Alex J. Nagem © March 6, 2025
(Revised from an original writing: February 10th, 2013)
At this time in our lives, we should know that Lent is a time of sacrifice, penitence, prayer, and suffering. It is a time when we “give up” our luxuries. We may stop smoking, drinking beer or alcohol, eating chocolate, or drinking caffeine products. I have read that teenagers will give up sleeping on their bed or using a pillow, will take the stairs instead of an elevator, and will give up make-up and eating meat. These are commendable forms of penitence for forty days. Do you know where I am headed with this? Come on, by now you should know I usually have a twist to my opening lines. The answer is: “Why Only Forty Days?”
Lent can find its origin in the Latin word “Quadragesima”, which translates to “fortieth”. Have you wondered about the importance of “forty” in the bible? Lent lasts forty days, representing the forty days Jesus spent in the desert before his ministry began. Forty has significance in Exodus 16:35, “The sons of Israel ate the manna forty years, until they came to an inhabited land.” In Genesis 7:12, “The rain fell upon the earth for forty days and forty nights.” In Judges 3:11, 5:31 and 8:28 forty years was the time of probation and rest. In Jonah 3:4, “Then Jonah began to go through the city one day’s walk, and he cried out and said, “Yet forty days and Nineveh will be overthrown.” The period between the Resurrection and the Ascension of Jesus was forty days. The number forty is mentioned numerous times in the Bible. The number is always associated with trials, testing, and probation, a renewal of such.
Our forty days of Lent should be a period of testing ourselves and renewing our identity in Christianity. Our testing is simple compared to the testing and trials encountered by Jesus during His forty days in the desert. We need to also reflect on the ministries of Jesus, the death of His human body on the cross in an attempt to understand His love and compassion for us all. I would hope after our forty days of “renewal” we allow for the flow into our ministries. What are you planning after your “Lenten renewal”, enjoying the luxury you gave up for forty days does not count?
Sacrifice is not just for Lent. Jesus overcoming earthly temptations reflects on his identity. The rest of His earthly life portrays who He was… Our Lord and Savior, Our Shepherd, Our Teacher (Rabbi), he was strong willed but humble in manner, and he listened and followed the will of the Father. These are only a few of the portrayals, characteristics of Jesus. To learn and understand more about Jesus is up to you.
To be a follower of Christ, one must allow for prayer, meditation and the overcoming of temptation in one’s life. During the forty days of Lent, while fasting, think of ways to improve your life in Christ. Remember with fasting, words are not the same as actions. Fasting from meat on Fridays, does not mean to have a fancy fish dinner allowing for all you can eat. You, then, have not overcome temptation. You have not overcome the desire for more. After the forty days of Lent, try not to celebrate with what you have given up. (Yes, I know I am repeating myself.) You will have defeated the purpose of your renewal. This should be a time of reflection on improving ourselves for our own ministries, as to follow in the footsteps of Jesus. Have you allowed yourself to be a glutton with money, food, drink and power over others during the year only to “say” let us be repentant during Lent, but it is ok, after Lent you can go back to your old self?
Lent is a time when we should call upon the Holy Spirit for guidance to overcome our temptations like pride (inflated sense of one’s personal importance), envy (resentment), wrath (great anger), lust (intense wanting), gluttony (over-indulgence or consumption leading to extravagance or waste), sloth (spiritual or emotional apathy or laziness) and avarice (extreme greed). We overcome these by the virtues of humility, charity, meekness, chastity, temperance, diligence, and generosity. “Therefore, we are called to the full value of the desert as a place for a special experience of God, as it was for Moses (cf. Ex 24:18), and for Elijah (cf. 1 Kgs 19:8), and as it was above all for Jesus. Led by the Holy Spirit, he was willing to go through the same experience. It was one of contact with God the Father (cf. Hos 2:16) in contrast to the powers which oppose God. His experience is exemplary, and can serve as a lesson for us on the need for penance not for Jesus who was without sin, but for all of us.” The Spirit-Led Jesus into the Desert, Pope John Paul II, July 21, 1990. We should continue our reflection through the year, beyond the forty days of Lent, to improve our lives in Christ. Sounds pretty good, doesn’t it? What a good feeling it will be to wake each morning knowing you are living a life in Christ, following His teachings and ministries…what more could you want?
Now that I have provided my thoughts on Lent and why only forty days of preparation, you may be wondering what I am giving up for Lent. I am giving up shaving on the weekends! Wait, I do that most weekends. That won’t work. I can’t tell you. I remain silent on my sacrifice. It is between me and God, as a spiritual sacrifice for renewal should be. In my mind, I will be in my desert for the next forty days. I will be reflecting on my own Christian identity and how I can improve my ministries.
You and your family are remembered in my prayers and I hope me and my family are remembered in yours.
“Vocatus Atque non Vocatus, Deus Aderit”
Alex J. Nagem