This Week's Feasts and Saints

Lent

Taking its name from the Middle-English “Lenten”, or “spring”, the origins of Lent itself are particularly obscure. It seems possible that in some parts of the early Church there was a commemoration of Christ’s forty day fast in the wilderness and which followed immediately on from the celebration of the Baptism of Christ. The forty days attached to Easter began to appear in Rome and elsewhere shortly after the Council of Nicea in 325 and although the records of the Council make no mention of the establishment of such a fast it is possible that it was ordered by the assembled bishops.

In the New Testament there is no mention of a determined period of fasting amongst the early Christian Community, although, in the Acts of the Apostles, in the account of the shipwreck of St. Paul, it states that, "A great deal of time had been lost, and navigation was already hazardous, since it was now well after the time for the Fast" (27: 9). In the immediate post-apostolic age there is a general sense of some sort of fast being observed in the period before Easter. The early Christian writer and apologist, Tertullian (c. 160 - c. 225) mentions a period of fasting to commemorate the period when the spouse, Jesus Christ, was taken away. Another early writer, Irenaeus, (c. 130 - c. 200) [right] in a letter to Victor, the Bishop of Rome from about 190 until 200, speaks of the fast before Easter and of the different methods of its observance in different places stating that the difference of observance was not a new thing but that it had arisen "even long before, in a past generation". It is clear from Tertullian that from very early times the Lenten fast, whatever its duration may have been, was considered obligatory and passages to the same effect are found in the later literature of the Church. The Council of Gangra, in the middle of the fourth century, anathemizes those who neglected to keep the fasts "observed by the Church". St. Jerome (c. 341 - 420) lays down strict obligations in the keeping of the Lenten fast. During the first three centuries of the history of the Church, most Christians prepared for Easter by only fasting for two or three days. In some places this "paschal fast" was extended to cover the entire week before Easter, the period now known as Holy Week. In Rome, this pascal fast may have lasted for as long as three weeks, but by the fourth century ad developed into the forty day Lent as it is observed today.

The Roman Lent, in its three week form, was linked to the pastoral and liturgical preparation of catechumens for baptism at the Easter Vigil and until recently this baptismal motif was thought to explain the origins of Lent, a practice restored by the Second Vatican Council.

Father, through our observance of Lent, help us to understand the meaning of your Son’s death and resurrection, and teach us to reflect it in our lives.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lent

9th March - Commemoration of St. Frances of Rome, Religious.

Born - 1384, Rome, Papal States

Died - March 9, 1440, Rome, Papal States

Canonized - 1608, Rome, Papal States, by Pope Paul V

Major shrine - Church of Santa Francesca Romana, Rome, Italy

Patronage - Benedictine oblates; automobile drivers; widows.

Born in 1384 in Trastevere into a wealthy and pious family, she was married at the age of thirteen to Lorenzo Ponziano although her first desire was to become a nun. Sharing the house with her husband’s brother and his wife, the two women devoted themselves to the task of relieving Rome’s poor, especially in hospitals. In 1400 she bore the first of possibly six children. In 1408 Ladislaus of Naples captured Rome and Frances’ family was singled for attack as they had been supports of the pope. Despite these difficulties and much suffering, Frances continued to minister to the poor. In 1425 after the death of two of her children she founded a society of devout women under the Rule of St. Benedict, but not under vows, to continue the good works. These, first known as the Oblates of Mary, became the Oblates of Tor de' Specchi. In 1436, following her husband’s death, Frances herself entered the order becoming its head for the remaining four years of her life. She died in 1440 and was laid to rest in the church of Santa Maria Nuova, now called Santa Francesca Romana, where her relics remain. Her house is a pilgrimage centre. She was canonised by Pope Paul V in 1608 and, possibly because of her continuous vision of several years of her guardian angel, was named as the patron of motorists by Pope Pius XI.

Almighty and ever living God, you have given St. Frances of Rome as an example both of monastic and married life and of perseverance in your service. Grant that through er example we may remain constant in following you.

Saints and Feast Days this week.

Beginning Sunday, 8th March 2026, The Third Sunday of Lent, Day of Prayer for the Candidates for the Sacraments.