Lenten Season

"Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And he fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterward he was hungry." (Matthew 4:12.) This is the Biblical basis of the period called Lent, given to us to prepare for the Feast of Feasts, the Resurrection.

Lent is observed by many religions. Roughly speaking, the western Church consists of Protestants, Catholics, and Anglicans. The Eastern Church consists of the Eastern Orthodox churches, the Oriental Orthodox churches, and the eastern-rite churches affiliated with the Roman Catholic Church. The season of 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 Lenten season begins with Ash Wednesday this year February 25^th. Because Sunday is the day of the Resurrection, Sundays are skipped when the length of Lent is calculated. Therefore, in the Western Church, Lent always begins on Ash Wednesday.

The Eastern Church does not skip over Sundays when calculating the length of the Great Lent. Therefore, the Great Lent always begins on Clean Monday, the seventh Monday before Easter, and ends on the Friday before Palm Sunday, using of course the eastern date for Easter. The Lenten fast is relaxed on the weekends in honor of the Sabbath (Saturday) and the Resurrection (Sunday).

The word Lent is a Teutonic word, which Catholics use to denote the forty days' fast preceding Easter. It has been used from the Anglo-Saxon period to translate the more significant Latin term quadragesima (French carême,Italianquaresima, Spanish cuaresma), meaning the "forty days", or more literally the "fortieth day". This in turn imitated the Greek name for Lent, tessarakoste (fortieth), a word formed on the analogy of Pentecost (pentekoste), which last was in use for the Jewish festival before New Testament times.

The number forty has many Biblical references: the forty days Moses spent on Mount Sinai with God (Exodus 24:18); the forty days and nights Elijah spent walking to Mount Horeb (1 Kings 19:8); God made it rain for forty days and forty nights in the days of Noah (Genesis 7:4); the Hebrew people wandered forty years traveling to the Promised Land (Numbers 14:33); Jonah in his prophecy of judgment gave the city of Nineveh forty days in which to repent (Jonah 3:4).The number forty is connected with many biblical events, but especially with the forty days Jesus spent in the wilderness preparing for His ministry by facing the temptations that could lead him to abandon his mission and calling. Christians today use this period of time for introspection, self examination, and repentance. This season of the year is equal only to the Season of Advent in importance in the Christian year, and is part of the second major grouping of Christian festivals and sacred time that includes Holy Week, Easter, and Pentecost

The Last Supper was celebrated during the Feast of the Passover, which is calculated on the phases of the moon, Easter is called a movable feast. Lent is scheduled backwards from Easter. Easter falls on the first Sunday after the full moon after the spring equinox. The forty days of fasting and penitence during Lent do not include Sundays. Christians always celebrate Sunday as the day Jesus rose from the dead, so it is never a day of fasting. There seems much to suggest that the Church in the Apostolic Age designed to commemorate the Resurrection of Christ, not by an annual, but by a weekly celebration (see "The Month", April 1910, 337 sqq.). If this is so, the Sundayliturgy constituted the weekly memorial of the Resurrection, and the Friday fast that of the Death of Christ.

Churches offering Lenten Services in Florida:
Armenian Church
Boca Raton, FL
St. David Church

Bonita Springs, FL
Armenian Church of Southwest Florida

Hollywood, FL
St. Mary Church

Jacksonville, FL
Armenian Church of Jacksonville

Ocala, FL
St. Sarkis Church

Pinellas Park, FL
St. Hagop Church

Windermere, FL
St. Garabed Church

Episcopal Church

InfoLine, located at the Episcopal Church Center in New York City, can help you make connections to churchwide ministries, events and activities. InfoLine staff members will do their best to answer your questions. Help us to help you by providing as much detail as possible. Many inquiries are answered within one to seven business days, although some may require further research.
Contact: InfoLine
212-716-6136, 6137; 800-334-7626, x6136, x6137
FAX: 212-557-5827

Lutheran

All Saints Lutheran Church 12601 Balcombe Rd Orlando , FL
(407) 859-9468 Visit Web site
Atonement Lutheran Church 7525 Lake Underhill Rd Orlando , FL
(407) 277-9631 Visit Web site
Iglesia Luterana Cristo Rey 300 E Church St Orlando , FL
(407) 709-7013 Visit Web site
Martin Luther Lutheran Church 1114 Lake Willisara Cir Orlando , FL
(407) 423-9028
Spirit of Joy Lutheran Church 1801 Rouse Rd Orlando , FL
(407) 282-4569 Visit Web site
St Paul's Lutheran Church 300 E Church St Orlando , FL
(407) 425-6060 Visit Web site

Roman Catholic

Mary, Queen of the Universe Shrine
8300 Vineland Avenue
Orlando, FL 32821
PH: 407-239-6600
The Shrine is open daily from 7:30 am to 5:00 pm.
Saturdays and Sundays from 7:30 am to 7:30 pm.
Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament daily in the Adoration Chapel.

Directions: From Orlando: Exit #68 from I-4 West at Lake Buena Vista. Turn left to S.R. 535, stay in left lane, turn left at light onto Vineland Ave. (at Little Lake Bryan), just before the Holiday Inn.
From Tampa: Exit #68 at Lake Buena Vista. Drive straight to the Shrine (no turns)
Mass Schedule:
Weekdays: 8:00 am & 12:05 pm
Mondays: 7:00 pm (Mass and Perpetual Novena of the miraculous medal).
Saturday Vigil Mass: 6:00 pm
Sundays and Holidays: 7:30 am, 9:30 am, 11:30 am, & 6:00 pm.

Corpus Christi Catholic Church
610 Sycamore Street, Suite 310B
Celebration, FL 34747
PH: 321-939-1491
Mass Schedule:
Saturday Vigil: 5:00 p.m.
Sunday: 8:00 a.m & 10:00 a.m.
Masses will be held at Celebration High School.

Holy Family
5125 S. Apopka-Vineland Rd.
Orlando, FL 32819-3801
PH: 407-876-2211
Mass Schedule:
Sat: 5:00 pm
Sun: 7:00, 8:45, 10:30 am, 12:15, 6:00 pm
Weekdays: 6:45 & 8:30 am
Saturdays: 8:30 am

Eastern & Oriental Catholic Church

St. Nicholas of Myra Byzantine Catholic Church
5135 Sand Lake Road, RT 482
Orlando, Florida 32819
(407) 351-0133
parish@orlandobyzantine.com

p>Work Cited:

http://www.americancatholic.org/Features/Lent/

Fay, S. (1911). Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America. In The Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. Retrieved January 17, 2009 from New Advent: http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12493a.htm

Fortescue, A. (1909). Eastern Churches. In The Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. Retrieved January 17, 2009 from New Advent: http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05230a.htm

Moyes, J. (1907). Anglicanism. In The Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. Retrieved January 17, 2009 from New Advent: http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01498a.htm

Thurston, H. (1910). Lent. In The Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. Retrieved January 17, 2009 from New Advent: http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09152a.htm