Lent began in Egypt at the end of the third century as a 40 day fast.   It had nothing to do with Easter.    Rather, the purpose of this 40 day fast was to commemorate and celebrate the Lord's 40 Day Fast in the desert.   

40 days was a sign of perfection in the Jewish culture.    How long did it rain during the flood?     40 days!     How long did the ark float on the waters?   40 days!    How long did it take for the water to reside?   40 days!    How old was Moses when he killed the overseer?   40 years!   How long did Moses live happily with his wife and family in Midian?  40 years!   How long did the Hebrews wander in the desert?   40 years!   How long was Saul King?   40 years!   How long was David King?   40 years!   How long was Solomon King?    40 years!   How long did Elijah the Prophet spend fasting in the desert?  40 days!   How long did Jesus spend in the desert?    40 days!    The number "40" is a sign of perfection in accomplishing any fact.

Thus, this fast lasted 40 days.   Soon, however, the 40 day fast became a time of preparation for the Great Feast of the Death, Resurrection, Ascension and Glorification  of Our Lord.     For as St. Paul wrote in I Corinthians 5:8:  "Let us celebrate the festival, not with old leaven…", in other words, let's make things new by dying to self so as to rise to a new life.     The fast during these days was simply an extension of the normal fast Early Christians practiced on all Wednesdays and Fridays throughout the entire year, except during the Easter Season.   It was extended during the Great Season of Lent to also include Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays.    And, in Rome, Saturdays also were observed as fast days during Great Lent.   

Throughout the Old and New Testaments, fasting always included almsgiving and prayer.   One can not be done without the other two, as Jesus remarks in Mark's Gospel 6:1-18.    The Early Fathers of the Church always stressed the need for these three practices together.    Thus, all periods of fast were always accompanied by gatherings for prayer and listening to the Word of the Lord, and also by giving alms and doing works of charity for the poor, the widow, the orphan and the alien in their midst.

By the fourth century the character of Great Lent changed.   For by the fourth century, the Catechumenate was developing.    Thus, Lent became the proper time for the final preparation of those to be baptized, as Baptism requires that we enter into the death and resurrection of the Lord by dying to self so as to be able to put on His life.   Lent also became the proper time for penitents to be reconciled in the Sacrament of Penance, for Jesus came to reconcile human beings with their God through His Passion, Death, Resurrection, Ascension and Glorification at the right hand of the Father.    At Rome this reconciliation of penitents took place only once a year on Holy Thursday.    The usual manner of receiving the Sacrament of Penance for many centuries was that the penitent would confess his sins privately to a priest, that priest would then give the penitent some form of penance to perform (not merely prayers to say, but some actions to perform) that continued at least till Holy Thursday, more often these penance's took some years to complete.   Finally, on Holy Thursday, all the penitents would gather before the local Bishop who would be assembled with all his priests, then that local Bishop would grant absolution to all the penitents.    In Rome, those being forgiven then came forward and were touched on their shoulders with a long rod held out by the assembled priests.       

Today all these facets of the Great Season of Lent are what Lent is all about.    Lent is a time for renewing our Christian Initiation into Christ --- dying to self so as to live for Him and in Him and with Him.    It is also a time of final preparation for those receiving the Sacraments of Initiation on Holy Saturday, and so they should become