Lent at Atonement

Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent during which we are invited to a time of examination and repentance, to prayer, fasting and self-denial, and the reading and meditating on God’s Holy Word. During these last days leading up to Lent, I invite you to take stock of your spiritual life and formulate a holy Lenten discipline.

What spiritual practice will you take on? From what food or drink or behavior will you abstain? In what way will you provide for those in need?

Lent is a deeply rewarding time of spiritual renewal that makes the joyful celebration of Our Lord's resurrection at Easter all the more meaningful. It is my prayer that each of us will prayerfully consider these three pillars of Lent and intentionally engage each of them in some way. I’ve provided a list of ideas, suggestions, and resources for your consideration here.

God’s peace,

Father Charles

Fasting

“Why do we fast? For fasting to make any sense, it must have a constructive purpose and be defined in positive, not negative terms. Put most simply, fasting is about freedom. Fasting frees us from slavery. Fasting is not about "giving something up", fasting is about freeing ourselves from the control of outside forces and temptations. Fasting can even be about saying no to ourselves when we have surrendered control of our lives to bad habits and dependencies. Fasting is about taking control of those things that threaten to control us. Some people suffer from addictions that rob them of their freedom. But for many who are not clinically addicted, life still has many distractions that take control of our lives in subtle ways." Read more here.

Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are designated days of fasting. (Book of Common Prayer, pg. 17) Historically, fasting means intentionally not eating food. Fasting can also be practiced at other times during Lent, of course.
The other weekdays of Lent and Holy Week (as well as every Friday during the year!) are to be observed by “special acts of discipline and self-denial.” (BCP, pg. 17) Historically, the primary “special act” on Ash Wednesday and the Fridays in Lent was abstinence (not sexual abstinence, abstinence from eating meat).
Each Christian may also choose to abstain from some eating some other item of food or abstain from engaging in some other behavior or practice, as part of their Lenten devotion.

Prayer

Consider participating in Stations of the Cross and Benediction at 7 p.m. on the Fridays in Lent beginning Mar. 14. A simple soup supper will be served starting at 6 p.m.
In addition to Sunday, attend one or more of our daily Masses. Mass is offered in the morning, noon, and evening on varying days during the week so that everyone has an opportunity to participate.
Consider praying the Litany for Refugees daily (approx. 5 minutes). You can read more about the history of this litany here.
Pray Morning Prayer or Evening Prayer or both using the Daily Office. You can also join virtual Morning Prayer at Atonement each day at 8:30 a.m., and Evening Prayer at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesdays only.
Join us at 9:30 on Saturdays to pray the Holy Rosary together, immediately followed by a Healing Mass at 10 a.m..
Consider joining us virtually for an Online Bible Study led by Father Charles on Tuesdays at 5:30 p.m. Join here.

Almsgiving

Prayer helps us re-frame our vision to see the world as God see it. Self-denial frees us from being enslaved to our own desires. All of this gives us time and energy to spend serving the needy.

Consider volunteering for, donating items, or donating funds to Care for Real.
Consider volunteering for, donating items, or donating funds to Care for Friends. CFF serves a hot meal at Atonement on Mondays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. If you wish to donate to the clothing pantry, please contact Kate in the church office before bringing your items to church.

Liturgical Changes

As we did last year, we are using Eucharistic Prayer C during the Sundays in Lent.

Prayer C is distinctive in many ways. Like most of the Eucharistic prayers used in the Eastern Churches, it contains extensive dialogue between the celebrant and the congregation with the people’s responses largely being words from the Scriptures. Unlike in the East, and unlike the other five Eucharistic prayers in the BCP, the epiclesis (the explicit invocation of the Holy Spirit) in Prayer C occurs before the Words of Institution, following the traditional Western pattern.

Prayer C was drafted by Capt. Howard Galley in 1974, just five years after the first person walked on the Moon. This can be seen in the reference to “the vast expanse of interstellar space, galaxies, suns, the planets in their courses, and this fragile earth, our island home.” This eucharistic prayer takes on new meaning in our day in light of the devastating effects of climate change and our focus on creation care. I lovingly refer to it as the “Star Trek canon.”

The second seasonal change this Lent is regarding the Peace.

The exchange of the kiss of peace has its roots in the Scriptures.[1] It first began to be seen liturgically at baptisms when the newly baptized were welcomed with the kiss of peace. In the earliest eucharistic liturgies, and to this day in the East, the peace is observed after the prayers of the people. By the time of Gregory the Great (d. 604 A.D.), the passing of the peace in the West occurred after the Lord’s Prayer and served, in part, as an illustration of forgiving those who trespass against us. The Reformers removed it entirely and it didn’t appear in Anglican liturgies until modern times. The Peace is included in the 1979 Book of Common Prayer in its original location after the prayers of the people, though an additional rubric on page 407 permits its use after the breaking of the bread.

During Lent, we’re trying the alternate location after the breaking of the bread as a reminder that we are expected to reconcile with our brothers and sisters before receiving Holy Communion. The BCP requires the verbal passing of the peace between the celebrant and the people, after which “the Ministers and People *may* greet one another in the name of the Lord.” In the spirit of Lenten austerity, we are forgoing passing the peace with each other. I encourage you to greet each other before and after Mass, and especially to invite newcomers to join you for coffee hour.

Another thing you’ll notice on Sundays is the addition of the Prayer of Humble Access, a defining feature of Anglican Eucharistic devotion with both medieval and Reformation influences. First introduced in 1548, the prayer includes elements of both the Centurian’s words to Jesus in Matthew 8:8 (“Lord, I am not worthy that you should come under my roof”) and John 6:56 (“He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him”), as well as hints of a prayer in the priest’s private preparation for Mass from the Sarum Missal.[2] When we pray it, we acknowledge our unworthiness and our reliance on God’s mercy, and our belief in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist.

[1] 1 Cor 16:20, 2 Cor 13:12, Eph 6:23-24, Phil 4:21, 1 Thess 5:26, 2 Thess 3:16, 1 Tim 6:21, 2 Tim 4:22, Titus 3:15, Philemon 25, Heb 13:24, 1 Peter 5:12, 3 John 15.

[2] The Sarum Usage was the version of the Roman Rite used in much of England when the Reformation began.