Wednesday, February 10, 2027
The 40-day season of fasting, prayer, and almsgiving preparing Christians for Easter.
Lent is the 40-day season of preparation for Easter, beginning on Ash Wednesday and ending on Holy Thursday evening. Counting the Sundays (which are not 'in' Lent but 'of' Lent, since every Sunday celebrates the resurrection), the season spans about 46 days. The 40 days deliberately echo Jesus' 40 days of fasting in the wilderness (Matthew 4:1-11), Moses' 40 days on Sinai (Exodus 34:28), Elijah's 40-day journey to Horeb (1 Kings 19:8), and Israel's 40 years in the desert. Lent has three traditional disciplines, all drawn from Jesus' teaching in Matthew 6: prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. The season's three movements are: (1) honest reckoning with sin and mortality (Ash Wednesday), (2) deliberate sacrifice to make room for God (the 40 days), and (3) preparation for the Paschal mystery (Holy Week). Lent has been observed in some form since at least the 4th century — the Council of Nicaea (325 AD) referenced an established 40-day fast. Today, Lent is observed across Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican, Lutheran, Methodist, and many other Christian traditions, though the specific practices vary.
Lenten observance traditionally includes: giving something up (chocolate, alcohol, social media — anything that competes for attention with God), taking something on (a new daily prayer practice, scripture reading, or service commitment), almsgiving (giving money or time to those in need), abstinence from meat on Fridays (Catholic and some other traditions), and fasting on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. The liturgy reflects the season: violet vestments, no Gloria, no Alleluia, restrained music, and a tone of penitence and longing. Many Christians keep a Lenten journal, attend additional weekday services, or undertake a structured devotional like the Stations of the Cross.
The traditional Bible readings for Lent include:
The 40 days echo several biblical patterns: Jesus's 40 days of fasting in the wilderness (Matthew 4:1-11), Moses's 40 days on Mount Sinai receiving the law (Exodus 34:28), Elijah's 40-day journey to Horeb (1 Kings 19:8), Noah's 40 days of rain (Genesis 7), and Israel's 40 years in the desert. The Council of Nicaea (325 AD) referenced an already-established 40-day fast preparing for Easter.
Anything that competes for attention with God — chocolate, alcohol, meat, social media, screen time, complaining, gossip, sweets. The point is not the specific item but creating space for prayer, dependence on God, and identification with Christ's wilderness fast. Some take on a new practice instead of (or in addition to) giving something up: daily scripture reading, prayer at fixed hours, or service to others.
Sundays are technically 'of' Lent but not 'in' Lent — every Sunday celebrates the resurrection, even during the penitential season. Some Christians use this distinction to take a break from their Lenten fast on Sundays. Others maintain the fast for all 46 days from Ash Wednesday through Holy Thursday. Both approaches have ancient precedent.
Drawn from Matthew 6:1-21 (Jesus's teaching on righteousness), the three traditional Lenten disciplines are: prayer (deepening communication with God), fasting (denying physical appetites to discipline the soul), and almsgiving (giving to the poor). Each addresses a different dimension: prayer toward God, fasting toward self, almsgiving toward neighbor. Together they form the classical pattern of penitential discipline.