10 Things You Should Know about Lent (Part 5)

We are now down to our last two things you should know about this season of Lent.

9) ’40’ IS A SIGNIFICANT NUMBER. References tell us that 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); the forty days and nights God sent rain in the great flood of Noah (Genesis 7:4); the forty years the Hebrew people wandered in the desert while traveling to the Promised Land (Numbers 14:33); the forty days Jonah gave in his prophecy of judgment to the city of Nineveh in which to repent or be destroyed (Jonah 3:4).

We can also recall that Jesus retreated into the wilderness, where He fasted for forty days, and was tempted by the devil (Matthew 4:1–2, Mark 1:12–13, Luke 4:1–2).

So there! Since, presumably, the Apostles fasted as they mourned the death of Jesus, Christians have traditionally fasted during the annual commemoration of his burial.

10) VEILING OF RELIGIOUS IMAGE. In certain pious Catholic countries before the Second Vatican Council, religious objects were veiled for the entire forty days of Lent. Though perhaps uncommon in the United States of America, this pious practice is consistently observed in Malaga, Seville and Barcelona, Spain, as well as in Malta, Goa, India, Peru and the Philippines (with the exception on processional images). In Ireland before Vatican II, when impoverished rural Catholic convents and parishes could not afford purple fabrics, they resorted to either removing the statues altogether or, if too heavy or bothersome, turned the statues to face the wall. As is popular custom, the 14 Stations of the Cross plaques on the walls are not veiled.

There you go! These are the 10 things you should know about lent. I pray that we will all have a very meaningful and fruitful Lenten celebration.