JESUS CHRIST began his public life after being baptised by St John the Baptist in the River Jordan. Since he knew what a difficult task he had ahead of him, he went into the desert and prepared for it by praying and fasting for 40 days and 40 nights.
To this day, Christians all over the world, also fast: to be in communion with their ‘Saviour’, to repent for sins committed and for the purification of the soul. This fasting is called Lent and the period, the Lenten season. It begins with Ash Wednesday and ends with Easter. Lent is of 46 days but is considered to be of 40 days, as Sundays in this period, are not counted. The last week of Lent is the most important and solemn. It’s called the Passion Week and begins with Palm Sunday, includes Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday and Easter Sunday.
We are now into the Passion Week and the Sunday gone by was observed as Palm Sunday. History has it that on this day, many years ago, Christ entered Jerusalem to a rousing welcome by the people. They greeted him with palm fronds and even laid them in his path. To this day, Christians holding palm fronds move in a symbolic procession, praying and singing hymns.
But to work in a sequence, let’s go back to Ash Wednesday. It can occur as early as February 4 or as late as March 10 and reminds the faithful that
{{/usCountry}}But to work in a sequence, let’s go back to Ash Wednesday. It can occur as early as February 4 or as late as March 10 and reminds the faithful that
{{/usCountry}}a) Death comes to everyone
b) They should repent for their sins
c) They must change themselves for the better.
The priest marks a little cross on the forehead of the devout, reminding him that God made man by breathing life into dust. The ash is not any ash, but obtained from burning last year’s palms.
That is the beginning of Lent, which is a period of self-denial. It is spiritual cleansing through material abstinence. There are restrictions on eating meat, drinking wine and basically all celebrations. Marriages too, are held only after Easter. If money is saved from abstinences, it should be given in charity or to a noble cause.
The Thursday following Palm Sunday is called Maundy Thursday and marks the institution of the Sacrament of the Eucharist. The day is observed in remembrance of the Last Supper that Christ had with his apostles and gave them His last instructions.
The next day is Good Friday. Contrary to popular belief, it is not a day of rejoicing, despite the ‘Good’ prefix. It is a day of mourning and repentance. The ‘Good’ stands for Christ dying on the cross for the ‘Good’ of humanity and for the ‘Good’ of the world. It is a day spent in total abstinence, prayer and fasting.
Holy Saturday is the intervening period between Good Friday and Easter and is also spent in prayer, fasting and spiritual preparation for Easter.
The next day is Easter, when Christians believe that Christ vanquished death and arose triumphant from the tomb. It is time for celebration for the ‘Saviour’ has transformed death, a symbol of defeat, into a synonym for victory.