The image depicts St. Gregory’s Episcopal Church’s Ashes to Go station on Ash Wednesday in 2017 that was positioned at w:Mizner Park in Florida. Fr. Andrew Sherman and Fr. Craig Burlington are pictured distributing ashes to people in Boca Raton, Florida. This picture was clicked on March 1, 2017.

By Shawn Proctor

Today is Ash Wednesday, which marks the beginning of Lent, a 40-day period of prayer and penance that prepares for and signals the coming of Easter and the resurrection of Jesus. It celebrates the redemption of all people made possible by Jesus’ sacrifice.

For many Christians, Lent is a time to give up something, most often a vice like chocolate or even social media. Others fast or donate their meals to the less fortunate. But whether you cut out Hershey’s bars or posting on TikTok, the real goal is to devote more completely to faith and reflect on your connection to God.

“The purpose of Lent is to provide that purification by weaning all of humanity from sin and selfishness through self-denial and prayer, by creating in them the desire to do God’s will and to make His kingdom come by making it come first of all in their hearts.” (New Catholic Encyclopedia)

Each year since 2019, Villanova’s Office of Mission and Ministry has offered Lenten reflections written by faculty, staff, and students. These collections are personal glimpses into the University’s Augustinian Catholic community and inspiration for your own Lenten practice.

Additionally, Falvey Library has many relevant holdings, some of which are noted in stories already posted on the website.

In expanding on the theme of reading as a form of reflection, we add to these offerings Show me the way: Readings for each day of Lent by Henri J. M. Nouwen.  It traces his 40-day journey from solemn beginning to joyous Easter conclusion. The physical copy of the book is available in the stacks, can be reserved for Pick Up & Go, or requested for partial scanning.

Shawn Proctor is Communication and Marketing Program Manager at Falvey Library.

Photo courtesy of Unsplash.

Easter is considered “a movable feast” (New Catholic Encyclopedia) and Easter’s date also affects other holy days: Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent; Palm Sunday; the days of Holy Week – Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday – and Pentecost.

The earliest date for Easter, March 22, occurred in 1761 and 1818; it will fall on March 22 again in 2285 and 2353. Easter can be as late as April 25 as happened in 1886 and 1943 and this will occur again in 2038. This year, 2021, Easter is celebrated on April 4.

From the earliest years of Christianity, Easter has been its most important feast, and the date of the observance varied. No one day of the week was associated with Christmas, Christ’s birth day, and by about A.D. 400 the western Church had assigned December 25 as the date for the observation of Christmas.

The Easter season, however, did have specific days of the week associated with its events and this contributed to the variety of dates on which Easter was celebrated. Historically, it is believed that Jesus held the Last Supper on the 14th day of Nisan (a Jewish month), the date of Passover.

The date of Passover was based upon a lunar calendar and Passover did not always fall on the same day of the week. But for Christians, Christ’s Resurrection occurred on a Sunday and therefore Easter should be celebrated on a Sunday. And this led to conflicts, which were resolved by the Council of Nicaea (Council of Nice).

Dig Deeper

Read Lenten Reflections, compiled by the Office of Mission & Ministry, from Villanova faculty and staff.

Holy Holidays! The Catholic Origins of Celebration (2011). Greg Tobin.
Passover and Easter: Origin and History to Modern Times (1999). Paul F. Bradshaw and Lawrence A. Hoffman, editors.
“The Date of Easter: A Thesis Presented to the Faculty of the Department of Mathematics, Villanova University” (1954). Sister Mary Bernita Smith, RSM.
The Regulation of Easter, or the Cause of the Errors and Dfferences [sic] Contracted in the Calculation of It Discover’d and Duly Consider’d. (1735). Henry Wilson.
The Great Cicle [sic] of Easter Containing a Short Rule, to Knowe Yppon [sic] What Day of the Month Easter Day will Fall … (1584). John Pett.

Alice Bampton is a retired staff member of Falvey Memorial Library. A version of this article was originally published April 4, 2015.