Lent, Sundays in.--As stated in the preceding article the Lenten fast does not include all the days between Ash Wednesday and Easter, for the _Sundays_ are so many days above the number forty. They are excluded because the Lord's Day is always kept as a Festival and never as a Fast. These six Sundays, therefore, are called "Sundays IN Lent, not _of_ Lent; they are in the midst of it, but do not form part of it; on these Sundays we continue without interruption to celebrate our Saviour's Resurrection." The Sundays in Lent are named in the Prayer Book First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth; the last Sunday being set forth as "The Sunday next before Easter." Popular usage, however, has assigned other names to the closing Sundays in Lent, for example, the Fourth Sunday is usually called _Mid Lent Sunday_, for the reason that the Lenten Fast is half over. It is also called _Refreshment Sunday_, from the Gospel for the Day which gives the account of our Lord {169} miraculously feeding the five thousand in the wilderness; another name is _Mothering Sunday_ (which see). The Fifth Sunday is called _Passion Sunday_, from the fact that on that day the Church begins the solemn recital of our Lord's sufferings. The Sixth Sunday is known as _Palm Sunday_ as it was on this day our Lord made His Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem, when the people hailed Him as King and strewed palm branches in His way, crying "Hosanna to the Son of David." Lesser Litany, The.--That portion of the Litany beginning, "O Christ, hear us," and ending with the prayer, "We humbly beseech Thee, O Father," is so called. It is often used as a penitential ending to week-day services during Lent. Lessons, The.--The word "Lesson" is derived from the Latin _lectio_, meaning a reading, and signifies a portion of Scripture appointed to be read during Divine service; applied especially to those Scriptures read in the Daily Services. Two Lessons are to be read at each service in accordance with the custom of the early Christians, one from the Old Testament and one from the New. The principle upon which the Lessons are thus selected is set forth by Justin Martyr, who lived A.D. 103-164, as follows: "The Apostles have taught, as they learned themselves, first the Law and then the Gospel; for what is the Law but the Gospel foreshadowed; or what is the Gospel but the Law fulfilled." (See CALENDAR, LECTIONARY, and also SCRIPTURES IN PRAYER BOOK.) Letter Dimissory.--(See DIMISSORY LETTER.) Letter of Orders.--The name given to the certificate of Ordination to the Sacred Ministry, with the {170} Bishop's seal, and given by him to each Priest or Deacon whom he ordains. The form of this certificate varies in the use of different Bishops.