Lent

Lent is the season of penance and prayer before Easter which starts every year on Ash Wednesday. The word Lent has come to mean springtime or new life and many congregations invite their people into a season of spiritual spring cleaning.

In Orthodox churches, this season is called the Great Lent. It begins on Clean Monday. Lent in 2013 started yesterday i.e. Wednesday, the 13th of February and will continue for 46 days until Saturday, the 30th of March. In Western Christianity, Lent begins on Ash Wednesday and concludes on Holy Saturday. The six Sundays in Lent are not counted among the forty days of Lent because each Sunday represents a “mini-Easter”, a celebration of Jesus Christ’s victory over sin and death.

The holy season of Lent gives us yet another opportunity to reflect more deeply on our lives and how we relate to others, both near and far and not so dear. It’s that time of the year to grow deeper in our intimacy with our Savior Jesus Christ. In fact, Lent is a season of grief that necessarily ends with a great celebration of Easter.

The official liturgical color for the season of Lent is violet and it’s the most important season of the year. Since traditionally the Lenten season is a time of penance throughout the Catholic Church, what am I giving up for Lent 2013?

I guess, I will stick to the age old tradition of fasting, special prayers and almsgiving. Hopefully I have started saying the daily OCDS prayers. Since Lent is also a season of conversion and renewal, I will this time, try my level best to renew myself through abstinence.