About the Season
Lent is the Church's Season of a new and renewed life. It is a time of conversion and renewal, spiritual exercises, a time of journeying deeper into prayer, and of examining the integrity of choices and actions.
The Maronite Lenten season begins with the “Entrance into Great Lent” on Cana Sunday.
Ash Monday is the beginning of our Lenten journey- a time of repentance and renewal when we journey with Jesus towards a new day- a new life.
During this season, The Maronite Church commemorates the temptation of Jesus in the wilderness.
Ash Monday
"Remember, man, you are dust, and unto dust you shall return." This is what the priest says as he makes the sign of cross with ashes on our foreheads on Ash Monday. This is a reminder of our mortal nature. "Then the Lord God formed man out of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living being" (Gen 2:7).
The imposition of ashes is also a symbol of repentance and a reminder of our own sins. Ash was also used in the Old Testament as a sign of repentance. Many people leave them on their foreheads all day as a sign of humility.
Ash Monday is a day that draws people closer to God and thus renewing their spiritual relationship with God through deep prayer, fasting and devotion.
Sundays of the Lenten Season
-Cana Sunday: Entrance into Lent
-Sunday of the Leper: Second Sunday of Lent
-Sunday of the Hemorrhaging Woman: Third Sunday of Lent
-Sunday of the Prodigal Son: Fourth Sunday of Lent
-Sunday of the Paralytic man: Fifth Sunday of Lent
-Sunday of the Blind man Bartimaeus : Sixth Sunday of Lent
-Hosanna Sunday
Reflection on Fasting-Translated to English
(St. Ephrem the Syriac)
Truly blessed and triple-blessed is the one who preserves the fast, for it is indeed a virtue of great value. It has many forms:
-Fasting of the Tongue: This means not to stumble into excessive idle talk, not to curse, not to swear, nor to speak falsehood, not to defame anyone in front of others, not to scheme against anyone, nor to reveal secrets, and not to meddle in matters that do not concern you.
-Fasting of the Ears: This means not to listen to anyone who curses or speaks falsehood.
-Fasting of the Eyes: This means to avert your gaze, not to stare at or contemplate captivating sights, and to avoid looking at things that you should not focus on.
-Fasting from Anger: This means to restrain your temper, not to become quickly enraged.
-Fasting from the Love of Honor: This means to subdue vain glory, not to care about honor or seek a lofty position, not to exalt your mind, not to seek prominence, not to imagine yourself worthy of praise.
-Fasting of the Mind: This means to torment the thoughts with the fear of God so that they do not yield to or delight in deceptive thoughts that stir up inner turmoil.
-Fasting from Food: This means to refrain from food, not to demand excessive amounts of food, nor expensive types of food, not to eat before the appropriate time or before the designated hour, not to worship the spirit of gluttony, not to gorge oneself on luxurious foods, nor to desire finer food or another variety.
-Fasting from Drinks: This means to refrain from drinking, not to be tempted by wine or to indulge in alcoholic drinks.
-Fasting from Evil Desires and Pleasures: This means to control the senses, not to fall into the trap of fleeting desires, not to entertain thoughts that excite the passions, not to indulge in pleasures as if committing an abomination, and not to obey the will of the flesh, but to restrain it with the fear of God.
Reflection on fasting
When we hear the word “fast”, we most likely and immediately think of eating. For most of us, fasting implies consuming less food for a day or more. Today, many people fast as part of diet and health centre programs. In other words, they fast in order to lose weight.
While this is a laudatory form of fasting, it is not what the prophet Isaiah had in mind. Isaiah calls on us to fast from gossip and derogatory remarks. He tells us that we are to break the yoke of long-held grudges and past hatreds; this will require us to fast from words. We must stop looking in at the storefront windows asking ourselves, “What do I need?” and start looking out of our own windows at the hungry, the homeless, and the naked and begin to provide them with what they need. By fasting from buying another consumer item, we may be able to feed or shelter or clothe the oppressed.
Authentic fasting does not involve just the self. Authentic fasting is a way of clearing away obstacles that prevent us from seeing our neighbours in need. In other words, fasting reduces us all to the same common, human denominator!
(Extract from Return to the Lord by Fr. Mark Boyer)
Lent is the Church's Season of a new and renewed life. It is a time of conversion and renewal, spiritual exercises, a time of journeying deeper into prayer, and of examining the integrity of choices and actions.
The Maronite Lenten season begins with the “Entrance into Great Lent” on Cana Sunday.
Ash Monday is the beginning of our Lenten journey- a time of repentance and renewal when we journey with Jesus towards a new day- a new life.
During this season, The Maronite Church commemorates the temptation of Jesus in the wilderness.
Ash Monday
"Remember, man, you are dust, and unto dust you shall return." This is what the priest says as he makes the sign of cross with ashes on our foreheads on Ash Monday. This is a reminder of our mortal nature. "Then the Lord God formed man out of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living being" (Gen 2:7).
The imposition of ashes is also a symbol of repentance and a reminder of our own sins. Ash was also used in the Old Testament as a sign of repentance. Many people leave them on their foreheads all day as a sign of humility.
Ash Monday is a day that draws people closer to God and thus renewing their spiritual relationship with God through deep prayer, fasting and devotion.
Sundays of the Lenten Season
-Cana Sunday: Entrance into Lent
-Sunday of the Leper: Second Sunday of Lent
-Sunday of the Hemorrhaging Woman: Third Sunday of Lent
-Sunday of the Prodigal Son: Fourth Sunday of Lent
-Sunday of the Paralytic man: Fifth Sunday of Lent
-Sunday of the Blind man Bartimaeus : Sixth Sunday of Lent
-Hosanna Sunday
Reflection on Fasting-Translated to English
(St. Ephrem the Syriac)
Truly blessed and triple-blessed is the one who preserves the fast, for it is indeed a virtue of great value. It has many forms:
-Fasting of the Tongue: This means not to stumble into excessive idle talk, not to curse, not to swear, nor to speak falsehood, not to defame anyone in front of others, not to scheme against anyone, nor to reveal secrets, and not to meddle in matters that do not concern you.
-Fasting of the Ears: This means not to listen to anyone who curses or speaks falsehood.
-Fasting of the Eyes: This means to avert your gaze, not to stare at or contemplate captivating sights, and to avoid looking at things that you should not focus on.
-Fasting from Anger: This means to restrain your temper, not to become quickly enraged.
-Fasting from the Love of Honor: This means to subdue vain glory, not to care about honor or seek a lofty position, not to exalt your mind, not to seek prominence, not to imagine yourself worthy of praise.
-Fasting of the Mind: This means to torment the thoughts with the fear of God so that they do not yield to or delight in deceptive thoughts that stir up inner turmoil.
-Fasting from Food: This means to refrain from food, not to demand excessive amounts of food, nor expensive types of food, not to eat before the appropriate time or before the designated hour, not to worship the spirit of gluttony, not to gorge oneself on luxurious foods, nor to desire finer food or another variety.
-Fasting from Drinks: This means to refrain from drinking, not to be tempted by wine or to indulge in alcoholic drinks.
-Fasting from Evil Desires and Pleasures: This means to control the senses, not to fall into the trap of fleeting desires, not to entertain thoughts that excite the passions, not to indulge in pleasures as if committing an abomination, and not to obey the will of the flesh, but to restrain it with the fear of God.
Reflection on fasting
When we hear the word “fast”, we most likely and immediately think of eating. For most of us, fasting implies consuming less food for a day or more. Today, many people fast as part of diet and health centre programs. In other words, they fast in order to lose weight.
While this is a laudatory form of fasting, it is not what the prophet Isaiah had in mind. Isaiah calls on us to fast from gossip and derogatory remarks. He tells us that we are to break the yoke of long-held grudges and past hatreds; this will require us to fast from words. We must stop looking in at the storefront windows asking ourselves, “What do I need?” and start looking out of our own windows at the hungry, the homeless, and the naked and begin to provide them with what they need. By fasting from buying another consumer item, we may be able to feed or shelter or clothe the oppressed.
Authentic fasting does not involve just the self. Authentic fasting is a way of clearing away obstacles that prevent us from seeing our neighbours in need. In other words, fasting reduces us all to the same common, human denominator!
(Extract from Return to the Lord by Fr. Mark Boyer)