Septuagesima: A Little Season to Help Us Prepare for Lent

Sarah Damm introduces a traditional practice of preparing for Lent for the three weeks prior to Ash Wednesday.

Lent is a liturgical season that is meant to change our life. It is a radical time, set apart from the rest of the year, that invites us to live our days meditating on and imitating the perfect sacrifice of Christ.  

Lent asks us to do hard things. But giving something up or adding something in has a deeper purpose. These sacrifices—whether big or small—are meant to be done out of love for the Lord, so we can enter into His Passion, Death, and Resurrection in an intimate way, truly encountering His deep love for us on the road to Calvary.  

But a good Lent doesn't just happen. We must be intentional.  

Just like a runner cannot run a marathon without training, so a Christian cannot “run in the race” of Lent without a little preparation, too.  

Do you not know that the runners in the stadium all run in the race, but only one wins the prize? Run so as to win. Every athlete exercises discipline in every way. They do it to win a perishable crown, but we an imperishable one. Thus I do not run aimlessly; I do not fight as if I were shadowboxing. No, I drive my body and train it, for fear that, after having preached to others, I myself should be disqualified. (1 Corinthians 9:24-27)  

This reading comes from the Epistle for Septuagesima Sunday, according to the Roman Catholic Daily Missal of 1962. And it really struck me as the perfect reading to contemplate as we prepare for the upcoming season of Lent.  

We “run in the race” of Lent, not aimlessly, but to win an imperishable crown. 
 

Introducing Septuagesima 

Up until a few years ago, when my family and I started attending the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM), I had never heard of Septuagesima. But since then, I have found it to be quite important … and helpful. 
 
Pope St. Gregory the Great thought so, too. He is the one who established it in the seventh century as a pre-Lenten season of sorts. At the time, he recognized that Christians were not having a deep experience of Lent, and they needed set-aside time to prepare to enter into such a grace-filled season. 
 
And doesn’t that sound familiar? How many times have I reached Ash Wednesday without a plan for Lent? How often have I not had a deep experience of Lent, because I wasn’t prepared? 
 
With Septuagesima, it doesn’t have to be that way. Because it readies us for the drastic changes that the Lord, through this penitential season, invites us to embrace. 

Septuagesima 101 

While Septuagesima was removed from the liturgical calendar in 1969, it continues to be observed by Catholics who attend the TLM (or Extraordinary Form of the Mass). It is the shortest liturgical season (less than three weeks). Each of the three Sundays before Lent are included in this season, with names corresponding to the number of days before Easter: Septuagesima (70), Sexagesima (60), and Quinquagesima (50), which then brings us to the 40 days of Lent.  

This year, Septuagesima lasts from Sunday, January 28-Tuesday, February 13, 2024.  

Within the Septuagesima season, the Gloria and Alleluia are already removed from the liturgy, and the priests begin wearing violet vestments. It prompts us to recall our fallen nature and the redemption Jesus offers through His sacrifice of love. It invites us to consider how bodily fasting can “curb our vices, lift our minds, and bestow strength.” (Preface for Lent) 
 
Yes, Septuagesima invites us to consider how we will specifically and concretely enter into the season of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving:  

• What do I need to fast from in order to curb a vice? 
• What should I read that will lift my mind more to Jesus? 
• What prayer practices can I incorporate in order to strengthen my relationship with the Lord? 

Now is the Acceptable Time ... to Prepare for Lent 

Behold, now is a very acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation. (2 Corinthians 6:2)  

Are you ready to embrace the season of Lent, or are you feeling a bit uncertain about what this year’s 40 days will bring?  

Even if we don’t attend the TLM, we can utilize the practical nature of Septuagesima, so we will be ready to begin Lent with an openness to what God would like to teach us and show us throughout those 40 days. 
 

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Even if we don’t attend the TLM, we can utilize the practical nature of Septuagesima, so we will be ready to begin Lent with an openness to God. #CatholicMom

Below are a few ideas to make the most of the season of Septuagesima: 

• Learn more about Septuagesima through this video by Dan Burke of the Avila Institute: The Mystery of Septuagesima: Countdown to Lent 
• Prayerfully consider what you will do in the areas of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving this Lent. Here is a free downloadable journal that walks us through four steps to prepare for Lent. It includes plenty of journal prompts and space to write. 
• Decide what spiritual book or devotional you will read this Lent. 
• If you feel called to more intense fasting, Fiat 40 offers a complete program of prayer and fasting, meant to be done in community with other women. 

Do you practice Septuagesima? How are you preparing for Lent this year? 

Copyright 2024 Sarah Damm
Images: Canva