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[[File:PenitientGirl Rotari.JPG|right|thumb|Penitence during Lent.]]
'''[[w;Lent|Lent]]''' ([[w:Latin language|Latin]]: Quadragesima - [[w:English language|English]]: Fortieth) is a solemn [[religious]] observance in the [[w:Liturgy|liturgical]] [[w:Calendar|calendar]] of many [[Christian]] denominations that begins on [[w:Ash Wednesday|Ash Wednesday]] and covers a period of approximately six weeks before [[Easter|Easter Day]]. The traditional purpose of Lent is the preparation of the [[believer]] through [[prayer]], [[penance]], [[repentance]] of [[sins]], [[w:Almsgiving|almsgiving]], [[w:Atonement in Christianity|atonement]] and [[self-denial]]. Lent is traditionally described as lasting for forty days, in commemoration of the forty days which, according to the [[w:Gospels|Gospels]] of [[w:Matthew (name)|Matthew]], [[w:Mark the Evangelist|Mark]] and [[w:Luke|Luke]], [[Jesus]] spent [[fasting]] in the [[desert]] before the beginning of his public ministry, where he endured [[temptation]] by the [[Devil]]. Throughout [[Christendom]], some adherents mark the season with the traditional [[w:Abstention|abstention]] from the consumption of [[meat]], most notably among [[Roman Catholics]]. Many Roman Catholic and some [[Protestant]] [[w:Church|churches]] remove [[flowers]] from their [[w:Altar|altars]], while [[w;Crucifix|crucifixe]]s, religious statues, and other elaborate [[religious]] [[symbols]] are often veiled in [[w;Violet|violet]] fabrics in [[solemn]] observance of the event.
==Quotes==
[[File:Feofan Blessing.jpg|right|thumb|[[w:St. Andrew's Episcopal Church|St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church]]:The Lenten [[Blessing]] — A [[w:Franciscan|Franciscan]] [[w:Benediction|Benediction]]<br>May God bless you with Discomfort… <br> at easy answers,<br>half–[[truths]], and superficial relationships,<br>so that you may live deep within your [[heart]].<br>May God bless you with [[Anger]]… <br>at [[injustice]], [[w:Oppression|oppression]], and [[w:Exploitation|exploitation]] of people<br>so that you may work for [[justice]], [[freedom]], and [[peace]].<br>May [[God]] bless you with [[Tears]]…]]
[[File:Fastentuch.jpg|right|thumb|[[w:Óscar Romero|Oscar A. Romero]]:Lenten [[fasting]] is not the same thing in those lands where people eat well as is a Lent among our [[w:Third World|third-world]] [[peoples]], [[w:Undernourished|undernourished]] as they are, living in a perpetual Lent, always fasting....<br>Let us observe our Lent thus, giving our [[w:Suffering|suffering]]s, our [[w:Bloodshed|bloodshed]], our [[sorrow]] the same value that [[Christ]] gave to his own condition of [[poverty]], [[oppression]], [[abandonment]], and [[injustice]]....]]
*The Lenten [[Blessing]] — A [[w:Franciscan|Franciscan]] [[w:Benediction|Benediction]]<br>May God bless you with Discomfort… <br> at easy answers,<br>half–[[truths]], and superficial relationships,<br>so that you may live deep within your [[heart]].<br>May God bless you with [[Anger]]… <br>at [[injustice]], [[w:Oppression|oppression]], and [[w:Exploitation|exploitation]] of people<br>so that you may work for [[justice]], [[freedom]], and [[peace]].<br>May [[God]] bless you with [[Tears]]… <br>to shed for those who suffer from [[pain]], [[w:Rejection|rejection]], [[w:Starvation|starvation]], and [[war]],<br>so that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and turn their pain into [[joy]].<br> And may God bless you with enough foolishness…<br> to believe that you can make a difference in their [[world]], so that you<br> can do what others claim cannot be done. [[w:Amen|Amen]].
**[[w:St. Andrew's Episcopal Church|St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church]], in [http://standrewsyork.org/resources/April++2014+Newsletter.pdf The Parish Newsletter of St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church (April 2014)]
*Lent is the time of our lives where we are most especially called to reflect on our own lives and ask ourselves, how much do we thirst for an intimate relationship with our loving [[Jesus]] who is just waiting for us to respond to His [[love]]? It is the time that we must deeply ponder how much do we thirst for a [[life]] that is life-giving to others?
**St Elphin’s Chronicle, in [http://www.warringtonparishchurch.org/mar14.pdf St Elphin’s Chronicle (March 2014)]
*Lent comes providentially to reawaken us, to shake us from our lethargy.
**[[Pope Francis]], in [http://www.ibtimes.com/lent-2014-40-inspirational-quotes-lenten-season-1560021 Lent 2014: 40 Inspirational Quotes For The Lenten Season]
*In the [[w:Primitive Church|primitive Church]] [[w:Holy Saturday|Holy Saturday]] was known as Great, or Grand Saturday, Holy Saturday, the [[w:Angel|Angelic]] ... It is no longer, like [[w:Maundy Thursday|Maundy Thursday]], a day of [[joy]], but one of joy and [[sad]]ness intermingled; it is the close of the season of Lent and [[penance]], and the beginning of [[w:Eastertide|paschal time]].
**[[w:Charles George Herbermann|Charles George Herbermann]], et al, in [http://books.google.co.in/books?id=K7ZAAQAAIAAJ The Catholic Encyclopedia: An International Work of Reference on the Constitution, Doctrine, Discipline, and History of the Catholic Church, Volume 7 (1912)]
*Lent is a time to renew wherever we are in that process that I call the [[divine]] [[therapy]]. It's a time to look what our instinctual needs are, look at what the dynamics of our unconscious are.
**[[w:Thomas Keating|Thomas Keating]], in [http://www.firstpresbyterianchurchofcanby.org/site/cs/_bulletin_download.asp?ID=11543. First Presbyterian Church]
*Lenten [[fasting]] is not the same thing in those lands where people eat well as is a Lent among our [[w:Third World|third-world]] [[peoples]], [[w:Undernourished|undernourished]] as they are, living in a perpetual Lent, always fasting....<br>Let us observe our Lent thus, giving our [[w:Suffering|suffering]]s, our [[w:Bloodshed|bloodshed]], our [[sorrow]] the same value that [[Christ]] gave to his own condition of [[poverty]], [[w:Oppression|oppression]], [[w:Abandonment|abandonment]], and [[injustice]]. Let us change all that into the cross of [[salvation]] that redeems the [[world]] and our people. And with [[hatred]] for none, let us be converted and share both [[joy]]s and material aids, in our poverty, with those who may be even needier.
**[[w:Óscar Romero|Oscar A. Romero]], in [http://faithworks.crs.org/let-us-todays-christians-words-oscar-romero/ Let Us Be Today’s Christians”: The Words of Óscar Romero (2 MARCH1980)]
==External links==
{{Wikipedia}}
[[Category:Holidays and observances]]