Weekly Bulletin and Church Year Information
Weekly Bulletin: April 13th 2025
Church Year: Lent
LentWhile Advent does have a penitential nature to it, Lent is the penitential season.The name lent derivesfrom the Old English word Len(c)ten, which means Spring. There is a tradition that the word may havealso meant lengthen, since the season occurs while the days are getting longer. This has beendebunked. While Lent is a penitential season, it also served as a period of final training of catechumenswaiting to be brought into the Church at the Easter Vigil. So there is also an emphasis on additional catechesis. The season is a time of fasting, additional prayer, and almsgiving.
Lent in Lutheranism starts at sunset the day before Ash Wednesday, and runs until sunset on HolySaturday. Sundays are excluded from Lent, thus making the 46 days from Ash Wednesday to EasterSunday 40 days. The color for the season is Violet.
Lent traditionally was divided into three miniature seasons. In the historic lectionary, there is theseason called Pre-lent or Gesimatide. This season starts on the third Sunday before Ash Wednesday,and each Sunday has a Latin name. There is a sense of preparation for the difficult road ahead, and thePropers focus on the three solas. The Gloria and the Alleluia are omitted, with the latter being replaced with the tract. Then there is Lent proper, which traditionally lasts from Ash Wednesday to the Fifth Sunday in Lent. In the Three-year Lectionary, this period lasts from Ash Wednesday to Palm Sunday.In this period, the focus was less focusing on Christ’s Passion and more focused on spiritual warfare as a final catechetical push. The final period traditionally lasts from the Fifth Sunday of Lent to Holy Saturday. In the Three-year lectionary, this period is Holy Week. This period is also known as Passiontide, and the main focus is the Passion of our Lord. The Gloria Patri is dropped during this time. The crosses were also veiled during this time until they were revealed on Good Friday.
Ash Wednesday begins the season of Lent with the themes of repentance and fasting. The tradition of placing ashes in the shape of the cross on the people was initially rejected by Lutherans, but has made a comeback recently. The day and the specific liturgy for the day all reflect the themes of repentance and fasting.
The First Sunday in Lent’s Gospel reading is always Jesus’ 40 days in the wilderness and his temptation by Satan.
The Fourth Sunday is Lent is similar to the Third Sunday in Advent. This Sunday, a little bit of the Easter Joy we are waiting for leaks out. The traditional color is rose.
There are two festival days strong enough to break through Lent. These are St. Joseph, Guardian of ourLord (March 19th) and the Annunciation of our Lord (March 25th). Both festivals are white, and the Gloria is sung. The Alleluia is still omitted.
There are often special devotions written for Lent. Often, Lent is seen as a time to add to or beginanew devotions. People challenge themselves to be in the Word of God more during this time. If you pray in the morning, add and evening prayer. If you pray in the evening, add a morning prayer. Findtime to pray the litany daily. Pray the Collect for Ash Wednesday daily. Learn a new hymn during this time. Review the Small Catechism. Read the Large Catechism if you have never read that document. Pray the Seven Penitential Psalms (6, 32, 38, 51, 102, 130, 143).
The hymns for Lent run from LSB 418-440 (TLH 140-159). This does not include the hymns for Holy Week, which can also be appropriate.