The 40 days of fasting known as Lent are a time of prayer and preparation for Easter Sunday.Originating in the fourth century of the church, the season of Lent spans 40 weekdays. It begins on Ash Wednesday, continues through Holy Week, including Holy Thursday and Good Friday, and ends the Saturday before Easter Sunday.

The Sunday, Monday and Tuesday preceding Ash Wednesday are known as Carnival, which comes from the Latin phrase meaning “removal of meat.” Those three days are also referred to as Shrovetide, shrove being an Old English word meaning, “to repent.”

Lent is modeled after the 40 days and nights Jesus spent in the desert preparing for His ministry by facing the temptations of Satan.

Originally, Lent was a time of preparation, Bible study and prayer for those who were to be baptized at the Easter Vigil Mass, the celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus on Easter Sunday morning. Those being baptized were to be received into a living community of faith. The entire community was called to prepare and was encouraged to approach each Easter as one should when solemnly preparing for Baptism.

Since Sundays celebrate the resurrection of Jesus, the six Sundays that occur during Lent are not counted as part of the 40 days of Lent.

In the book of Acts of the Apostles in the Bible, the disciples fasted and in their letters encouraged others to do so as well.

Lent is used as a period of time for introspection, self-examination and repentance.

The colors used in the sanctuary for the majority of Lent are purple, red violet or dark violet. They symbolize the pain and suffering leading up to the crucifixion of Jesus as well as royalty and the suffering of humanity and the world under sin.

Lent has not been well-observed in much of evangelical Christianity, largely because it was associated with high church liturgical worship that some churches were eager to reject.

The Roman Catholic Church requires its members from age 21 through 59 to fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, only eating one main meal, unless a physical condition prevents them from doing so.

The Fridays of Lent are days of required abstinence from meat for those age 14 and older.

Editor’s note: Information retrieved from “Catechism of the Catholic Church.