The whole Lenten season is a time for penance, which means sorrow for sin and conversion to God. A good reason for receiving the Sacrament of Penance for serious sins before Lent begins is that the Holy Eucharist is an important part in bringing about purification of heart. It is the constant teaching of the Church that the Holy Eucharist strengthens our love, and this living charity wipes away venial sins. By the same charity, the Eucharist preserves us from future mortal sins.
A Little History
The importance of Lent in the Church year is emphasized by the fact that each day in this season has its own Mass and its proper stational church. In olden times, each day in Lent the Christian community in Rome would gather in the designated or stational church, to participate in the Mass celebrated by the Pope. These Masses are among the most ancient in the liturgy going back at least to the time of Pope Gregory the Great (604).
The custom of stational churches emphasized both the unity of the Christian community and the importance of Lent as a time of special prayer. It showed too that Lent is not an individualistic affair, but a corporate action that involves the whole community. The Church at Rome instinctively felt that solemn corporate offering of the Eucharist by the whole community, gathered around its chief shepherd, was the ideal way of observing Lent.
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The Mass
The first mention of a period of forty days occurs in the fifth canon of the Council of Nicaea (325). Saint Athanasius often alluded to it in his letters. The Council of Laodiacaea (360) expressly commanded its observance. By the end of the fourth century the forty day fast was observed everywhere throughout the East and West.
The custom of fasting may have originated in the prescribed fast of candidates for Baptism; it is certain that the catechumenate had a great deal to do with the formation of Lent. The number forty was suggested by Our Lord’s forty-day fast in the desert. The forty days of Lent begins on Ash Wednesday and the six Sundays before Easter are exempt from fasting.
Through Fasting and Almsgiving
From a sermon by Pope St. Leo the Great (400-461)
At every moment the earth is full of the mercy of God. Nature is a lesson for all the faithful in the worship of God. The heavens, the seas and all that is in them bear witness to the goodness and omnipotence of their Creator. The marvelous beauty of the elements as they obey Him demands from the intelligent creation a fitting expression of its gratitude.
With the return of the Lenten season marked out in a special way by the mystery of our redemption, and of the days that lead up to the Paschal feast, we are summoned more urgently to prepare ourselves by a purification of spirit.