Lent Lent is aforty day period of penance meant for sharing the sorrows and sufferings ofChrist by the self-denying Christians. Originally Lent was meant for a periodof complete fasting to commemorate the forty-day fast of Jesus. Jesus spentthese days in the desert after his baptism and till the beginning of his publicministry.In the early church, this fasting period was meant for a preparationto receive the sacrament to be given to those who would be baptized on theEaster eve. In courseof time, the emphasis of the season turned from preparing for baptism to morepenitential aspects.
Even persons guilty of notorious sins spent the timeperforming public penances. Only at the end of the Lent were they publiclyaccepted back in an elaborate ceremony. The penitents were presented to thebishop singly. And then in a group they protested themselves while sevenpenitential psalms were sung. PalmSunday The lastSunday of the Lent is known as the Palm Sunday.This is when Jesus rodetriumphantly into Jerusalem where he was greeted warmly by the crowd.
In thewords of St Matthew Most of thecrowd spread their garments on the road, and others cut branches from the treesand spread them on the road. And the crowds that went before him and thatfollowed him shouted, Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he whocomes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest! And this is wherethe basis of the Palm Sunday procession lies. The firstreference to the Palm Sunday procession, is found in the travel journal ofEtheria, the nun from the northwest Spain. She made a pilgrimage to Jerusalemtoward the end of the fourth century. She referred the day to be the beginningof the Paschal Week. In theWestern Church the procession is reportedly adopted first in Spain, possibly inthe fifth century.
And it had not been before the twelfth century when theprocession was held in Rome. In the United States, the Messiah Lutheran churchin Philadelphia revived an old Palm Sunday custom.There an ass is led down thecenter aisle accompanied by the pastor and two costumed members of thecongregation.
Meanwhile the entire church body sings, All Hail the Powerof Jesus Name. In Episcopal churches, parishioners are given palm leavesat the end of the service. Presently the day is meant for a nice get togetherof all churches Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, and Lutheran.Click Hereto send a Palm Sunday Greetings The HolyMonday amp Tuesday Monday ofthe Holy Week is not a major feast.
The cleansing of the temple in the HolyCity of Jerusalem is thought to have taken place on this Monday. This was whenJesus overturned the tables of the moneychangers, saying to them It iswritten, My house shall be called a house of prayer But you make it a den ofrobbers . Matthew 21 13 The Tuesdayof the Holy Week is the day when the famous incident between Jesus andPharisees is thought to have taken place.This was when the churchmen tried totrap Jesus into making a blasphemous, or, anti-god remark.
This day isimportant also on another count. Jesus discoursed to his disciples on the Mountof Olives about the destruction of Jerusalem and the signs of the last day.SpyWednesday On theWednesday the tempo of the Holy Week increases.This is the day widely known as Spy Wednesday . For it is the day when Judas Iscariot, a discipleturned betrayer agreed to show the chief priests where they could easilycapture Jesus.MaundyThursday TheThursday of the Holy Week is associated with the Last Supper.
The day is knownas Maundy Thursday, or, Holy Thursday. It is the day before crucifixion. Onthis day Jesus had his supper, his last course, with his disciples.In thewords of St Matthew Jesustook bread, and blessed, and broke it , and gave it to the disciples and said, Take, eat this is my body. And he took a cup, and when he hadgiven thanks he gave it to them, saying, Drink of it, all of you forthis is my blood of covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgivenessof sins. GoodFriday The Fridayof the week is the Good Friday.
This is the day on which Jesus was crucifiedoutside the walls of Jerusalem, at the top of the Calvary hill. And theChristian belief says that Jesus sacrificed himself for the men s sins, to bedied crucified.This day ismarked by solemn observations in memory of Jesus crucifixion. For, Christiansbelieve that by dying Jesus accomplished a reconciliation between God andman.And accordingly the crucified imageof Jesus or, the Cross itself, came to be regarded as the main symbol of faithfor the Christians.
RomanCatholics observe the day usually through fast and abstinence to commemoratethe pains and sufferings Jesus underwent on the cross. It is since the 4thcentury that Good Friday came to be observed as a separate occasion. Beforethis, an annual celebration was held as Christian Passover, or, Pascha, to markboth Christ s death on Cross and the Resurrection.Click Hereto send a Good Friday Greetings Easter Eve The dayfollowing Good Friday is the Holy Saturday.
This is usually called Easter Evein Anglican churches, and is held as a traditional time for baptism services. Presently,this day is primarily a Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, as well as Anglicanobservance. Roman Catholic churches observe this with the blessing and lightingof a tall Paschal candle. The candle is placed on the altar on the HolySaturday.While blessing, five grains of incense are fixed in it, representingthe five wounds of Jesus and the burial spices with which his body wasanointed. The candle is lit and remains on the Gospel side of the altar untilAscension Day. This day comes at the end of forty days which mark the periodthrough which Christ showed up himself of and on following the crucifixion.
OnAscension Day Christ is believed to have ascended to the heaven. And Easter EasterSunday is the day of the feast. This day, the third since crucifixion, theChrist is believed to have shown up himself.And not just that, Jesus alsojoined his disciples on a meal! Easter comes at the end of the six days of theHoly Week which came to be associated with the life of Jesus before theResurrection.
This is when Christ is believed to show himself up after hisdeath through crucifixion. He had risen up from his tomb that was guarded bythe sentries. And met his disciples to get them prepared to carry out his worksin his absence.For more,read the story of Resurrection.