Septuagesima: Preparing to prepare

When my kids are having a rough day or just generally grouchy or having trouble getting along with others, we always offer them the chance to press an imaginary reset button. Sometimes I pretend to hold said button in my hand and they slap it or sometimes we just talk about it figuratively. In any case, it's a chance to give them a do-over. To start again. Begin their day anew. They have to practice walking down the stairs again as though they were just waking up and they get a hug and a smile and a promise for a fresh start as long as they really show an effort that they want to change their attitude.

That is what Lent is about to do for all of us. It's a grand spiritual reset button. A chance to take inventory of one's life and shed those bad habits, repent of our sinful, slothful ways and begin again.

But it's hard work. Overcoming our inclinations and concupiscence is some of the hardest work we will ever engage in in this life. We are gearing up for the Season of Lent soon and we needy to ready ourselves for it's rigors and demands. 

Historically in the Church, these last few weeks leading up to Ash Wednesday were known as the Season of Septuagesima.

This past Sunday was known in the old Roman Calendar as Septuagesima Sunday. This little known mini-liturgical season known as the Season of Septuagesima is marked - among those who celebrate it - by the priest wearing purple vestments, the absence of the Gloria and Alleluia at Mass and a general time of voluntary acts of self-denial and small sacrifice to prepare for the solemn season of Lent that will soon oblige us to fast, pray and give alms.

All these things are done during Lent - so why start 3 weeks before?

Because just as athletes begin their training with a warm up which builds with gradual intensity in the discipline of their muscles, so does the Church give us the Season of Septuagesima as a chance to warm up, to practice the discipline voluntarily so that come Ash Wednesday and throughout the Great Lent, we are ready and able to perform the obligatory fast. Though this season is no longer celebrated outside of those who attend the Old Latin Mass, it's one that all Catholics would do well to at least consider as a way to start thinking and preparing for Lent.

Translated from the Latin, septuagesima literally means "seventy" which roughly accounts of the number of days before Easter (actually, it's more like 63 days). However, the term more accurately refers to the 70 years the Jews spent during the Babylonian Exile by King Nebuchadnezzer. During this sad time in which they had been forced away from their homeland, the Promise Land itself, God's Chosen People did not see fit to sing their joyous songs, no Alleluia was uttered during this period of scourging for their sins. It was a time of atonement that served as a precursor, a prefigurment to the 40 Days of fast and preparation Jesus spent in the desert spent prior to His Passion.

So why should a Catholic in 2014 give attention to an archaic tradition in the Church?

For the same reason that the Church still obliges us to spend the 40 days of Lent practicing acts of self-denial. We grow weak through the year. Practices and disciplines developed during Lent are forgotten through the rest of the year. The spiritual conditioning our souls received through the rigors of prayer, fasting and almsgiving are all too often replaced with our old habits. So every year, the Church calls us back from our wayward ways and offers us a reset button to help set us straight again.

But let's face it: Lent is difficult. It's meant to be hard. It's intended to be challenging to both body and soul. As such it requires some time to plan, to prepare, the think and to pray about which areas in our lives require the most attention.

Have you noticed how hungry you are on Ash Wednesday? Suddenly being required to practice austere measures is like coming out of the starting gate a full sprint.

Septuagesima gives us time to condition ourselves before the Great Fast begins. But what distinguishes it from Lent is the voluntary nature in which this spiritual preparation is made. One is under no obligation to perform any one fast or sacrifice during Septuagesima. Rather it can be a time to just rev the engines a bit, to start thinking and praying about the solemn season that looms before us and the requirements that will be expected of us.

Where have we grown spiritually flabby?

What habits have we developed (or returned to) that interfere with our spiritual growth?

How can we best recondition ourselves to be both spiritually and physically aligned with God's plan for us?

What areas to do hope to work on for yourself?

What are some easy ways I can start practicing self-denial now?

What traditions will your family be practicing during Lent?

Do you need to research Lenten traditions for children? Catholic Icing has a fabulous compilations of ideas and links for Lenten crafts and practices to do with children.

Do you need to print activities like a Lenten Calendar?

Or make your own?

h/t Karen Edmisten

Can you find a way to fit daily Mass into your routine? Even once a week? Can you begin today?

What about the family rosary? Or is there another family prayer you can add to what you already do?

How about Stations of the Cross? Does your parish host these at your parish? Are they scheduled too late at your parish to be able to attend with you little ones? Why not do pray the Stations at home? Jen from Family Feast and Feria has a wonderful printable booklet for praying the Stations that is adapted for children.

*NB: Jen's blog is a Catholic mom's goldmine for celebrating the liturgical year. She has invested many many hours of labor to share ideas and resources online for free. However she just underwent open heart surgery and would greatly appreciate a small donation to help offset steep medical expenses. Please consider offering something to her if you print any of her original files.

Better yet...why not consider inviting other young families to your home on a Friday nights to pray the stations together? Last year, we followed Kendra's idea for hosting Soup and Stations each Friday night at our house. It was a rousing success and we are looking forward to doing it again this year with other families rotating who hosts each week.

Speaking of Kendra, head over to her blog for a fabulous post giving ideas for Thinking Outside the Box: 66 Things to Give Up or Take Up for Lent.

Do you want to include more spiritual reading? What books? May I recommend this one?

Septuagesima is a season of preparation. It's a way to ease into Lent by practicing small acts of prayer and sacrifice...yes, even now. Even if it's no longer officially regarded by the new Roman Calendar, it is fitting that every Catholic spend some time before Ash Wednesday thinking and praying for the training we are about to undergo.

"We should prepare to enter into Lent.  Soldiers prepare for battle and we are soldiers of the Church Militant.  We should strategize before the spiritual battle of Lent. Pre-Lent is planning time.   Holy Church knows you need this, which is why we have reminders that Lent is coming. " (WDTPRS) 

We can get a jump start on Lent in simple but fruitful ways:

1.  If it's not already apparent, pray to ask God to highlight the areas of our lives that need a little cleansing.
2. Talk to our spouse and how you can help each other. Can we swap days so we can each get to daily Mass? Is there a day during the week (Saturday?) where we can go to daily Mass together?
3. Talk to your children about Lent in an age appropriate way. Remind them that they will still be allowed to have lots of fun during Lent but help them come up with ideas of ways they could sacrifice. *Don't force or spring on them the idea of giving up candy or TV...let them take some ownership over what they would like to do.*
4. Start now but passing on that second serving at the dinner table or finishing food on the kids' plates. Practice that calm voice when your children are pushing your last button. Train yourself today by taking that parking spot that's furthest away from the store entry. 
5. Map out a spiritual plan for yourself and your family (with their input) for your goals of this Lent. We all have New Years' resolutions...why not have Lenten goals? 

This Lent is different from last year. Every year presents new challenges and we all develop new or return to our old shortcomings. I especially need to spend some time taking real inventory of myself. I hope we can all be as fully prepared as we can be to have a fruitful Lenten Season.