Starts: Ash Wednesday (Feb. 17, 2021)
Ends: Sundown (or just before Mass of the Lord’s supper) on Thursday of Holy week (April 1, 2021)
Lent is 6 weeks – 40 days – not including Sundays. A time of preparation for Easter when we reflect on the Paschal Mystery, the suffering, death and resurrection of our Lord.
40 is a symbolic number in scripture.
- When God asked Noah to build ark it rained 40 days/nights
- Moses was with the Lord for 40 days/nights – 10 commandments.
- Israelites wandered in desert 40 years before getting to promised land.
- Jesus spent 40 days/nights in desert praying and fasting.
The word lent comes from Lenten which is the lengthening of the days as springtime approaches.
Originally Lent was a preparation time for baptism. For those in RCIA journeying to become Catholics, it is known as a time of “Enlightenment and Purification.”
It is a time of preparation for whole church focusing on repentance, sacrifice and spiritual growth. Traditional practices of fasting, prayer and almsgiving are observed.
One of the traditional practices is abstaining from eating meat on Ash Wednesday, and Fridays in lent.
In addition, Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are days to observe fasting On a personal level: You may have heard the phrase ‘give up something for lent’. This is not mandatory but is a penitential act of sacrifice to take the focus away from the world and put it back on the Lord. Sometimes these new habits spillover and become good habits all the time.
For example – I used to read a lot and I used to read trash or romance novels, so I gave them up for lent one year and read scripture or scripture-based books instead. Now I still read but I don’t read trash.
Another year I gave up buying a Starbucks coffee every day on my way to work and gave the money to charity instead. I still drink coffee and I still go to Starbucks or elsewhere but not all the time, just occasionally.
One Lent I gave up watching my English TV soap opera that was getting ridiculous and smutty I never went back to it; but I do still watch TV, although now I am more selective.
I am not suggesting you must try any of these, but It is a great idea to pray and figure out where you can make a sacrifice, increase your time with God or to do good works.
Maybe some things to try would be:
- Giving to the poor or certain charities, or, if you do not have money you can give of your time.
- Pray while you walk or exercise.
- Pray the rosary more often; possibly with emphasis on a different group each day sick, priests, poor, church, youth etc
- Give something up BUT-know why! ( not give up tv, but record to watch later)
- If you don’t make a sacrifice by giving up something, try to do something good instead.
Above all I encourage you to use this time … prepare well for Easter and for receiving sacraments (again or for first time) however that will look! The Lord is waiting on us to celebrate with him. What are we going to do to get ready? or to draw closer to Him? He has done so much for us – so much! He just asks us to follow him, surely, we can make a small sacrifice to do that and do it well. My prayer for you is that this Lenten time is just what its meant to be … A holy time of purification, enlightenment and preparation for the wonderful gift of Easter.
~Bernadette Barry Leader, Shekinah Prayer Group