be in favor of inequality and does not cooperate in building a more just life for all, believers and non-believers.
