by Lukáš Olejník
Part 1
Tempus Quadragesimae, in other words Lent or Fortieth, is " the
approximately forty day period celebrated by the Church each year to prepare
for the Loard’s resurrection at Easter" (Lefevbre). Many denominations of the
Christian family, including Catholics, Orthodox, or Anglicans, if strictly
practitioning, are instructed by the word of Scripture to maintain an
abstention from meat on various days and occasions of Lent. The precision with
which this direction is being observed varies among different denominations.
While Western church mostly requires to fast from meat "on Ash Wednesday and
all the Fridays of Lent, and fasting on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday" (Lefevbre), the Eastern church, on the other hand, recommends the restraint from
meat for the full duration of Lent, forty days.
Fasting and abstinence themselves, as
physical demonstrations of true and sincere Christian faith, more than
at any different point of the liturgical year, shall be motivated by deep
prayer and an active participation in daily Mass. With regard to the magnified
significance of Lent as a period of the liturgical year directly resulting in
the most important Christian feast, the formal participation of congregation in
a number of celebratory rituals is required across the spectrum of all
denominations. Music, as one of the traditional tools of Christian Church,
plays a crucial role in the fulfillment of this condition. Regulations of the
Roman Catholic Church regarding the form and aesthetics of the liturgy’s
musical component are very strict and currently feature an interesting
combination of tradition and innovation. Both these aspects will be further
discussed in my future posts.
References:
Lefevbre, Gaspar
Dom. St. Andrew Daily Missal. Saint Paul: E. M. Lohman Company, 1958.
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