Posted on 04/17/2011 12:22:05 PM PDT by Colofornian
For a typical member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Ash Wednesday and Maundy Thursday do not mean much, but for thousands of Christians around the world the days are part of Lent, a time of prayer, fasting and service.
Christians around the world are in the middle of Lenten season. Lent starts with Ash Wednesday and runs until Easter Sunday, which marks the resurrection of Jesus Christ and the end of the 40-day season of Lent.
Last Saturday, the Catholic Diocese of Salt Lake City held a Lenten retreat, a special time set aside to pray and reflect for Lent. Susan Northway, director of religious education at the Catholic Diocese, said the highlight of the retreat was reading and studying three selections from the Gospel of John and sharing their insights.
“We had very good participation,” Northway said. “We had good results from the people.”
The annual retreat came in the third week of the Lenten season, a period of increased devotion and sacrifice.
“It is taking time away to pray, to fast and to struggle with different things,” Northway said.
Since Ash Wednesday on March 9, Lent has been part of the daily lives of some Christians all over the world. The practice begins each year with a day of repentance, symbolized by rubbing ashes on one’s forehead.
Although many Christians celebrate Lent, not all churches view it the same way. Michelle Despain, parish administrator at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church, said they focus more on giving to others.
“Lent is to me more about looking outside yourself,” Despain said, “not focusing so much on your own needs but more about others.”
The season of Lent lasts 40 days, which is not a coincidental number. That is the number of days Jesus Christ fasted in the desert, the number of years the children of Israel wandered in the desert and the number of days and nights Moses was on the mount.
“Forty is always a symbolic number in the scriptures,” Northway said.
The number of days between March 9 and April 23 does not count up exactly to 40. Northway said in Catholicism, Sundays are not counted toward the 40 days because they instead represent the Resurrection.
The Rev. Ken Collin is an ordained minister for the Christian Church, Disciples of Christ.
According to his website, the week before Easter Sunday is called by some “Passion Week” or “Passiontide,” beginning with Passion Sunday. The week leads to Holy Thursday, also known as Easter Triduum or Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday and ends with the worldwide celebration of Easter Sunday.
Holy Thursday and Maundy Thursday are essentially the same thing and both involve washing the feet of others just as Jesus Christ did for his apostles, Despain said.
“It just leads up to Easter, it’s all about Christ,” Despain said.
Easter Sunday is also called the Feast of Resurrection, Northway said. This year the day will be celebrated on April 24.
“That is the most holy day of the year for Catholics,” Northway said.
Before the devoted days of Lent comes the well-known Fat Tuesday, or Mardi Gras. This day has become a traditional part of Lent and a chance to eat large amounts of fatty foods before Lent begins the next day. Big celebrations are held in Rio de Janeiro, Trinidad and Tobago, Venice, Italy and New Orleans.
Locally, St. Mary’s Episcopal Church in Provo holds a dinner before Ash Wednesday to fundraise for Food and Care Coalition, based in Provo.
From the article: For a typical member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Ash Wednesday and Maundy Thursday do not mean much, but for thousands of Christians around the world the days are part of Lent, a time of prayer, fasting and service.
(Kind of summarizes it all, doesn't it? A frank confession by a BYU student journalist...Maundy Thursday = commandment Thursday -- Jesus' commandment to love & serve one another, which Jesus showed firsthand by washing the disciples' feet...He also served WINE that night -- see Luke 22:17-20...not the "watered down" version Mormons do by serving up water)
From the article: Since Ash Wednesday on March 9, Lent has been part of the daily lives of some Christians all over the world.
..."part of the daily lives of some Christians all over the world." (But not Mormons)
From the article: The season of Lent lasts 40 days, which is not a coincidental number. That is the number of days Jesus Christ fasted in the desert, the number of years the children of Israel wandered in the desert and the number of days and nights Moses was on the mount. “Forty is always a symbolic number in the scriptures,” Northway said. The number of days between March 9 and April 23 does not count up exactly to 40. Northway said in Catholicism, Sundays are not counted toward the 40 days because they instead represent the Resurrection.
40 was also the # of days it rained in Noah's flood. Moses' life was essentially a 3-in-1 life of 40 years' apiece as an Egyptian insider; desert wanderer & beginning a New life; and then as the deliverer of those in bondage.
Like the Messiah to come, Moses was a type of King; then a type of priest where he went before us an intercessor; then he was a prophet to Pharaoh.
For a typical member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Ash Wednesday and Maundy Thursday do not mean much,
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Yes well thats a given...
Mormons are not Christians
mormonISM does not care about Easter or what leads to it, as the Cross means little to mormonISM.
It is all about the Garden.
(Same with Christmas, means little as they are worn out from celebrating joseph smiths’ birthday.)
Sure is honest of him not to write "but for thousands of other Christians, wasn't it?
This isn't the only thing that describes the difference between Christians and mormons, but it's a big one.
Christians take up the cross...
Mormons take up gardening...
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