Religion

• In the Bible, love is the essence of God’s character and the defining quality of his selfless, life-giving relationship with humanity
• Hebrew words like khesed (loyal love) and ahavah (affectionate, caring love) teach specific qualities essential to the concept of real love
• Greek terms like agápe (divine love) and philia (familial love) emphasize unique ways that God, friends, family, partners, and enemies can love one another
• John 3:16 states, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life”
• Lent is a Catholic liturgical season consisting of forty days of fasting, prayer, and penitence beginning at Ash Wednesday and concluding at sundown on Holy Thursday
• The word Lent derives from the Middle English word lenten, meaning springtime – the time of lengthening days
• By the fourth century, Lent had developed into its current length of forty days, symbolizing the fast and temptation of Jesus in the desert
• Traditionally, Lent begins on Ash Wednesday and ends at sundown on Holy Thursday
• During Lent, Catholics are asked to fast and abstain from meat on certain days, with specific regulations on fasting and abstinence
• Those 14 years of age or older are to abstain from meat on Ash Wednesday and all the Fridays of Lent
• Catholics between 16 and 59 are also to fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, eating one full meal and two smaller meals that do not equal the size of one full meal
• Pregnant and nursing women are exempt from the fast during Lent
• Many Catholics were taught as children to give up something for Lent as a form of penance and renewal
• Laetare Sunday is the fourth Sunday of Lent, marked with rose vestments to signify a brief celebration in expectation of Easter
• Maundy Thursday is an ancient English name for Holy Thursday, originating from the Latin phrase Mandatum novum da nobis (“I give you a new commandment”)
• Palm Sunday commemorates Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem before his arrest, with a blessing of palms and a procession
• Passion Sunday, another name for Palm Sunday, traditionally includes the reading of the passion of the Lord
• Triduum is the “Great Three Days” - a three-part celebration beginning with the Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday
• The celebration of Lent is related to the celebration of Easter
• In the first three centuries of the Christian era, most Christians prepared for Easter by fasting and praying for three days
• There is evidence that in Rome, the length of preparation for Easter was three weeks
• There is a biblical support for doing penance, in both the Old and New Testaments
• Lent was the period of intense spiritual and liturgical preparation for catechumens before they were baptized at Easter
• Forty days is significant for Christians because it is the length of the fast and temptation of Jesus in the desert
• Since the season of Lent is more than forty days, some content that Sundays are not counted in Lent
• Ash Wednesday dates from at least the fourth century
• 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 are required to observe all days of fasting and abstinence which is one of the precepts of the Church
• Catholics that are 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 16 and 59 are to fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday
• Pregnant and nursing women are exempted from fasting
• The sacrifices in Lent are really penance, in the same spirit as the Ninehvites that repented at the preaching of Jonah
• Laetare means to “to rejoice” in Latin and the lighter vestments signify a brief celebration in expectation of Easter, even in the midst of Lent
• Spy Wednesday is a name for the Wednesday of Holy Week that alludes to Judas agreeing with Sanhedrin to betray Jesus