What is the foundational motivation of Lenten practices?
score:3
What are the fundamental motivations of the "Lenten Practices"?
Not all denominations observe Lent! There are a few fundamental motivations for partaking in the Lenten observation.
- Preparation spiritually for celebrating the sacred paschal mysteries of Christ’s Passion, Death and Resurrection.
- Imitating Our Lord Jesus Christ who gave us the example of how to fast during his temptation in the desert.
- It is a time for spiritual renewal, through prayer, fasting, almsgiving and other forms of Lenten practice.
No doubt the most Christians will be in accord with the fact that Lent is a time for preparing ourselves for the great contemplation for paschal mysteries which will be celebrated during Holy Week and Easter Sunday!
Lent is a solemn religious observance in the Christian liturgical calendar that begins on Ash Wednesday and ends approximately six weeks later, before Easter Sunday. The purpose of Lent is the preparation of the believer for Easter through prayer, doing penance, mortifying the flesh, repentance of sins, almsgiving, and self-denial. This event is observed in the Anglican, Eastern Orthodox, Lutheran, Methodist, Moravian, Presbyterian, Oriental Orthodox, Reformed, and Roman Catholic Churches. Some Anabaptist and evangelical churches also observe the Lenten season. Lent (Wikipedia)
Although some denominations do not fast, many do such as Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, Lutherans and so on. The traditional ways to prepare for Easter is through prayer, fasting and almsgiving.
Prayer: Without prayer, fasting and almsgiving are merely actions we do out of tradition without much meaning. Prayer is our conversation with God. It is through prayer that we find the strength to fast. It is through prayer that we develop a closer, more intimate relationship with God. This relationship makes us so grateful for the blessings he has bestowed upon us, that we eagerly give to those less fortunate than us. The Church, in its wisdom, understands that prayer is essential to any action we Christians may undertake.
Fasting: Fasting is one of the most ancient actions linked to Lent. Fasting rules have changed through the ages, but throughout Church history fasting has been considered sacred. The prophet Isaiah insists that fasting without changing our behavior is not pleasing to God. Therefore, the goal of fasting is linked with prayer. The pangs of hunger remind us of our hunger for God, and prayer and fasting together brings us to what Lent is about - a deeper conversion.
Almsgiving: It should be obvious by now, that almsgiving is simply a response by us to God, a response that we have come to through prayer and fasting. It is an expression of our gratitude for all that God has given us, and a realization that in the Body of Christ, it is never just "me and God." Through prayer and fasting we come to a deeper understanding that the needs of all are the responsibility of all in the Body of Christ. Works of charity and the promotion of justice are integral elements of the Christian way of life we began when we were baptized.
Why are prayer, fasting and almsgiving especially important during Lent?
It should be noted that Lent is not universally observed throughout Christendom.
In the Anglican churches The Book of Common Prayer prescribes that Lent be observed with fasting. In Lutheran and many other Protestant churches Lent is observed with various services and practices, though Lent is not formally observed in many Evangelical or nondenominational churches. - Lent (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
Christians who strengthen their faith with the three traditional practices of prayer, fasting and almsgiving are truly preparing themselves for the great events of Christ’s Resurrection on Easter Sunday. These are not the only practices Christians do during Lent.
More information may be gleaned from the following articles:
Upvote:1
Dorotheus of Gaza, a 6th century Palestinian monk, summarized how the pre-Schism Christians of the 1st millennium understood Lent:
God gave us these holy days so that by repentance, a man may be cleansed of the sins of the whole year and the soul relieved of its burden. Purified he goes forward to the holy day of Resurrection [i.e. Easter, or Pascha as it is known in the east], and being made a new man through the change of heart induced by the fast, he can take his part in the Holy Mysteries and remain in spiritual joy and happiness, feasting with God the whole fifty days [i.e. during Pentecost](On the Holy Lenten Fast).
Another question somewhere deals with the history of the Lenten fast, but in short it is quite ancient and likely a fusion of two different early Christian practices:
- A short fast of one or two days just prior to Easter Sunday dating back to at least the 2nd century1
- A much longer fast of 40 days that had come into practice by the time of the 1st Nicene Council in 325 that originally had been practiced for the sake of catechumens about to be received into the faith through Baptism2.
Kalistos Ware, an Eastern Orthodox Metropolitan, in his article "The True Nature of Fasting" contrasts, obviously from an eastern perspective, how the Fast (i.e. Lent) is practiced by Christians today:
Just as the children of Israel ate the bread of affliction (Deut 16:3) in preparation for Passover, so Christians prepare themselves for the celebration of the New Passover by observing a fast. But what is meant by this word "fast" (Greek nisteia)? Here the utmost care is needed, so as to preserve a proper balance between the outward and the inward. On the outward level fasting involves physical abstinence from food and drink, and without such exterior abstinence a full and true fast cannot be kept; yet the rules about eating and drinking must never be treated as an end in themselves, for ascetic fasting has always an inward and unseen purpose. The tendency to over-emphasize external rules about food in a legalistic way, and the opposite tendency to scorn these rules as outdated and unnecessary, are both alike to be deplored as a betrayal of true Orthodoxy.
The second tendency is doubtless the more prevalent in our own day ... In Western Christendom over the past five hundred years, the physical requirements of fasting have been steadily reduced, until by now they are little more than symbolic ... One reason for this decline in fasting is surely a heretical attitude towards human nature, a false "spiritualism" which rejects or ignores the body, viewing man solely in terms of his reasoning brain.3 As a result, many contemporary Christians have lost a true vision of man as an integral unity of the visible and the invisible; they neglect the positive role played by the body in the spiritual life, forgetting St. Paul's affirmation: Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit ... glorify God with your body (1 Cor 6:19-20).
1. See, e.g. Eusebius' Ecclesiastical History V.XXIV.12.
2. K. Ware, The Lenten Triodion, p.30
3. In his book, Orthodox Psychotherapy, Met. Hierotheos of Nafpaktos writes: "After the fall came the dying and death of the soul. Reason was raised above the soul and now holds sway in fallen man. Overnourished reason is the source of great abnormality in the spiritual organism. Arrogance, with all the energies of egoism, which is the source of the abnormality, is raging there."
More post
- 📝 Why would the baptismal state of a spouse be relevant to whether someone can be confirmed in the Catholic Church?
- 📝 How do continuationists explain the absence of video recordings of undeniable miracles?
- 📝 What was Isaac Watts' theological background?
- 📝 Why was Aaron not allowed into the promised land?
- 📝 What happened to Jesus' physical body after his death and resurrection?
- 📝 Why were Catholic fasting obligations steadily relaxed?
- 📝 Did any heretical Christian sect believe money is evil?
- 📝 What is meant by "faith and morals" with regards to papal infallibility?
- 📝 What process will be followed for the Anglican Covenant after its rejection by the Church of England?
- 📝 How have commentators historically viewed the death of the fetus in Exodus 21?
- 📝 Does Catholicism say that it is ok to pray at inter-religious thanksgiving services?
- 📝 Trinitarian Ontology... What is it? Being vs person vs essence vs _______
- 📝 Quotation from Desert Fathers
- 📝 Why is there no archaeological evidence that Christians existed for 200 years after 70 AD?
- 📝 What does the Catholic Church teach about the communication that takes place among the Persons of the Trinity?
- 📝 Looking for the right Church
- 📝 What was the first name of Barabbas whom Pilate let off from the prison?
- 📝 What are the Spiritual Gifts?
- 📝 Who are the five brothers mentioned in the story of Lazarus and the rich man (Luke 16:28)?
- 📝 Who was the first Devil's Advocate?
- 📝 Why did Satan tempt Jesus in the desert?
- 📝 Relationships between God the Father, Mary and the two natures of Jesus Christ
- 📝 In what manner does the Father draw men to Jesus Christ? John 6:44
- 📝 How would a Reformed theologian distinguish his or her view of atonement?
- 📝 Why is the date of the 2016 Passover a month late when compared to Easter?
- 📝 A Christian view of Mohammad
- 📝 Where did the concept of separate races originate?
- 📝 Where in St. Ambrose's writings do Virgin Mary's title "Mother of the Church" appear?
- 📝 What is the difference between Anglo-Catholicism and Catholicism?
- 📝 I'm a practicing Roman Catholic, but considering attending a Greek Orthodox church instead of our local RC church. Will I be welcomed?
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 What is the foundational motivation of Lenten practices?
- 📝 What were the beliefs, teachings, and practices of the church regarding slavery in the New World?
- 📝 What is the Catholic definition of meat for Lenten Fridays?
- 📝 What was the Christian response to death-loving practices of Ancient Roman society?
- 📝 What is the basis for anointing of physical objects and who practices this?
- 📝 Besides works versus grace and indulgences, what were the external practices of the Catholics that offended so many reformers?
- 📝 What are the major views on Adam's motivation to sin given that he was not deceived?
- 📝 What is the nature and format of a Lenten Penitential Service in the Catholic Church?
- 📝 What were the practices observance of which was abhorred by St Paul in Gal 4:9-10?
- 📝 What are the foundational texts on biblical interpretation?
- 📝 What are the beliefs and practices of Evangelicals regarding ecumenism?
- 📝 What practices are prohibited by Protestant churches but not explicitly prohibited by the Bible?
- 📝 What is the foundational support for interpreting prophecies as having dual fulfillments?
- 📝 What is the Biblical basis for the doctrine of the Trinity?
- 📝 What is the biblical basis for the claim that abortion is immoral?
- 📝 What major translations of the Bible are in the Public Domain?
- 📝 What is the basis for saying Christians and Muslims worship the same God?
- 📝 What is the biblical basis to claim that masturbation is a sin?
- 📝 What is the Biblical basis for the concept that Jesus spent time in Hell?
- 📝 What is the biblical justification for permitting female pastors?
- 📝 What is the basis of my fractured understanding of "Sola Scriptura"?
- 📝 What is an overview of the main interpretations of "day" in Genesis 1?
- 📝 How can the Son not know what the Father knows?
- 📝 What is the biblical basis for Jesus being God incarnate?
- 📝 What is the Biblical basis for Total Depravity?
- 📝 To what extent does the Law of Moses still apply?
- 📝 What extrabiblical sources support the existence of Jesus in history?
- 📝 What happened to the tribe of Dan in Revelation?
- 📝 What is the biblical basis for believing in the Book of Mormon?
- 📝 From a Fundamentalist standpoint, what does the phrase "Inspired, infallible, inerrant Word of God" mean?