Quadragesima

It can be easy to lose track of what events take place at what times during the life of Jesus. Sometimes, hearing the Gospel stories during Mass makes us take the timeline for granted. Entering into Lent can be a bit disorienting if we're "following along" with the life of Christ. Sometimes it can feel like our liturgical calendar just picked us up out of Ordinary Time and plopped us back down into Lent. Let's put it in its proper place: 

All three of the synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke) present the same timeline at the beginning of the narrative about Christ's adult life: John the Baptist foretold of Jesus, Jesus was baptized by John, the Spirit led (or, in Mark's case, "drove") Jesus into the desert where He was tempted, Jesus returned to Galilee to begin His ministry. Luke does take a quick detour to talk about Jesus' ancestry, but it still follows the same progression. So what is the significance of this order of events?

Immediately following His Baptism, Jesus went into the desert.
Something significant had just happened in His life, so He went to spend some significant time with His Father. Jesus' time in the desert was a time of preparation for what He was about to do. Immediately following His time in the dessert, He set out to begin His public ministry.

But why 40 days? The number 40 is a prominent one in scripture: Noah was on the ark for 40 days, Moses spent 40 years wandering the desert, Elijah also fasted for 40 days on Mount Horeb. The number 40 is used in scripture most often to signify a period of purification. And 40 days is what Jesus did! All three of these Gospels say “He went out to the desert for 40 days." Jesus Himself spent His 40 days purifying, preparing for His public ministry and, ultimately, His Passion,

We are called into the desert to prepare ourselves. We, too, were baptized and are now called to spend time with our Father. We, too, spend this time of Lent offering sacrifices, focusing on prayer, and striving to give generously. We, too, are preparing our hearts for what is about to happen - the Passion and Resurrection of the Lord.

“But!” mathematicians and Gregorian calendar nerds across our parish proclaim, “There are forty-SIX days between Ash Wednesday and Easter Sunday!” Indeed, there are! 

But each Sunday is not considered a part of Lent, but stand in recognition of Christ's Resurrection. These "mini-Easters" are a foretaste of the joy of the pending celebration of Easter. "Small t" tradition maintains that we are free to release ourselves from our self-imposed Lenten fast (e.g., giving up chocolate). Jesus fasted and prayed for 40 days in the desert, not 46 days! Different theologians have different opinions on how to regard Sundays during Lent, but if anyone's asking me, I say "It's Sunday... go eat a Snickers."

Happy Lent!