Jesus answered, “How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while he is with them? The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast. (Matthew 9:15, Mark 2:19-20, Luke 5:34-35)
Lent was a word once commonly used to describe the lengthening days as winter moved toward spring in the northern hemisphere. Today, it tells a very specific story about the forty days leading up to Easter on the Christian liturgical calendar. Lent begins this year on Wednesday, February 10th. The first movement of the Lenten season takes place on Ash Wednesday, which offers participants a sobering way in which to respond to the beautiful purity of God with repentance. The day sets the tone for the entire Lenten season.
While some Christian calendar events like Easter and Pentecost have their origins in the Jewish feast cycle, Lent developed entirely from church practices. [Read more]
