March 24, 2010
Wednesday of the Fifth Week of Lent
“If our God, whom we serve, can save us from the white-hot furnace and from your hands, O king, may he save us! But even if he will not, know, O king, that we will not serve your god or worship the golden statue which you set up.” Daniel 3:17-18
Jesus then said to those Jews who believed in him, “If you remain in my word, you will truly be my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:31-32
Piety
Penitential Prayer of St. Augustine
O Lord,
The house of my soul is narrow;
enlarge it that you may enter in.
It is ruinous, O repair it!
It displeases Your sight.
I confess it, I know.
But who shall cleanse it,
to whom shall I cry but to you?
Cleanse me from my secret faults, O Lord,
and spare Your servant from strange sins.
St. Augustine of Hippo (AD 354-430)
Study
Why does the liturgical calendar call this season “Lent?”
Although earlier names for this season marked the forty days of Lent starting on Ash Wednesday and extending until Holy Thursday, sources say that in the Middle Ages, when sermons began to be delivered in local languages, the name “Lent” was adopted. This comes from the German “Lenz” for spring when the days began to lengthen.
According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, “The Teutonic word Lent, which we employ to denote the forty days’ fast preceding Easter, originally meant no more than the spring season. Still it has been used from the Anglo-Saxon period to translate the more significant Latin term quadragesima (French carême, Italian quaresima, Spanish cuaresma), meaning the ‘forty days’, or more literally the ‘fortieth day’.”
Spiritually, Lent is the time of preparation when we engaged in prayer, fasting and acts of charity and self-denial (dieting, giving up chocolate, wine or other favorites). So in one sense, Lent is our spiritual “spring cleaning” before the celebration of Easter. Maybe this is even more so depending on how hardy you celebrated Mardi Gras – especially the post Super Bowl revelry of all the New Orleans Saints fans.
Spring also introduces the modern concept of daylight saving time. As we enjoy the dawn’s early light, the role of images of light and darkness also come out in Lenten days as well as in our prayers and readings. Many of the morning prayers in Lauds call on images of light and darkness. As the season progresses from late winter into early spring, those prayers now are recited in the light of early dawn. However, on Ash Wednesday, it is still dark out when Lauds are recited.
My less historical reflection on the name coincides with the action of the readings from this period. After Ash Wednesday, Jesus emerges from the desert (another 40 day period) and we follow the progress of his public ministry as he increasingly irritates the Pharisees until the action climaxes on Holy Thursday and Good Friday. The end of his human days is a stark reminder that God “lent” us his only Son to help us to be born again of the spirit and free us from the sin that enslaves us.
The readings this week from John’s Gospel remind us that Gid "lent" us Jesus to help us know the way, the truth and the light. And we shall know the truth and the truth (Jesus) shall set us free.
Action
Today’s first reading showed the benefits not only of worshipping God but also of refusing to worship a false God. Today’s Gospel reinforces the message to follow the authentic “truth” that we come to know through Jesus alone.
How are you using Lent to turn away from any false gods in your life? How are you using Lent to better get to know the truth that Jesus teaches? How are you using Lent to inspire your action and almsgiving?
