In earliest times, the preparation for the Feast of our Lord’s Resurrection consisted of forty hours of prayer vigil in the church, and a strict fast from all food and drink. The vigil and fast began after the Maundy Thursday communion and concluded with the Easter celebration very early Sunday morning.
By the time of the Council of Nicaea (325 AD), in conscious imitation of our Lord’s days in the wilderness, a forty-day fast became increasingly common. The Council of Nicaea established the rule attaching the forty-day fast to Our Lord’s Passion. About 300 years later, the time of preparation for the Resurrection was extended from forty to seventy days. Apparently, these added days were for the monastics, which began their Lenten fast three weeks earlier.
For more than 1000 years, then, the preparation for celebrating the great mystery of our salvation has consisted of three parts:
- Pre-Lent: also known as Septuagesima season, which begins this year on February 4.
- Lent proper: from Ash Wednesday (February 21) until Passion Sunday (March 24)
- Passiontide: which includes Passion Week (March 24-31), Holy Week (April 1-7), and culminates in the triduum sacrum (“the holiest three days”).
The Pre-Lenten or Septuagesima period, begins nine Sundays before Easter and contains three Sundays. The names for these Sundays designate, in round numbers, the number of days before Easter: Septuagesima (seventy), Sexagesima (sixty) and Quinquagesima (fifty).
As preparation for Lent and Our Lord’s Passion, the Gospel readings for the three Pre-Lenten Sundays present three different aspects of Our Lord’s grace.
On Septuagesima Sunday, in the parable of the laborers (Mt 20.1-16), we understand that the grace of God depends not on us (how much we pray, how strongly we believe), but solely on His kindness. This prepares us to understand and believe that Our Lord’s self-sacrifice is freely offered and freely given.
On Sexagesima Sunday, in the parable of the sower (Lk 8.4-15), we are reminded that our preparation by prayer, fasting, and acts of charity, prepare us to hold more firmly, in faith, to His implanted grace. Hence, we learn that our Lenten discipline is not merely an annual routine, but is very necessary and important if we wish to retain the benefits of Our Lord’s Passion.
Finally, the Gospel for the Sunday before Ash Wednesday (Lk 18.31-43) opens our eyes to see that, while the Lord’s mercy is freely given, it was not freely purchased. The torture and suffering Our Lord endures is the price that He pays.
In her wisdom, holy Mother Church uses these three Sundays to gently detach us from our worldly concerns and our love of perishable things, and instead call us to focus on Our Lord’s limitless and life-saving grace.