Schedule During Lent
Feb 6 thru Mar 24	6:00 – 7:00 Soup 7:00 – 8:00 Lenten Services

The History of Lent

As the Church moved away from the fervor of apostolic times, people’s piety began to wan, and bishops cast about for some celebration that would deepen the devotional approach to Easter, climax of the spiritual year.

Many Christians had already reserved a period prior to Easter for fasting, confession, and schooling candidates for baptism on Easter Eve. But the time frame was never fixed, rules never formalized. Different groups of Christians followed different customs—some fasted several days, others several weeks. Some observed a total fat for exactly forty days (minus Sunday) a feast called Quadragisma, would evolve into Lent.

By mid-fourth century the duration of Lent—the word itself means “lengthening spring days”—became more or less fixed at forty days, less Sundays. The time frame did not become official until the eighth century.

What constituted a fast varied: no meat for forty days; no milk and eggs; or only one light meal a day. Today a fast can be as slight an inconvenience as abstaining from chocolate or ice cream for the duration. A token fast.

(Courtesy of “Sacred Origins of Profound Things”)