“Lent” is what Christians call the six weeks that lead up to Easter, which is the most important festival in the Christian calendar. According to a Pastoral Letter by the Bishops on the occasion of Lent 2012, “Once again, it is the time of Lent. The culmination of Lent is the suffering, death and resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ. These events are very relevant for our lives and during the coming forty days, we need to reflect upon them and prepare ourselves, not only through prayer, but also by pondering upon their relevance in our lives”.
Lent in 2012 starts on Wednesday, 22nd February, and will continue for 46 days until Saturday, 7th April. 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’ victory over sin and death.
Lent is the season of penance and prayer before Easter. Lent is a time of preparation for the death of Christ on Good Friday and His Resurrection on Easter Sunday. It is a period of 40 days of repentance, with prayer, fasting and abstinence and Confession.
Lent provides us with an opportunity to reflect upon our patterns, to pray more deeply, experience sorrow for what we have done and failed to do, and to be generous to those in need. Like last year, I will abstain myself from:
• Non vegetarian food
• Coffee
• Music (Bollywood)
• Books (Classics)
• Shopping
• Social Media
• Anger
• Slandering
• Screaming
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