Gesimatide: The Pre-Lenten Season

 

Despite the recent Sunday snow and ice, the liturgical year keeps marching along toward Easter.  Saturday will bring a close to this year's slightly lengthened season of Epiphany and launch us into the pre-lenten season called Gesimatide.

 

Though this small season of three Sundays has largely been jettisoned from the practice and lectionaries of many contemporary churches it has been retained in traditional Anglican practice.  Gesimatide draws its name from the Latin designation assigned to each of the Sundays before Lent: Septuagesima, Sexegesima, and Quinquagesima - each denoting 70, 60, and 50 approximate days before Easter.

 

The ancient church (both east and west) in her catechetical wisdom knows of our human inability to change suddenly and so she seldom brings us to changes in our liturgical emphasis without preparation.  Just as we do not jump into Advent without a Sunday of preparation and we don't suddenly enter into the joys of Easter without Lent, so too are we given these three weeks of Gesimatide to fix our minds on the seriousness and devout necessity of the Lenten season - a season of increased discipline, penitence, and asceticism.

 

Gone is the liturgical green of Epiphanytide and the friendly song of the Gloria in the mass. Back is the purple of Lent and the omission of the Gloria.  While Gesimatide is not itself a full penitential season with the same increased discipline as Lent, the liturgical markers make it clear: Lent will soon be here - now is the time to prepare our mind and routines for Lenten discipline.

 

Moreover, if we look carefully at the lessons for the Gesimatide Sundays we'll see a note of preparation played out in the weekly lessons and collects.  When the three Sundays are taken as a whole they function as an annual instruction on the ascetical practice of the church. 

 

On Septuagesima Sunday we see an introductory call to the practice of the ascetical disciplines of the church as the Epistle and Gospel speak together of the Christian need to "run the race" and of the necessity of laboring in the vineyard of God.  

 

After being introduced to the need for ascetical struggle, we are reminded in the Sexegesima propers that we dare not put our 'trust in anything that we do' for it is God who sows the seed of the word in our lives and thus, with St. Paul in the epistle, we can only glory in our weakness.

 

Lastly, as this season prepares us for the Lenten disciplines we are chiefly reminded in the epistle that anything done without the permeating and all encompassing love of Christ is just bothersome noise.  For Lent to be a time of spiritual growth, all that we do must be done in love and charity and without prideful judgement.

 

As we see, these three Sundays serve as a tutorial and reminder of the necessary spiritual approach to the coming Lenten season.  To dive into Lenten rigor without this annual instruction merely opens doorways for all of the disciplines the we undertake to become sources of pride and vain self-righteousness.  

 

 

Admittedly, for some the talk of Lent and spiritual disciplines is new.  While the prayer book tells us when to fast (pg. Li), it largely assumes that we already understand what the prescribed practice entails.   

 

In brief, during the season of Lent, all days (excluding Sundays) are days of fasting where we decrease the amount of food that we eat.  In addition to that, Wednesdays and Fridays are days of abstinence where we also restrict the type of food we eat (typically omitting meat).  A more detailed explanation can be found in the brochure entitled: " An Anglican Guide to Feasting and Fasting" available in the narthex and other places in the church.  You can also visit the following link to read a short explanation from the St. Augustine's Prayer Book. 

 

While the practices of the church can be daunting, practical and pastoral concessions can be made as they are needed.  A general rule of practice offered by our Bishop is that our Lenten disciplines "should be simple enough that we can stick to it, and challenging enough to help us cooperate more fully with God's grace, and grow in our capacity to love Him." The clergy of the parish are available to offer advice and counsel if you would like to consult or discuss how to develop an appropriate Lenten discipline for you and your family.

 

Gesimatide is the perfect time to prayerfully consider the specifics of how we will keep the church's obligation of discipline, to make a plan for the alms we will give, and to select our Lenten readings so that the fertile soil of Lent may bring forth a bountiful spiritual harvest when we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord at Easter.