Brother Howard Coop

Chaplain of Lancaster Lodge #104 F & AM

Brother Howard Coop is a frequent contributor to such Masonic publications as; THE COMMUNICATOR, THE SCOTTISH RITE JOURNAL, and THE ROYAL ARCH MASON

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          We are about the mid-point of the season of Lent.  For many Christians, Lent is one of the more significant seasons of the year.  It is the period that consists of forty days not counting Sundays that precedes Easter.  This season, as it is known today, is the Christian adaptation of springtime awakenings that are multicultural and worldwide. 

          Lent is a word that originally meant spring, and it was associated with the lengthening of the days in the spring.  It was first mentioned in the fifth canon of the council of Nicaea in 325 A.D.  Since that time, many Christians around the world have observed the season as a time of fasting and penitence in preparation for Easter, and over the years, their observance of the season has varied considerably.

          In the beginning, the season was short, and it was observed by severe fasting in commemoration of the fast of Jesus in the wilderness that lasted forty days.  So, for about forty hours, between the afternoon of Good Friday and Easter morning, those observing Lent ate nothing at all.  As a result of that emphasis upon fasting, many still give up certain foods during the Lenten season as an act of self-denial and penitence.  In some areas, the period of Lenten fasting is preceded by a period of extreme excess, and the day before Lent begins has come to be known as Fat Tuesday.  

          As the observance of the season developed, it became more than a time to be observed by fasting.  Introspection, self-examination, self-discipline, and penitence began to be emphasized.
 
          If Lent has real significance for those who observe it, it must be more than rigid observance of a specific number of days during which certain things are dutifully done or not done.  It should be a time when personal introspection, self-examination and self-discipline lead to a serious evaluation of life that produces lasting changes in lifestyle that significantly alter life and contribute to making it better.