Lent is one of my favorite seasons of the church.
It is the quiet season, the reflective season. Lent parallels the time of year perfectly in this hemisphere, where, in many places, nature is dormant and all life is driven inward.
Lent begins with Ash Wednesday and lasts for 40-days. It is marked by reflection, fasting, and repentance. It concludes in the celebration of the most holy day, Easter.
The forty days of Lent are meant to remind us of the number of days Christ spent in the wilderness just after His baptism, when He fasted and Satan tempted Him. Beginning on Ash Wednesday, we set aside time to focus on Jesus’ life, ministry, death for us, and resurrection.
Lent is thought by some to have been observed since apostolic times, though, according to Britannica.com, the practice was not formalized until the First Council of Nicaea in 325 A.D. By the end of the fourth century, the 40-day period of Easter preparation known as Lent existed, and prayer and fasting were its primary spiritual exercises. Ash Wednesday was not added to Lent until about 1099 by Pope Urban II, who popularized this day as a special day of repentance. Ashes were sprinkled on the faithful as the priest reminded them that they were “dust” and to dust they would return.
In many churches, Ash Wednesday is marked by a solemn service which often includes periods of silent confession and prayer. Following these periods of reflection and prayer, those in the congregation are invited forward to receive ashes on their forehead. The ashes are often made of burned palm fronds from the previous year’s Palm Sunday.
In the churches my husband served, he instituted a new twist on the Ash Wednesday service, inviting the congregation to write down a sin they wished to be free of. The pieces of paper were burned in a small Hibachi grill. He then used those ashes as the ashes for the ceremony.
Frequently, in the Ash Wednesday services, ministers dip their finger in the ashes and make a cross of ashes on the person’s forehead, while saying, “From dust you came and to dust you will return.” (Genesis 3:19).
By wearing the ashes, the repentant congregants are showing an outward display of their knowledge that they will one day die and return to the earth. They demonstrate their desire to have the Lord purify their hearts, to lead them to holiness, so that “they will be prepared to celebrate Easter with great joy” (CatholicSpirit.com).
During Lent, many Christians give up something they enjoy—such as meat, chocolate, or wine—as a daily reminder of the sacrifice Christ made for them. Some Christians, rather than giving up something, do a charitable work each day to remind them of all that Christ has done for them.
This year, I learned something new about Lent. Some Christians count the 40 days of Lent from Ash Wednesday to Maundy Thursday. Others count the 40 days as Ash Wednesday through Easter—taking Sundays “off.” The rational is that Sunday is the Sabbath—the feast day—the day for celebrating the Resurrection no matter the season.
However you mark the days, you will benefit tremendously from observing Lent. See it as your time in the wilderness with God. A quieter time. A more solemn time of self-reflection. Pray that God uses this time as a way to help you deepen your understanding of yourself, of Him, and of the Faith.
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