
Christ the King Episcopal Church
Lakeland, Florida
LENT &
HOLY WEEK
a season of penitence and fasting” in preparation for the Paschal feast
LENT
Lent is the forty days before Easter (excluding Sundays), beginning on Ash Wednesday. Lent is a season of preparation which brings us (symbolically) through the wilderness to the promised land of redemption. The wilderness of Lent is meant to cleanse us from that which inhibits our relationship with God. By engaging in the ancient Lenten disciplines (practices) of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, we prepare ourselves to live more fully as followers of Jesus. Like Noah's forty days on the ark and like Israel's forty years in the wilderness of Sinai, the forty days of Lent prepare us to receive the promise of the Paschal Mystery: redemption and new life. A version of Lent has been practiced since the 2nd century CE as a time when those who were to be welcomed into the Church through baptism were prepared and performed their penance.
Lent invites us to practice three ancient disciplines as a means of preparation and growth:
-
Prayer - Through prayer we come to know our true selves and to recognize that which is holding us back from being exactly what we were created to be: ie. beloved children in the embrace of a loving God.
-
Fasting - Through fasting we rid ourselves of all that does not enable charity and love to prevail - character, habit, and behavior that keep us from healthy and holy relationships with God and with one another.
-
Almsgiving - Through almsgiving we make ourselves more aware of the needs of others, especially the poor and marginalized.
The liturgical color of Lent is purple, used to reflect sorrow and penitence, as well as reflecting the royal color of King David.
Holy Week
Holy Week is the culmination of Lent, a week-long series of services that honor the events of Jesus' last days - his final supper with the disciples, his passion, the way of the cross, and the crucifixion, all culminating in the resurrection. This is the Paschal Mystery by which, through God in Jesus, death has been destroyed and creation set free. Holy Week is the most sacred time of the Christian year.
The liturgical color of Holy Week from Palm Sunday to Holy Saturday is Red, reflecting both the blood of Jesus and the fire of the Spirit.
From early times Christians have observed the week before Easter as a time of special devotion.
Palm Sunday-Sunday of the Passion - The liturgy first recalls Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem and then turn towards the recollection of the Passion and Crucifixion with the recitation of the Passion narrative.
Monday-Wednesday of Holy Week - These liturgies bear account of lamentation and mercy by giving voice to the pain and sorrow of our own lives and making room for Christ to enter.
Maundy Thursday - This liturgy recollects and enacts the events of the Last Supper. So, first of all, the liturgy allows us to follow Jesus' command ("Maundy" comes from the Latin mandatum, meaning "commandment") to share his body and blood - to break bread and share the cup of wine - in remembrance of him. And second, the liturgy makes space for us to symbolically washing our neighbor's feet - "to do as I [Jesus] have done to you".
Good Friday - The liturgy honors Christ's crucifixion, his courage to live the truth of his love for us even to death. Again, the Passion narrative is proclaimed, prayers are offered, and veneration is made to the holy and life-giving cross.
The Great Vigil - The church gathering before sunrise, this liturgy proclaims the story of God redeeming love from the Hebrew Scriptures. At an appointed time (usually around sunrise), the Resurrection is proclaimed and the church rejoices in the first Eucharist of Easter. More than any other liturgy, this one truly enters into the mystery of the sacred with ample use of fire, candles, incense, chant, story, and water. It is the traditional day for the baptism of adults.
OUR CALENDAR FOR
LENT & HOLY WEEK
LENT
Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper
March 4 * 5-7 pm
Ash Wednesday Services
March 5 * 12 noon & 7 pm
Lent Faith Formation Program
Wednesdays, 6:00 pm
HOLY WEEK
Palm Sunday
10:00 am, Holy Eucharist with the Procession of PalmsH
Maundy (Holy) Thursday
7:00 pm, The Celebration of the Lord's Supper with Washing of the Feet
Good Friday
12:00 noon & 7 pm, The Reading of the Passion with Veneration of the Cross
3:00 pm, Tenebrae
Holy Saturday
12:00 noon, Noonday Prayer
8:00 pm, The Great Vigil
Easter Day
10 am, The First Sunday of Easter