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What is a Penitential Season?

In our religious discourse and in our Prayer Book we often describe Lent as a “Penitential season”. Advent is often described this way too, though some like to argue that it is not, or is less penitential than Lent. In any case, what I want to explore today is “what is a penitential season?”

Penitence is a posture and set of acts that express sorrow for sin, doing penance, pursuing holiness and healing in the wake of repentance from wrongdoing. A penitential season, therefore, is a period of time in which someone (or more usually the whole church) engages in this with a defined beginning and end.

What easily gets lost in the mix is that, if we are (or if one is) to have a set time of penitence, there must first be a time of self-examination culminating in a confession or act of contrition or resolution to make amends. After all, there’s little use in expressing sorrow for sin one hasn’t yet identified, in doing penance without being assigned any by a confessor, in pursuing healing before the medicine has been prescribed. In short: a “Penitential Season” needs a “Self-Examination Season” to come first, otherwise the penitential season is just glorified gloominess.

Too often, this is how we approach Lent. We come into the season and remember “oh yes, this is the time to think extra hard about my sins and what I can give up and how to be a better Christian and grow closer to Jesus. And I guess I’m not supposed to Alleluia in the worship service for six weeks because I’m supposed to be sad in church or something.” This jumble, while well-intentioned and technically correct, does not reflect wise preparation and lacks the insight and aid of church tradition.

In the old calendar, before the 1970’s, the season of Lent was preceded by three Sundays, called “Pre-Lent” or the “Gesima Sundays” after their Latin names: Septuagesima, Sexagesima, and Quinquagesima. However we name or label them, the themes of the readings through these days pointed the congregation toward questions of self-reflection and examination. The traditional practice was that by the end of this period everyone would make their confession to the priest (typically on Shrove Tuesday) so that on the next day (Ash Wednesday) everyone would be ready to worship the Lord in a unified act of penitence, and enter into the season of Lent with an actual plan or intention for increased spiritual discipline.

The modern calendar has, sadly, done away with this valuable period of reflection, and many preachers who serve in churches that do retain the Pre-Lent Sundays don’t always take proper advantage of those weeks to prepare people for their Lenten observance.

However, the attentive preacher can still find fodder for preparing people for Lent in the modern calendar and lectionary. In Year A of the three-year cycle the Gospel lessons through the season of Epiphany walk through portions of the Sermon on the Mount (mostly from Matthew 5). Our Lord’s teachings on holiness in these passages provide excellent material for self-examination in the final weeks before the season of Lent begins. That is what I strove to do in the past three weeks before writing this. In Year B the readings offer fewer obvious aids to this theme, but it must be noted that on the 6th Sunday of Epiphany the epistle lesson is 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 which happens to be the traditional Epistle for the first of the three Pre-Lent Sundays! In Year C, if the Epiphany season is long enough, its Gospel readings also reach Luke’s version of the Sermon on the Mount in chapter 6. And those are just the obvious lectionary opportunities; an attentive preacher will be able to prepare the congregation for Lent appropriately with nearly any biblical text at hand.

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Passion Week: anticipating Holy Week

Users of the 2019 Prayer Book may notice that yesterday (the 5th Sunday in Lent) is labeled “Passion Sunday”. This can be a little confusing for those unaccustomed to the classical Prayer Book tradition, or pre-modern Western Catholicism in general, because we’re used to thinking of Palm Sunday as the day when we observe the passion and death of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Let’s briefly explain that.

Most major Sundays in the calendar have a follow-up Sunday to give it further explanation and context: Easter Sunday is followed by a Sunday that looks at the events of Easter evening; Pentecost is followed by Trinity Sunday to explain how this third person of the godhead still does not threaten monotheism; Christmas is followed by the Circumcision (before 1928 anyway; since then there’s been a 2nd Sunday in Christmas which fulfills the same role with different scripture readings). But Palm Sunday doesn’t have room for a follow-up Sunday, because the next Sunday after that is Easter Day. Granted, the entirety of Holy Week is a wonderfully slow-motion examination of the events of Palm Sunday, but in terms of having an actual Sunday dedicated to giving it further context you have to look backwards instead of forwards, and that gives us the 5th Sunday in Lent. So on this “Passion Sunday” we anticipate Palm Sunday by looking at the blood of the covenant. The traditional Epistle lesson is from Hebrews 9, examining the blood of Christ as the giving of the New and better Covenant, over against the Old Mosaic Covenant. On Passion Sunday we examine the sacrifice of Jesus as our Great High Priest, in preparation for examining the sacrifice of Jesus as the Spotless Victim on Palm Sunday.

With that traditional background in mind, I’d like to recommend a modern take on observing “Passion Week” in preparation for Holy Week. Specifically, as Holy Week walks through the events that surround our Lord’s crucifixion (Matthew 27, Mark 15, Luke 23, John 19), why not look at the ‘previous chapter’ throughout this week? Let’s pick up where Jesus and his disciples leave the Upper Room and head over to the Garden of Gethsemane.

#1: Peter’s Denial Foretold
Hebrews 3:12-19, Psalm 53, Matthew 26:30-35 or Mark 14:26-31

Saint Peter and the others express confidence that they will never fall away, despite Jesus’ warning. The reading from Hebrews continues that warning against falling away and points it toward us, and the Psalm hammers that home even further with the indictment: “The fool says in his heart, ‘there is no God’.“

#2: Our Lord’s Prayer in the Garden
1 Samuel 3, Psalm 116:12-end, Matthew 26:36-46 or Mark 14:32-42 or Luke 22:39-46

As Samuel learned to pray and listen to God’s voice in the middle of the night, so Jesus shows the perfected art of nighttime vigil, pleading with the Father for mercy yet submitting his human will to the divine will. The Psalm allows us to join in with his prayer, lifting up the cup of salvation and recognizing the blessedness of the death the Holy One.

#3 (and #8): Our Lord’s Betrayal
Isaiah 33:1-10, Psalm 109:1-15, John 18:1-14

As Judas betrays his Lord, we are reminded in Psalm 109 of the curse that Peter would later identify against him for his treachery. Isaiah’s prophecy also speaks against the likes of Judas, promising destruction upon the destroyer.

#4: Our Lord’s Betrayal Arrest
Colossians 1:9-13, Psalm 107:10-18, Matt. 26:47-56 or Mark 14:43-52 or Luke 22:47-53

When Jesus is arrested we see the long-building of conflict between worldly darkness and divine light coming to a head. It is ironic that the crowd must carry torches to light the way through their own dark world in order capture and detain the Light of the World. The Epistle and the Psalm, therefore, direct us to reflect on our redemption from the domain of darkness.

#5 (or #9): Peter’s Denial Before the Cock Crows
Isaiah 22:1-4, Psalm 88:13-end, Luke 22:54-62 or Matt. 26:69-75 or Mark 14:66-72

Jesus is totally abandoned by his earthly companions. Isaiah’s prophecy call out the “leaders” for their flight, Psalm 88 expresses our Lord’s loneliness having lost all his friends from sight, and Saint Peter realizes his shame yet cannot now repent of his denials.

#6: Our Lord is Mocked and Beaten
Isaiah 65:1-7, Psalm 74:9-19, Luke 22:63-65

Isaiah speaks of a holy servant of God who stands silent before his mockers, and that is what we read here fulfilled in Luke’s account. “How long is the enemy to scoff?” we ask ourselves in the Psalm, and then go on to encourage ourselves with the truth of our Lord’s reign despite the appearances the moment.

#7: Our Lord’s Trial before the Jewish Council
Jeremiah 38:14-28, Psalm 110, Matthew 26:57-68 or Mark 14:53-65 or Luke 22:66-71

The Prophet Jeremiah was subjected to a stacked court, and was only saved at the last minute by the King. Jesus, too, is subjected to an unfair (and even illegal) trial, with false accusations being thrown at him. In both scenarios it is the Word of the God which they both speak which finally earns them a verdict of blasphemy. Psalm 110 stands as a testimony of God’s eternal promises to his Anointed One.

#8 (or #3 continued): The Unfaithfulness of Annas and Peter
Isaiah 33:1-10, Psalm 109:1-15, John 18:15-27

Peter begins to deny his association with Jesus while the senior priest Annas also demands Jesus’ respect and rejects his teachings. As before against Judas, Isaiah 33 and Psalm 109 speak against those who betray the Lord’s Christ.

#9 (or #5): Peter’s Denial Before the Cock Crows
Isaiah 22:1-4, Psalm 88:13-end, Matt. 26:69-75 or Mark 14:66-72 or Luke 22:54-62

Jesus is totally abandoned by his earthly companions. Isaiah’s prophecy call out the “leaders” for their flight, Psalm 88 expresses our Lord’s loneliness having lost all his friends from sight, and Saint Peter realizes his shame yet cannot now repent of his denials.

#10: Our Lord’s Trial before Pontius Pilate
Sirach 4:20-28, Psalm 45:1-9, John 18:28-40

The wisdom of Sirach cautions us never to speak against truth, even before rulers, even unto death, and that is precisely what Jesus does until Pilate finally scoff’s “What is truth?” Psalm 45, in turn, celebrates the true and beautiful lordship of Christ.

If you want to see a roadmap for how you can organize these devotions through all three of the modern lectionary years, here’s a handy table:

Year AYear BYear C
Monday
Hebrews 3:12-19
Psalm 53
Matthew 26:30-35		Monday
Hebrews 3:12-19
Psalm 53
Mark 14:26-31		 
Tuesday
1 Samuel 3
Psalm 116:12-end
Matthew 26:36-46		Tuesday
1 Samuel 3
Psalm 116:12-end
Mark 14:32-42		Monday
1 Samuel 3
Psalm 116:12-end
Luke 22:39-46
Wednesday
Isaiah 33:1-10
Psalm 109:1-15
John 18:1-14		  
Thursday
Colossians 1:9-13
Psalm 107:10-18
Matthew 26:47-56		Wednesday
Colossians 1:9-13
Psalm 107:10-18
Mark 14:43-52		Tuesday
Colossians 1:9-13
Psalm 107:10-18
Luke 22:47-53
  Wednesday
Isaiah 22:1-4
Psalm 88:13-end
Luke 22:54-62
  Thursday
Isaiah 65:1-7
Psalm 74:9-19
Luke 22:63-65
Friday
Jeremiah 38:14-28
Psalm 110
Matthew 26:57-68		Thursday
Jeremiah 38:14-28
Psalm 110
Mark 14:53-65		Friday
Jeremiah 38:14-28
Psalm 110
Luke 22:66-71
 Friday
Isaiah 33:1-10
Psalm 109:1-15
John 18:15-27		 
Saturday
Isaiah 22:1-4
Psalm 88:13-end
Matthew 26:69-75		Saturday
Isaiah 22:1-4
Psalm 88:13-end
Mark 14:66-72		 
  Saturday
Sirach 4:20-28
Psalm 45:1-9
John 18:28-40
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Telling the Story of Ash Wednesday: A Scriptural Tour

While there are a great many church traditions and history lessons that can be explored and explained, oftentimes the best way to understand “Why we do what we do” on various holy days throughout the year is to look at the use of Scripture on and around those days.

Ash Wednesday is rich with scriptural material to explain its purpose and position in the church calendar.

By far the best place to start is the traditional first reading at the mass, or service of Holy Communion. Normally this would be an Epistle but Ash Wednesday is one of the extremely rare occasions that called for an Old Testament lesson instead: Joel 2:12-17. (Modern Prayer Books often appoint verses 1 & 2 as well.) This is one of the iconic calls to corporate fasting in the writings of the Prophets, and even on its own stands as a remarkably clear introduction to the season of Lent. Reading this text aloud almost feels like issuing a public announcement in and to the Church. We now call a solemn assembly to consecrate a fast with weeping and mourning, to rend our hearts and not our garments, for all of us old and young have sinned against the Lord and are called to repent.

This is followed by the traditional Gospel, Matthew 6:16-21 (again, with modern lectionaries often adding verses 1-4 for further context). Here, Jesus is teaching us us how to go about fasting, as if in response to Joel’s proclamation to begin a communal time of fasting. “When” (not if!) “you fast, do not look gloomy… [but] anoint your head and wash your face so that your fasting may not be seen by others.” As if Joel wasn’t clear enough about the sincerity of repentance to which we’re called, the Gospel of Jesus Christ sets the record straight: this is not a performative spiritual discipline, but one we are to undertake wholeheartedly with sincerity.

The next text of Scripture which is iconic for use on Ash Wednesday is Psalm 51. This is the Penitential Psalm par excellance, the most famous and the most heartfelt of all the penitential psalms in the Bible. The praying or chanting of this psalm is a typical component of the Ash Wednesday penitential service, and even in churches outside the liturgical tradition there are echoes of this psalm throughout other traditions of worship and lament. If you are not in the habit of praying the Psalms, Psalm 51 on Ash Wednesday is a perfect place to start.

Other psalms often associated with worship services on the first day of Lent include Psalms 6, 32, 38, 57, 102, 103, 130, and 143.

Modern liturgies tend to favor three readings of Scripture at services of Holy Communion, so to Joel 2 and Matthew 6 is now added an Epistle lesson. There are three main possibilities, depending upon the particular tradition you dip into. One is Hebrews 12:1-14, where we are exhorted to pick ourselves up despite the discipline of the Lord, and to receive his chastisement of evidence of his loving desire to see us grow unto perfection. Another is 2 Corinthians 5:20b-6:10 (starting with “We implore you on behalf of Christ…”). “Now is the favorable time… now is the day of salvation”, St. Paul declares, as he recounts his many sufferings which commend his legitimacy as a true Apostle of Christ and encourages us likewise not to receive the grace of Christ in vain. The third is James 4:1-10 which speaks of God’s desire for us and the call to humble ourselves before him so that the devil may flee from us and that God may exalt us.

To these core Scripture lessons we can add a number of additional readings, drawn from various Prayer Books over the centuries, to give us further context and instruction. Let us consider them in canonical (rather than logical) order…

Isaiah 58 – This is a classic text on the nature of true fasting, noting (like Jesus did) that a true fast is one that inwardly kept, not merely outwardly performed. Here the other traditional Lenten disciplines of alms-giving and prayer are introduced alongside fasting, making the three a composite whole of godly spirituality.

Isaiah 59 – More in the vein of Joel 2, this chapter decries the sinfulness of God’s people and the lack of justice in their midst and the justice that God promises to bring (either for or against them) in the end. This is should help us further our meditations on our own sinfulness.

Jonah 3 (& 4) – The story of Jonah preaching repentance to Nineveh (and his subsequent anger at the fact that they actually did repent and were spared by the Lord) is another effective entrance into the Lenten season. We should follow the example of the wicked Ninevites who actually repented in sackcloth and ashes, rather than the example of Jonah who just wanted to see them all dead.

Luke 15 – The parables of the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the prodigal son are beautiful pictures of God’s compassion toward sinners and his desire to see us repent. In a way this reading can be seen as an extension of the lesson of James 4, mentioned above.

Luke 18:9-14 – The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector gives us a further illustration of the teachings of Isaiah 58 and Matthew 6. Only the tax collector returns home justified because his prayer came from a truly contrite heart, as opposed to the pharisee’s prayer of prideful access.

1 Corinthians 9:24-27 – This epistle text is the same as that traditionally appointed on Septuagesima Sunday, nearly three weeks before Lent begins. Here we read of the call to self-discipline as a spiritual exercise, as in running a race. This invites us to enter the Lenten fast with vigor and intent.

Hebrews 3:12-4:13 – The discourse in the early chapters of Hebrews deals with the promised “Rest”, the ultimate Sabbath, to which God’s people are called, and how neither Moses nor Joshua ultimately brought anyone to the true spiritual land of rest. This gives another layer of vision to our conception of Lent: our spiritual disciplines at this time comprise our “striving to enter that rest” to which we look forward.

2 Peter 3 – Finally, this chapter gives Lent a slightly eschatological flavor to it, which is more typical of Advent. Nevertheless, this period of discipline pointing toward the ultimate hope of glory does have an “endtimes” sort of vibe to it, and the call to holy living issued here by St. Peter neatly ties together the themes of spiritual discipline, holy living, and preparation for the glory of the eternal life to come.

All of these readings and themes can be said to be collected up in this prayer:

Almighty and everlasting God, who hatest nothing that thou hast made,
and dost forgive the sins of all them that are penitent:
Create and make in us new and contrite hearts,
that we, worthily lamenting our sins, and acknowledging our wretchedness,
may obtain of thee, the God of all mercy, perfect remission and forgiveness;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.
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Faithfully Stay the Course

February 24th is Saint Matthias Day in the traditional liturgical calendar. Some churches and provinces have moved him over to May 14, closer to Ascension Day and Pentecost, where his story in Acts 1 fits right in from a biblical-narrative perspective. But we’ve still got him in late February, usually in Lent. It’s always nice to have a feast day in Lent – we get a little break from the penitential tone! – but there’s also something appropriate about observing this Saint during Lent: Matthias is only one of the twelve Apostles because he was selected to replace Judas, the traitor.

There are two lessons that I’d like to draw from this liturgical observance (and from Acts 1:12-26).

  1. Apostolic authority is a critical point for the unity of the Church.
  2. Every Christian must faithfully stay the course of the faith.

On the point of apostolic authority, this is something I like to try to mention during Ascensiontide but often don’t have time – (there is a lot of fantastic theology and lessons about Jesus and his ministry to us to tease out in that brief mini-season, and I seldom have opportunity to write or preach about ecclesiology then) – the eleven considered it vitally important that they replace Judas and restore their number to twelve apostles. Jesus had just told them that while it was not for them to know “the times or seasons” concerning the Kingdom of God, but that they would “receive power” when the Holy Spirit would descend upon them. And this wasn’t entirely in the future; Jesus had already “breathed on them the Holy Spirit” giving them authority to forgive and retain sins. In that authority they’d already been entrusted with, they took it upon them to select and ordain a new twelfth man – Matthias. St. Peter even quotes Psalm 109 to acknowledge the necessity of this act: “Let another take his office.” And in the Greek, the word translated “office” is the source for the word “episcopate” – the office of an overseer, or bishop.

They knew that when the Holy Spirit would descend upon the whole church (on the day of Pentecost) the leadership had to be ready. Ancient Israel was founded with Twelve Tribes, and the New Israel was to be re-founded with Twelve Apostles – this was a very self-conscious and -aware decision, they knew the significance of what they were doing.

And, although the nature of the authority of those first Apostles is different from the authority that has been passed down among the Bishops ever since, the apostolic role of the bishops assembled is still critical for the church today. On their own, bishops might be little more than super-priests, pastors of megachurches, or of multi-site churches. That’s where cynicism from tired or burned church-goers (or skepticism from presbyterians and congregationalists) thrives. The real power, or authority, of the bishop is not so much in the individual as in the episcopacy as an institution and a group. One bishop can go astray about as easily as one priest or pastor, honestly. But a group, or college, of bishops, is another matter. Yes, a group can be corrupted too – we consider the entire Roman Church to be in error for example. But a church is at its best when its bishops speak together with one voice, in accord with the Church global and temporal.

An example of this was just demonstrated last month when the College of Bishops of the Anglican Church in North America concluded a year of deliberations concerning the issues of ministering to people with same-sex attraction. It’s one of the greatest ministry challenges of our time, and must be met with careful biblical attention and loving attention to the situation of people today. Their excellent statement can be read online here.

But of course, there are always people who want to add their own nuances, pick at words, and even twist or re-cast what has been said. No small online furor has followed, muddying the waters and making some people wonder what the exodus from the Episcopal Church was all about if we’re just going to re-tread the same ground all over again. One of the angles of corrective response is an article in which a respected Anglican examines for us the nature of the teaching authority of bishops as a unified body. I commend that reading to you also!

But this also leads us to the second point about the election of Matthias to be the new 12th Apostle – he was “one of the men who have accompanied us during all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from the baptism of John until the day when he was taken up from us“. And, critically unlike Judas Iscariot, Matthias faithfully stayed the course. He did not falter from the way of Christ; he remained constant like the other eleven.

Other Scriptures read on this day attest to this also: Psalm 15 asks the hard-yet-important question of who can dwell on God’s holy hill; Philippians 3 gives us the example of “press[ing] on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus“. Simply put, there is a way that leads to life, and a way that leads to death. Judas chose the latter for himself; we must choose the former. Yes, salvation is not simply about what you choose – the real work of salvation is Jesus’ death on the Cross for the sins of the world, but if you reject his sacrifice on your behalf then you’ll have to find another way to pay for your sins… and there isn’t one.

The story of St. Matthias taking Judas’ office, or episcopacy, is a sobering reminder. Please, faithfully stay the course of the faith. In Christ alone is salvation wrought, and only his Body (the Church) offers him to us.

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A colorful week ahead

If you look at the Calendar of Commemorations in the 2019 Prayer Book, you’ll find a few Saints Days of particular note in rapid succession this week.

  • Tuesday the 17th commemorates Saint Patrick, bishop & apostle to the Irish.
  • Wednesday the 18th commemorates Saint Cyril, bishop of Jerusalem and teacher of the faith (or “Doctor of the Church” in Roman terminology).
  • Thursday the 19th is a red-letter day, the feast of Saint Joseph, the husband of the Virgin Mary and Guardian of our Lord Jesus.
  • Friday the 20th commemorates Saint Cuthbert, abbot and missionary bishop of Lindisfarne.
  • Saturday the 21st commemorates Thomas Cranmer, the first reformation Archbishop of Canterbury, author of the first Prayer Book, and martyr.

Of all these days, only St. Joseph’s Day is an official break from the Lenten fast; the rest are optional commemorations that you and your church may or may not choose to observe.  The Saint Aelfric Customary names all of these particular commemorations as “minor feasts”, the highest rank of such commemorations, and thus to be given pride of place in any midweek eucharistic celebration.

The way these observances are probably going to look in my household, for example, is that I’ll replace the purple candle on the family prayer table with a white one for Tuesday through Friday (each a saint’s day), and a red one for Saturday (a martyr’s day).  It’ll then go to a pink candle after that – for the 4th Sunday in Lent!  ‘Tis a colorful week indeed.

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Collects of the Day this week

Last week was a bit complicated for tracking the Collect of the Day in the Daily Offices.  In a normal week, you start the Sunday’s Collect on the Saturday evening before, and use it through Saturday morning until the next Sunday Collect kicks in.  Last week, however, had two holy days, one of which redefined the rest of the week:

  1. Sunday morning: Collect for the Last Sunday of Epiphany
  2. Sunday evening through Monday evening: Collect for St. Matthias Day
  3. Tuesday morning and evening: Collect for the Last Sunday of Epiphany
  4. Wednesday morning through Saturday morning: Collect for Ash Wednesday

This week we have the Lenten/Spring Ember Days, causing a similar mix-up of the Collect of the Day:

  1. Sunday, Monday, Tuesday: Collect for the First Sunday in Lent
  2. Wednesday: Collect for an Ember Day
  3. Thursday: Collect for the First Sunday in Lent
  4. Friday, Saturday: Collect for an Ember Day

One of the things that makes this tricky is the fact that we, in the 2019 Prayer Book, only have two Collects for the Ember Days.  Sometimes, like in Advent a few months ago, this works out fine because a holy day (in that case, St. Thomas) sometimes cuts in and overwrites one of the Ember Days, allowing us to use both Collects on one day each.  But now that we have three Ember Days unfettered, and only two Collects to use, how should we handle this?  Perhaps the simplest approach is to use the first Collect each morning and the second Collect each evening.

Another tradition worth mentioning is the fact that the classical prayer books (that is, those before 1979) call for the repetition of the Ash Wednesday Collect after the current Collect of the Day throughout the season of Lent.  The 2019 Prayer Book does not direct for this to be done, but with the rubrics the way they are, there is nothing “illegal” about applying this tradition in our recitation of the Daily Office.  So give that possibility due consideration also!

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Why wouldn’t you fast during Lent?

“You’re fasting during Lent?!  What are you, a closet Catholic?”  Alas, these all-too-common accusations are born of great ignorance of Christian history (including Anglicans and Protestants), not to mention ignorance of the Scriptures.  This penitential season is a time, among other things, of fasting.  It simply is a part of the season; to omit fasting is to ignore everything that the Church announces, in her liturgy, on Ash Wednesday.

And this fasting is glorious!  Give this classic Lent hymn a look from last year’s entry: https://saint-aelfric-customary.org/2019/03/20/glorious-lent-a-hymn-for-the-season/

Now, we’re not Romans, so we don’t have strict rules on precisely when and how to fast.  But at the very least, we ought to be taking note of Fridays, and eating at least one meal less.  Here’s a round-up of previous thoughts I’ve put together about fasting in the Anglican tradition:

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Video Introduction to Lent

If you’ve got 18 minutes, or someone you know who wants an introduction to Lent has 18 minutes, check out this video I put together for ye!  We look at Ash Wednesday as an introduction to season as a whole, a few historical features for sake of background, and explore various features of the 2019 Prayer Book that have to do with the season of Lent.

I’ve largely omitted Holy Week, however, as I’ll devote a separate video to that short-but-intense period of the liturgical calendar.

Subject Index:

  • 00:00 Introduction with Ash Wednesday
  • 05:22 Historical features
  • 08:30 Walkthrough of the lectionaries in the 2019 Prayer Book
  • 13:48 Other ways to observe Lent in the liturgy
  • 17:02 The Theme-prayer for all of Lent
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What’s different in the liturgy now that it’s Lent?

Welcome to Ash Wednesday, the common name for The First Day of Lent.  Occasionally you’ll see today called quadragesima because there are now 40 days left (excluding Sundays) until Easter Day.  Let the 40-day fast begin!

One of the main questions I get from non-liturgical Christians, concerning Lent, is “what do you differently during this time?”  This blog post is aimed at answering that question – partly for the benefit of those who are wondering the same thing, but also as a reminder to my fellow Anglican readers who might need a reminder of some of the changes, or possible changes, in the daily course of our liturgy.

Today’s  differences

For those of us using the 2019 Daily Lectionary, or one of the historic daily lectionaries that uses the regular calendar, we may need the reminder that today’s lessons for Morning and Evening Prayer are interrupted from the regular course.  At the bottom of page 740 in the BCP 2019 you’ll see the following readings appointed for today:

  • Isaiah 58:1-12 & Luke 18:9-14 for the Morning
  • Jonah 3 & 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 for the Evening

To that I would recommend another traditional-for-this-day reading, Hebrews 12:3-17, for Midday Prayer.

At the Holy Communion (or in place of it, if the Communion itself isn’t actually going to be celebrated) we have a special liturgy in the 2019 Book, starting on page 543, and prefaced by a handy introduction to this day (and Lent in general) on page 542.  It’s worth reminding ourselves that the imposition of ashes on Ash Wednesday is a custom that was removed from Anglican practice during the Reformation, and not formally put into a Prayer Book until 1979, though the Anglo-Catholic movement had provided extra-liturgical material to sneak the practice back into the liturgy before it was embraced by the church as a whole.  You can read last year’s note about Ash-less Wednesday here.

Also, remember that today’s Collect of the Day is now the Collect of the Day for the rest of this week!

Morning Prayer during Lent

There are some extra Opening Sentences of Scripture appropriate for this season on page 27.

The Venite (Psalm 95) should be said in full daily this season, if you don’t normally do so already.  Keep in mind that you can bookend it with a Lenten antiphon from page 30!

The first Canticle, Te Deum laudamus, is recommended in our Prayer Book to be replaced with the Benedictus es, Domine on page 18.  This Customary would recommend retaining the Te Deum on Sundays and other major holy days, however.

If you don’t normally do so, make a point of praying the Great Litany (page 91) after Morning Prayer on Sundays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.

Evening Prayer during Lent

There are some extra Opening Sentences of Scripture appropriate for this season on page 54.

The second canticle, Nunc dimittis, could be replaced by Canticle 3, Kyrie Pantokrator, most evenings.  We’d recommend doing so on Monday through Friday.

The Minor Offices during Lent

The “Alleluia” after the invitatory dialogue is to be omitted now.

For Midday Prayer, it may be a good idea to make use of one the Additional Directions and make more extensive use of Psalm 119 throughout the season.  Consider this two-week rotation of Midday Psalms:

  • <week 1> :day: <week 2>
  • 124, 126 :Sundays: 124, 126
  • 19 :Mondays: 119:81-96
  • 119:1-16 :Tuesdays: 119:97-112
  • 119:17-32 :Wednesdays: 119:113-128
  • 119:33-48 :Thursdays: 119:129-144
  • 119:49-64 :Fridays: 119:145-160
  • 119:65-80 :Saturdays: 119:161-176

Consider making more frequent use of Matthew 11:28-30 as the Lesson at Compline.

The Holy Communion during Lent

There is an Acclamation appropriate for Lent on page 146, and another one for Holy Week.

This is a good season to make weekly use of the Decalogue (page 100) instead of the Summary of the Law if you don’t normally already.

The Gloria in excelsis is traditionally omitted during Lent.  Consider replacing it with a hymn from the Lent section of your hymnal, just to emphasize the season difference in mood.

The First Sunday in Lent is one of the traditional days to read The Exhortation (page 147).

Consider using Offertory Sentences (page 149) that are more pointed about spiritual disciplines, such as Matthew 7:21, 1 John 3:17, and Tobit 4:8-9.  This could be especially effective if you normally use the same one every week, memorized from the list in 1979 Book.

The “alleluia” in the Fraction dialogue (on page 118/135) is to be omitted now.

If you don’t normally prayer the Prayer of Humble Access and the Agnus Dei (page 119/135), this is the season to start.  (Pro-tip: never stop using them!)

In fact, if your congregation normally uses the “Renewed Ancient Text”, I cannot heartily-enough encourage you to switch to the “Anglican Standard Text” at least for Lent.  You’ll get more direct prayers of confession and of consecration (not to mention historically Anglican prayers).

Other Spiritual Practices

The classical Prayer Books appointed the Collect for Ash Wednesday to be used after the Collect of the Day throughout the season of Lent.  I’m not so sure the 2019 Prayer Book intends to allow that, so consider making use of this Collect elsewhere – in the additional prayers at the end of an Office, or after the Prayers of the People at the Communion, or in your private prayers and devotions.

On page 689 our calendar directs The weekdays of Lent and every Friday of the year (outside the 12 Days of Christmas the 50 days of Eastertide) are encouraged as days of fasting.  The classical Prayer Books were more direct about the expectation (not just encouragement) that we should fast.  We’re not Romanists, so we don’t have elaborate standardized definitions of what “counts” as fasting; we have the freedom in Christ to fast according to conscience, as the Bible indicates.  Nevertheless, some advice is helpful, and our calendar provides some: Fasting, in addition to reduced consumption, normally also includes prayer, self-examination, and acts of mercy.  It is popular to “give something up for Lent”, or to “take something on for Lent”, and almost all of those particular expressions of Lenten devotion are summed up in that one sentence.  Consider how you might mark this season in your own lifestyle, and give it a go.

Posted on by Fr. Brench

The -gesimas are back!

For those of you who are already using a classical prayer book, this is old news.  But for those who are using the 2019 Prayer Book, this is kind of a background information update that you might not be aware of.  This past Sunday was the beginning of the traditional Pre-Lent mini-season, of which I have written here before.  Feel free to give that article a read if you haven’t before, or want to re-discover what this sadly-defunt tradition has to offer.

Or, if you don’t feel like reading, you can listen to me yammer away about it on YouTube!

 

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