Lent, Fasting Versus Passion of Christ

In the discussion of this subject we shall constantly bear in mind that the term “Lent” originally simply meant “springtime,” as is evident to anyone who has any knowledge of the German and the Holland languages. Compare the German: lente. However, the term “Lent” gradually came to stand for far more than for one of the seasons; it came to stand for a “religious season” on the so-called church calendar. And as such it was closely associated with what is known as the “period of fasting,...