Living Lent: Preparing to Celebrate the Resurrection

By Fr. John Jwad

Lent is a liturgical season of prayer and fasting that begins for Chaldean Catholics this year on Monday, February 12. It is a period of preparation before the celebration of the Lord’s resurrection at Easter.

Lent is a very important time for Catholics around the world, but it is especially meaningful for the Chaldean community. These weeks of fasting, prayer and almsgiving give us an opportunity to spiritually and even physically accompany our Lord in His passion, so that we may share in the joy of His resurrection.

Historically, our people viewed Lent as one of the most important times of the year. In the villages of olden days, people fasted, refraining from eating all food from sundown until noon. They also completely abstained from meat, dairy, and cooking oil for all of Lent. Forefathers in our Chaldean villages took Lent very seriously. No weddings or joyful occasions were celebrated during Lent (except religious festivals) and all men were expected to abstain from alcohol.

Today, the Catholic Church leaves it up to the individual to choose how to specifically fast. Many modern-day Chaldeans fast from meat on the first and last week of Lent as well as on all its Fridays; that’s in addition to their own personal Lenten promises.

In our liturgy, the Chaldean Church also places great importance on the middle week of Lent (Week 4) which is nicknamed “pelu.” Based on the readings, this middle week serves as a time of reflection and prayer, asking the Lord for strength to be able to fulfill the rest of the days of Lent in perseverance and faith.

Another point of great importance is that in the Chaldean Church, Lent officially begins on the Sunday before Ash Wednesday, seven weeks before Easter. The Friday before Lent begins is called the Friday of the Deceased. On this day, we remember and pray for all those who have passed from among us in hope of the resurrection. Our Church fathers placed this memorial right before Lent so that it may be a chance for the faithful to remember death in a personal way. It also hopefully leads us all to repentance and conversion; the Latin Rite Catholic Church puts great emphasis on these themes during their Ash Wednesday services.

The Sunday after that is officially the first Sunday of the Great Fast (Soma Raba). This first Sunday is celebrated liturgically as a great feast day and is accompanied with many joyful prayers which describe the joy we are to have, since salvation is finally near.Hence, all penitential practices and fasting begin the day after (Monday) and last until Easter.

On each Friday in Lent, many faithful attend the Stations of the Cross and reflect on the passion Christ endured for our salvation. These fourteen stations are accompanied by chants which reflect on the passion that our Blessed Mother also endured. It’s beautiful to see the faithful practices of our forefathers being upheld and know that most of these practices still live on today.

The faith of our community can truly be witnessed, especially during Lent. It gives me great joy to see our parishes packed on Fridays for Stations of the Cross and to see young and old alike practicing some kind of fast throughout Lent.

In these days as we approach Lent, the big topic of interest in our community is what to give up. Many people get very anxious trying to think of the perfect thing to give up while neglecting to analyze the effect that this fast will have on one’s spiritual life.

As we approach Lent this year, we need to think more about not what we are going to give up, but rather how this fast, whatever it is, will allow us to grow as individuals. Rather than debating what to fast from, we need to honestly ask ourselves: How can I work on myself throughout these holy days? How can I try wholeheartedly to cleanse myself from different sins that I continually struggle with in my daily life? Let the Holy Spirit guide you and don’t rush.

Take time in prayer and see what the Lord is calling you to do this Lent. As a community, we focus so much on what we are going to eat and do during Lent, rather than the spiritual progress of our lives. There is no point in fasting from food without trying to fast from sin.

During this Lent, let us keep our eyes on the prize. Let us remember that with the grace of God we are called to transform our lives. This is not an easy task, but like our Lord who faithfully carried His cross out of love, we too must rely on His love to help us overcome temptation in our lives and allow Him to grant us victory over our sins.