"Pre-Gaming Lent": How Should You Prepare for Septuagesima?

 

Mardi Gras used to be my favorite holiday of the year. It has religious significance, of course, but it was also a good chance to eat, drink, and party (and I love to party). I would always throw a few really big gatherings at my my apartment in Philly in my twenties, but Mardi Gras always took the (king) cake. I would cook all day, hit the beer distributer and liquor store, and invite co-workers, friends (Catholic and heathen alike), and people off the street to make merry. 

Ash Wednesday, then, was usually a somewhat difficult affair. A little groggy, and little headache, a little bloated...jumping from full-tilt revelry and decadence to fasting in sackcloth and ashes was Catholic, right? 

Well...kind of. We do honor the natural and liturgical cycle of feasting and fasting in the Church, but it wasn't until the past few years that I was even aware there was a "break-in" period in the traditional calendar as a three week lead up to Lent: that is, Septuagesima (Seventieth Sunday), Sexagesima (Sixtieth Sunday), and Quinquagesima (Fiftieth Sunday). 

Now, as most of you know, I am not an especially die-hard liturgical-calendar guy. But this season seems to just make sense, and the fact that it was taken out of the New Rite...well, doesn't quite make sense. But I digress.

Practically speaking, in the pre-refrigeration days, this would the be period in which you would eat down your perishables such as meat and cheese. Fat Tuesday would then be the last chance to clear the house of those things you don't want to be indulging in during the Lenten season. I'm sure others have written on the historical context in which the season was lived out.

But since I'm neither a historian nor a liturgist, I'm just going to lay out some practical offerings for potential ways to "ease in" to the Lenten season. 

Though the Church today technically only requires fasting on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, and the modest prescription of "2 half meals and one full meal," many traditional Catholics will take on extra penances and fasts during this season. I used to scoff at this as being a "holier than thou" type practice. But let's face it--the post-conciliar proscription is really pretty lax. At least when you've been trying to undertake various penances already, it may seem that way.

Septuagesima, then, may be your period to 'try out' some things you may want to institute in your own life as penance during the thirty day lead up before the official start of Lent. It can always be a good way to ease into things. For instance, if you decide to fast every day during Lent, perhaps a good lead in would be to fast on Wednesdays and Fridays during the pre-lenten 30 day season. If your idea is to give up sugar or meat entirely, or something like that, maybe restrict what sugary things or meat you eat during this period by half, or every other day, without going too nuts about it. 

What's nice is during this period, such mortifications are voluntary and not bound under pain of sin. 

But more importantly is to really enter into the season of somber reflection and preparing the manger of the heart by clearing away the dung and dust. Of course, Confession is an excellent way to kick this off with an infusion of grace. I was thankful to have gone yesterday, and feel ready now to start peeling away those vices and imperfections more intentionally by kicking off on the right foot. 

I'm not going to share what I am 'giving up', but I will say that I do plan to add some more spiritual reading, some extra time at adoration, and focusing on my speech and being more charitable and generous. It helps to have a plan beforehand, rather than just deciding your voluntary penances the night before. Septuagesima gets you 'in the zone' to have a fruitful penitential season. Remember the three pillars of Lent: fasting, almsgiving, and prayer. And that this is not a time of self-improvement (at least not directly), but of repentance, searching our hearts, making amends, and growing closer to the Lord in the desert. 

My Lents have traditionally been hit or miss, but a big part of that was not really preparing as well ahead of time. The three weeks leading up to Ash Wednesday are your chance to do just that, so that when you do "get them ashes" the ground is already plowed, turned over, and watered to accept the seed of the Gospel. Make good use of this time, for you know not the hour of your death!