Lent and Eastertide: the pattern of the seasons

This page is a theological exploration of the liturgical seasons of Lent and Easter from the perspective of the Catholic faith.

Overview

The time before the great Easter celebrations (Lent) and the time after the great Easter celebrations (Eastertide) are like two halves of the one coin. They are linked together and it is good to view these seasons together as we set out on the journey.

To celebrate the 40 days of Lent leading into the Triduum (Easter celebrations) and ignore the 50 days of Eastertide which follows, is a bit like having a period of engagement followed by the excitement of the wedding without the joy of a honeymoon! Yet, that’s what we often do. After the high note of Easter, it’s possible that we just resume our daily routine unaware that we are missing a most wonderful season which continues right up until Pentecost Sunday. Indeed, many liturgical books refer to Lent/Eastertide as “The Great 90 Days”. Together, these two ‘halves’ of one movement move us from thirst to living water, from blindness to clear sight, from death to life. But, in coming to know our thirsts, in getting in touch with our blind spots, in realising which parts of us are not really ‘alive’, it’s logical that we have need of a period of time when we consciously start to drink life-giving waters, when we open our eyes and see what we missed before, a time in which we start to really live life more fully! This time is Eastertide. This is what our baptism (and the renewal of our baptism at Easter) is all about. Each year, as a result of the Lenten/Easter experience, we are choosing a new and fresh approach to the rest of our life! Let’s look more closely at the two halves of this ritual journey from death to life.

Lent:

A Thumbnail Sketch:

During the 40 days of Lent we are preparing to immerse ourselves ever more deeply in commitment to:

• the teachings of the Catholic Church
• ministry to the world we live in

We spend our Lent:

• coming to greater clarity in our lives (prayer)
• simplifying our lifestyles (fasting)
• reaching out to those who are poor (almsgiving)

In doing this, we are preparing to renew our baptismal commitment at Easter. Lent is the time when we intensify the community’s initiation of our new Catholics. Lent is really a time of retreat or renewal for the whole community in Christian living.

Interesting Facts:

The word Lent comes from an Old English word: lencten meaning ‘springtime’. The date for the Easter celebration is determined by the phases of the moon and Ash Wednesday calculated accordingly. Lent will therefore begin on a different date each year.

Lent starts on Ash Wednesday and concludes on the evening of Holy Thursday when the Easter Triduum begins. The number 40 is a symbolic number taken to mean a very long time, such as the forty years of Israel’s exodus and the forty days Jesus spent in the desert.

Sundays during Lent are part of the Lenten season and as such are coloured by a certain solemn and muted tone indicated by a silencing of the ‘alleluia’ and the ‘Gloria’, but because they are Sundays, they are still celebrations of the resurrection. Halfway through Lent (the fourth Sunday) the church celebrates Laetare Sunday, a word that means rejoice. The priest wears lighter, rose-coloured vestments and thoughts of freedom and joy come forth in the middle of Lent as the Easter season nears. Our spirits- in times of fasting, prayer and almsgiving- are renewed with this short respite.

What do the Scriptures say?

4th Sunday of Lent, Cycle A - John 9: 14-15

Now it was a sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened the blind man’s eyes. Then the Pharisees also began to ask him how he had received his sight. He said to them, “He put mud on my eyes. Then I washed, and now I see.”

5th Sunday of Lent, Cycle B – John 12: 24

Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.

3rd Sunday of Lent, Cycle A or Alternate Gospel for Cycle B and C – John 4:13-14

‘Whoever drinks this water will get thirsty again; but anyone who drinks the water that I shall give will never be thirsty again: the water that I shall give will turn into a spring inside him, welling up to eternal life.’

What is our Christian Tradition?

During the 4th Century, several practices came together to form Lent.

• A period of fasting grew to 40 days. Some ancient sources relate this number to the Hebrew Scriptures. Others link it to the days Jesus spent in the desert. Most communities eventually arranged the 40 days to culminate at Easter.
• Initiation structures developed. These typically included an extended ‘catechumenate’ (sometimes over 3 years) with final weeks of intense preparation (Lent) leading to baptism at the Easter Vigil.
• Many churches began reconciling penitents, making Lent the time for completing penance so to celebrate their return to the community at Easter.

For centuries, Lent was spent preparing for Easter by intertwining patterns of catechumenate, penance and fasting. These practices can be described in Scriptural terms: Prayer / fasting / almsgiving.

What does the Church today say?

The early baptismal focus of Lent was restored at the 2nd Vatican Council (1965). The Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy returned to the two-fold nature of Lent: BAPTISMAL and PENITENTIAL.

The Council states: By recalling or preparing for baptism and by repentance, this season disposes the faithful, as they more diligently listen to the word of God and devote themselves to prayer, to celebrate the paschal mystery. The baptismal and penitential aspects of Lent are to be given greater prominence in both the liturgy and liturgical catechesis. Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy #109.

During Lent, penance should be not only inward and individual, but also outward and social. Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy #110.

What does this mean for us now?

Lent is a time where we choose to immerse ourselves ever more deeply in commitment to our faith through our links to the worshipping community and through our ministry to the world in which we live.

How many of us see the intensive journey towards Easter as just something for those involved in RCIA or ‘really religious’ people? Lent is a time for our continuing transformation. We can always reach new levels of awareness in our personal growth into wholeness.

Do we make a conscious link between preparing to renew our baptismal commitment (Lent) and giving generously to those in need (eg through Caritas Australia)? How linked are our personal faith-lives with our sharing of wealth, time and talent?

‘In this world of confusion and rapid change, Christian communities need time for expressions of brokenness and pain, for the trembling and tears that often accompany repentance, forgiveness and healing – and for turning to the cross of Christ as a sign of salvation and forgiveness. When children and adults experience divorce, racism, AIDS, sexism, violence, addiction, war or natural disaster, they do not need to come to church only to be told “Everything is OK, don’t worry.” They must be able to bring their real pain and lament to the community of the altar. Lent should be such a season.’ (Sourcebook for Sundays & Seasons, LTP, 1993, p76.)

Images and Echoes of Lent

Stones / desert / ashes / utter simplicity

A Journey of Transformation as exemplified in Scripture:

• through the wilderness to truth (All cycles: 1st wk)
• through confusion to clarity (All cycles: 2nd week)
• through thirst to living water (Cycle A: 3rd wk)
• through blindness to new sight (Cycle A: 4th wk)
• through death to life (Cycle A: 5th wk)

Concepts associated with Lent

• ‘Fasting’ - from negative ways of living and ‘feasting’ on the positive, eg, fast from critical comments and feast on comments that build up confidence and energise the other.
• Reflection - Giving ourselves quiet time for extra reflection, reading, prayer, eg, join a group doing the Lenten Program.
• Outreach - to others who are in need, for example- Project Compassion.

Days, Symbols & Colours of Lent

On Shrove Tuesday, we eat pancakes for Mardi Gras (also called Fat Tuesday in some regions) as our last feasting before fasting begins. We fast especially on the Fridays in Lent and refrain from eating meat on Ash Wednesday or Good Friday. The money we save on food may go towards donations for those in need.

On Ash Wednesday, we are called into Lent by being signed with ashes reminding us to simplify our lives and turn to the Gospel.

The liturgical colour for Lent is purple. This is the colour of repentance, fasting and sorrow. A purple winding sheet can be draped on the bare cross during Lent.

The colour red, used for Palm Sunday and Good Friday, reminds believers of Christ’s suffering and passion.

Holy Week runs from Passion/Palm Sunday until the beginning of the Mass of the Lord's Supper on Holy Thursday.

On Passion (Palm) Sunday, we bless palms and proclaim the Passion (the suffering and death of Jesus) as we enter into Holy Week and then the Triduum.

The Triduum (Latin for "three days") refers to the period from the evening of Holy Thursday until the evening of Easter Sunday.

Eastertide: Experience of Transformation

The Easter Triduum is the beginning of Eastertide - the Easter season. It fuels the central energy of our Catholic faith. It is really one continuous liturgy beginning on Holy Thursday night, through Good Friday, and culminating in the Easter Vigil.

A Thumbnail Sketch:

The season of Easter is when we literally live in the mystery of our initiation into Christ’s Body. The Eastertide Scriptures show us how to savour:

• the meaning of our baptism
• the richness of the community
• our mission to the world

Eastertide is when we live in the renewed energy of Christ risen and present in this world!

Interesting Facts:

It is thought that the name Easter is adapted from a pagan word Eaastre – a time when the end of the northern winter was marked by a celebration of the Teutonic goddess Estour.

The name could also have roots in the word east and be linked to the rising of our Christian Sun, Jesus.

Easter was often called the Pasch which means Passover. The timing of Easter coincides with the Jewish Passover – a time when the Israelites were able to flee their captors in Egypt. The date of Easter is determined by the first full moon after the Northern Spring Equinox.

What do the Scriptures say?

2nd Sunday of Easter, Cycle A – 1Peter 1: 3

With great mercy, God has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.

5th Sunday of Easter, Cycle A – 1Peter 2: 9

You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people set apart to sing the praises of God who called you out of the darkness into his marvellous light.

6th Sunday of Easter, Cycle B – John 15: 16

You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name.

from Pentecost Sunday, Cycle C – Romans 8: 14

All who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.

What is our Christian Tradition?

The Hebrew feast of harvest covered a period of 7 weeks + 1 day (a week of weeks) counted from the feast of Passover. These 50 days were sacred. Pentecost day marked the final day of feasting. This harvest festival naturally translated into Christianity through images of Christ as the first fruits and the paschal Lamb slain in sacrifice.

During the Easter season, the first Reading at Mass is taken from the Acts of the Apostles rather than the Old Testament. This highlights the emerging Church as witness to all that God can do in the risen Christ who is present in the community. We gain insight into our early beginnings. This Church is ever changing, ever renewed in us, when we are led and enlivened by the Spirit.

What does the Church today say?

The fifty days from Easter Sunday to Pentecost are celebrated in joyful exultation as one great feast day, or better as one ‘great Sunday’. These above all others are the days for the singing of the Alleluia. (General Norms for the Liturgical Year & Calendar #22.)

The season of Easter is when we literally live in the mystery of our initiation into Christ’s Body (no matter when that took place). Eastertide is sometimes called the period of Mystagogy – a time when we reflect on the mysteries into which we have been called.

The Easter Scriptures show us how to savour:

• the meaning of our baptism
• the richness of the community
• our mission to the world

What does this mean for us now?

Easter to Pentecost is THE time for baptising and for completing Initiation.
Eastertide can then be days when the signs of new life abound: in Confirmations, First Communions, Weddings, Rites of Commissioning and Ordination and in the Anointing of the Sick.

These are hardly matters of pretty ceremonies. They are in fact the evidence that what we did at the Vigil was true: that God’s wisdom has moved among us.

It is the wedding of heaven and earth that we are celebrating: 50 days is not too long for a honeymoon. That is how the church sees Eastertide.
Adapted from An Introduction to Lent and Eastertime, Gabe Huck, LTP, 1987.

Our baptism is the passage from death to life. It must be a shattering passage: shattering the smallness of our minds and hearts and opening us more completely to the mind and heart of Christ. This is the way we pass over from death to life. We bring new vitality to the world by the way we live our lives. Has the experience of our own baptism ‘shattered’ our comfort zones so much so that we are fired (Pentecost) for the mission of life for our world?

Images and Echoes of Eastertide

• Light / Fire / the Paschal Candle
• Water (flowing) / Baptism / Initiation
• Holy Oils
• The pattern of dying / rising in all of life.
• Alleluia!
• Peace be with you .
• Recognising Christ in the breaking of bread.
• The Good Shepherd.
• The blood of the Lamb poured out for us. God’s abundant love for us.
• Outpouring of the Spirit to renew the earth.
• Wind / Fire / breath / courage / mission

Symbols & Colours of Eastertide

Water: the Font, baptism, new life, refreshment, cleansing, healing, renewal, nourishment.

Fire: Paschal Candle, light of the world, warmth, fires of love, victory over darkness.

New Catholics: A ‘mirror’ for the community of their own faith commitment, renewed and deepened in Eastertide.

Alleluia: The joyful Easter cries – Christ is risen! And our response upon departure from mass- Thanks be to God, alleluia, alleluia!

Cross draped with a white winding sheet: Life conquers death!

Colours: White and gold signify great rejoicing, victory, a new beginning.