The fourteen Stations of the Cross are:

1. Christ is condemned to death
2. The Cross is laid upon Him
3. His first fall
4. He meets His Blessed Mother
5. Simon of Cyrene is made to bear the cross
6. Christ's face is wiped by Veronica
7. His second fall
8. He meets the women of Jerusalem
9. His third fall
10. He is stripped of His garments
11. His is crucified
12. His death on the cross
13. His body is taken down from the cross
14. He is laid in the tomb.

Easter Event Calender for 2008
Ash Wednesday - February 6
Palm Sunday - April 1
Holy Thursday - April 5
Good Friday - April6
Holy Saturday - April 7
Easter - April 8

Ash Wednesday Feb 21, 2007

WHAT IS LENT?

Lent is a forty-day liturgical season that initiates the most sacred part of the Christian year. Lent begins on Ash Wednesday and concludes on the Great Vigil of Easter. Sundays are not included in the forty-day count because every Sunday is a joyful celebration of our Lord's resurrection. During Lent, Christians meditate with awe and thanksgiving on the great paschal mystery -- the salvation God won for us sinners by the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

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WHAT DOES THE WORD "LENT" MEAN?

The word Lent is apparently derived from the Old English lencten, which means "lengthen." It refers to the lengthening of the daylight hours that occurs in the northern hemisphere as spring approaches. It is in this period of transition from late winter to early spring that the season of Lent falls.

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WHY DOES LENT LAST FORTY DAYS?

The duration of the season of Lent is based on the ancient church custom of requiring catechumens to undergo a forty-day period doctrinal instruction and fasting before being baptized on the evening before Easter. This probationary period was called the quarantine (from the Latin word for forty). The number forty occurs frequently in both testaments of the Bible. It signifies the time that is required for discipline, testing, and separation prior to achieving a goal or new beginning. For example, we read in the Old Testament that it rained forty days and nights during the Great Flood (Genesis 7:12), Moses communed with God on Mount Sinai for forty days before receiving the Ten Commandments (Exodus 24:18), the people of Israel were forced to wander in the wilderness for forty years (Numbers 14:33-34), Elijah journeyed for forty days before he reached the cave at Horeb and had a vision of God (1 Kings 19:8-9), and the inhabitants of Nineveh fasted and repented for forty days in response to the preaching of Jonah (Jonah 3:4-5). The outstanding instances of the number forty in the New Testament are the account of Christ's ordeal in the desert fasting, praying, and being tempted by the devil (Matthew 4:1-11; Mark 1:12-13; and Luke 4:1-13) and His various appearances to the apostles and others between His resurrection and ascension during which He strengthened their faith and prepared them for the coming of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:3).

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HOW DOES WORSHIP CHANGE DURING LENT?

Since Lent is a season of penitence, reflection, and prayer, worship during this time is solemn and restrained. The somber colors of purple and black replace the brighter white and green of the Epiphany season. Flowers are generally removed from the sanctuary. Songs of praise like the Gloria in Excelsis ("Glory in the highest") and expressions of joy like Alleluia ("Praise the Lord") are removed from the liturgy until Easter. Many churches hold special mid-week worship services (Wednesday evenings at Saint Paul's) and offer devotional activities that help their members concentrate on the traditional Lenten disciplines of fasting, almsgiving (the giving of gifts of mercy), and prayer. The practice of these disciplines goes back to the early days of the church and are meant to help Christians recall and be thankful for our Lord's atoning death on the cross.

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WHAT IS ASH WEDNESDAY?

Ash Wednesday (from the Latin Dies Cinerum, meaning "Day of Ashes") is the first day of Lent. On this day, Christians focus intensely on their utter and complete sinfulness and the necessity of Christ's suffering and death to earn their salvation. Ashes are referred to many times in the Old Testament as a sign of sorrow, mourning, repentance, and mortality (2 Samuel 13:19; Esther 4:1-3; Job 42:6; and Jeremiah 6:26). Many churches use ashes during Ash Wednesday worship as part of a rite called the Imposition of Ashes. According to this ancient custom, ashes (traditionally made by burning palm fronds used on Palm Sunday of the previous year) are mixed with a small amount of olive oil and applied to the forehead of each worshipper. This mark, in the sign of a cross, can be a powerful reminder of our depraved and sinful nature and total dependence on God for forgiveness and salvation.

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WHAT IS HOLY WEEK?

The last week of Lent is known as Holy Week. During this holiest time of the liturgical year, the church relives the final week of our Lord's life. The high points of this week are Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and the Great Vigil.

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WHAT IS THE LITURGICAL COLOR FOR LENT?

Purple, the color of royalty, repentance, and self-discipline, is the traditional color for the season of Lent. Black, the somber color of mourning and sorrow for sin, is reserved for Good Friday and Ash Wednesday. For the period from Palm Sunday through Maundy Thursday, some churches use scarlet, an intense variant of purple and red that symbolizes the life-giving blood of Christ.

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WHAT IS THE SEASON OF LENT REALLY ABOUT?

For many Christians, the season of Lent typically includes some kind of fasting. These fasts usually take the form of abstaining from all food throughout a given 24-hour period or certain kinds of food for the duration of the forty-day season. In place of or in addition to a food fast, Christians sometimes commit to give up a pleasurable activity or dedicate themselves to almsgiving. Focus on prayer and devotions are also especially emphasized during Lent. But even though our Lord recommends and comments on the Lenten disciplines of fasting, helping the needy, and prayer in His Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 6:1-18), these practices can easily become legalistic rituals that are centered inwardly on the self rather than outwardly on Christ. If Christians choose to give up something or increase charitable giving during Lent as a way to proclaim the salvation Christ has won for all by His suffering and death, then such activities are God-pleasing sacrifices and are to be encouraged. However, it is essential to remember that nothing we do through self-denial, good works, or prayer can ever earn God's forgiveness or repay Him for what He accomplished for us. Lent is not about our giving up something to please God. Lent is about what Christ gave up to pay the penalty for the sins of the world -- His holy and innocent life. As many churches sing during this Lenten season:

The Passion of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ
Then they crucified him and divided his garments by casting lots for them to see what each should take. It was nine o'clock in the morning when they crucified him. The inscription of the charge against him read, "The King of the Jews." With him they crucified two revolutionaries, one on his right and one on his left. Those passing by reviled him, shaking their heads and saying, "Aha! You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself by coming down from the cross." Likewise the chief priests, with the scribes, mocked him among themselves and said, "He saved others; he cannot save himself. Let the Messiah, the King of Israel, come down now from the cross that we may see and believe." Those who were crucified with him also kept abusing him. At noon darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. And at three o'clock Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?" which is translated, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" Some of the bystanders who heard it said, "Look, he is calling Elijah." One of them ran, soaked a sponge with wine, put it on a reed, and gave it to him to drink, saying, "Wait, let us see if Elijah comes to take him down.Jesus gave a loud cry and breathed his last. The veil of the sanctuary was torn in two from top to bottom. When the centurion who stood facing him saw how he breathed his last he said, "Truly this man was the Son of God!"
-- from the Gospel according to St. Mark, Chapter 15

An Easter Prayer for You

May the risen Lord
be with you always,
bestowing the gift of peace
and his Holy Spirit.
And may Mary,
the Mother of the Lord,
obtain for you
from Jesus, her Son,
lively faith, steadfast hope,
and abundant love. amen

Easter Prayer of Faith
Dear Lord
Onthe most holy day
I thank you for the precious gift
The gift of everlasting life
We need not fear the darkness of death
For you faced that challenge for us
I thank you for your love and for the suffering you endured
So that I will
One day be with you
And those I love who have gone before me amen

The Twelve Fruits of the Holy Spirit Prayer
Charity, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Generosity, Gentleness, Faithfulness, Modesty, Self-Control, and Chastity.
Holy Spirit, Giver of all good gifts, grant me your seven gifts (wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord) and let your twelve fruits ripen in me. amen

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