‘It’s not the fish, it’s the whole practice of abstaining’: The 40 days of Lent

Today is Ash Wednesday, which marks the beginning of Lent.

The traditions that believers follow during the next 40 days preceding Easter in many Christian churches have changed over the centuries, but the core of Lent being a time of penance and prayer remains, said Mgsr. Brian Mee of St. Augustine’s Catholic Church. This includes fasting during the day and eating only in the evening.

“There was always room for fasting, even in the Jewish faith,” he said.

In the beginning, Catholics and other Christians celebrated Easter differently.

As the centuries passed, the Easter celebration expanded to include Masses on Good Friday and Holy Saturday. The Easter Vigil is considered to be the 40 hours before Easter, Mee said, which matches the 40 hours Jesus was in the tomb before the resurrection.

The number 40 is mentioned often in the Bible. Moses was on Mount Sinai for 40 days and the Israelites wandered the desert for 40 years.

“Forty becomes a significant number,” he said.

By the 4th Century, Lent had been expanded to 40 days, though it’s actually longer than 40 consecutive days because Sundays are not included because each Sunday is like a little Easter celebration, Mee said. At that time, people fasted and abstained for the entire length of Lent. “That was not strange in the ancient world, because others were doing it as well,” he said.

What Catholics have abstained from has changed. It has always included abstaining from meat. But the rules used to be far stricter centuries ago and included dairy and other foods as well. Those restrictions gradually loosened over the years, Mee said.

This is different from many Orthodox churches, whose members abstain from meat, fish, dairy and olive oil during Lent. Easter is also celebrated on a different day in Orthodox churches because they follow the Julian calendar, not the Gregorian.

Currently the Catholic Church requires those age 14 and up to refrain from eating meat on Ash Wednesday and every Friday during Lent. Those ages 18 to 59 should also fast during the day on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.

It used to be that Catholics were asked to abstain from meat every Friday all year round, Mee said. That changed after a letter written by Pope Paul VI, who served from 1963 to 1978. “Fridays are for penance,” Mee said. “He suggested there are things other than abstaining from meat. That was all anybody needed.”

The tradition has become that people often eat fish on Fridays during Lent, to the point that many major fast food restaurants add fish sandwiches to their menu every year during Lent. But eating fish is certainly not required, Mee said. “If you can’t eat meat, what else are you going to eat?” he said. “It’s not the fish, it’s the whole practice of abstaining.”

It sometimes happens that people forget what day it is and don’t abstain. In those cases it’s okay to instead abstain on a different day, Mee said.

“We’re to be well-intentioned,” he said. “It’s not that we’re perfect in all things.”

Another visible Lenten tradition is the use of ashes on Ash Wednesday. Mee said the practice has its roots in the ancient tradition of people wearing sackcloth and ashes as a symbol of mourning and repentance. “That’s where that practice comes from,” he said.

Wearing ashes is seen as a form of penance and it became tradition to receive ashes on the first day of Lent, Mee said. In the early church, around the 12th Century, men had ashes sprinkled on the tops of their heads and women had them rubbed on their foreheads. Now many churches rub ashes on people’s foreheads.

Many Catholic churches also host the Stations of the Cross each Friday. Each church has the 14 stations, which depict the journey of Christ on his last day, beginning with his condemnation to death and his body being laid in the tomb. “Most parishes, if not all parishes, on all Fridays in Lent you’ll find that devotion,” he said.

The Stations of the Cross were created by Franciscan priests in the 13th Century, modeled after the Way of the Cross (also known as the Via Dolorosa) in Jerusalem. It’s a processional route in Jerusalem that follows the route Jesus would have taken as he carried his cross to his own crucifixion.

Visiting the Way of the Cross was a popular pilgrimage at the time, but the priests knew that not everyone could make the journey and created the Stations of the Cross as a way to recreate the experience. “In that time, pilgrimage was a big thing,” Mee said.

While there are many commonalities in how Catholics celebrate Lent, Mee said it’s not uncommon for some local traditions to creep in as well. But at its core, no matter the traditions, the goal is still penance and prayer.