FEBRUARY 2024

COVER STORY
Living Lent
Preparing to celebrate the resurrection
BY FR. JOHN JWAD
Lent is a liturgical season of
prayer and fasting that begins
for Chaldean Catholics this year
on Monday, February 12. It is a period
of preparation before the celebration
of the Lord’s resurrection at Easter.
Lent is a very important time for
Catholics around the world, but it is
especially meaningful for the Chaldean
community. These weeks of fasting,
prayer and almsgiving give us an
opportunity to spiritually and even
physically accompany our Lord in His
passion, so that we may share in the
joy of His resurrection.
Historically, our people viewed
Lent as one of the most important
times of the year. In the villages of
olden days, people fasted, refraining
from eating all food from sundown
until noon. They also completely abstained
from meat, dairy, and cooking
oil for all of Lent. Forefathers in our
Chaldean villages took Lent very seriously.
No weddings or joyful occasions
were celebrated during Lent (except
religious festivals) and all men were
expected to abstain from alcohol.
Today, the Catholic Church leaves
it up to the individual to choose how
to specifically fast. Many modern-day
Chaldeans fast from meat on the first
and last week of Lent as well as on all
its Fridays; that’s in addition to their
own personal Lenten promises.
In our liturgy, the Chaldean Church
also places great importance on the
middle week of Lent (Week 4) which is
nicknamed “pelu.” Based on the readings,
this middle week serves as a time
of reflection and prayer, asking the
Lord for strength to be able to fulfill
the rest of the days of Lent in perseverance
and faith.
Another point of great importance
is that in the Chaldean Church, Lent
officially begins on the Sunday before
Ash Wednesday, seven weeks before
Easter. The Friday before Lent begins
is called the Friday of the Deceased.
On this day, we remember and pray
for all those who have passed from
among us in hope of the resurrection.
Our Church fathers placed this memorial
right before Lent so that it may be
a chance for the faithful to remember
death in a personal way. It also hopefully
leads us all to repentance and
conversion; the Latin Rite Catholic
Church puts great emphasis on these
themes during their Ash Wednesday
services.
The Sunday after that is officially
the first Sunday of the Great Fast
(Soma Raba). This first Sunday is celebrated
liturgically as a great feast day
and is accompanied with many joyful
prayers which describe the joy we are
to have, since salvation is finally near.
Hence, all penitential practices and
fasting begin the day after (Monday)
and last until Easter.
On each Friday in Lent, many faithful
attend the Stations of the Cross and
reflect on the passion Christ endured
for our salvation. These fourteen stations
are accompanied by chants
which reflect on the passion that our
Blessed Mother also endured. It’s
beautiful to see the faithful practices
of our forefathers being upheld and
know that most of these practices still
live on today.
The faith of our community can
truly be witnessed, especially during
Lent. It gives me great joy to see our
parishes packed on Fridays for Stations
of the Cross and to see young and
old alike practicing some kind of fast
throughout Lent.
In these days as we approach Lent,
the big topic of interest in our community
is what to give up. Many people
get very anxious trying to think of the
perfect thing to give up while neglecting
to analyze the effect that this fast
will have on one’s spiritual life.
As we approach Lent this year, we
need to think more about not what we
are going to give up, but rather how
this fast, whatever it is, will allow us
to grow as individuals. Rather than
debating what to fast from, we need
to honestly ask ourselves: How can I
work on myself throughout these holy
days? How can I try wholeheartedly to
cleanse myself from different sins that
I continually struggle with in my daily
life? Let the Holy Spirit guide you and
don’t rush.
Take time in prayer and see what
the Lord is calling you to do this Lent.
As a community, we focus so much
on what we are going to eat and do
during Lent, rather than the spiritual
progress of our lives. There is no point
in fasting from food without trying to
fast from sin.
During this Lent, let us keep our eyes
on the prize. Let us remember that with
the grace of God we are called to transform
our lives. This is not an easy task,
but like our Lord who faithfully carried
His cross out of love, we too must rely on
His love to help us overcome temptation
in our lives and allow Him to grant us
victory over our sins.
16 CHALDEAN NEWS FEBRUARY 2024