The Journey of Lent

Currently we are well into the Season of Lent. The word "Lent" means "springtime." Specifically, it refers to a springtime for the Church. It is a time when we seek to know the new life that is rooted in the dying and rising of the Lord Jesus.

The season of Lent is marked by a 40 day period before the Celebration of the resurrection of Christ on Easter Sunday. The number "40" is very symbolic since it signals a time of preparation. The Israelites spent 40 years in the desert being tested before they entered the promised land of Canaan. After Jesus was baptized he spent 40 days and nights in the desert also being tempted before he began his public ministry. Hence, Lent is a 40 day period for us as Christians to prepare for the celebration of Easter.

Traditionally, Lent has had three disciplines or practices which help us to prepare. Those disciplines are prayer, fasting and almsgiving.

Prayer invites us to enter into communion and dialogue with the Lord. It was communion with the Lord in the desert which strengthened Jesus to confront the temptations that Satan hurled at him upon coming out of the desert. It is prayer that strengthens us to be faithful to the gospel of Jesus as we journey through life.

Fasting is a practice rooted deeply in the Christian tradition starting with Jesus himself who fasted forty days in the desert. Fasting challenges us to remove obstacles that may get in the way of our relationship with the Lord. It can enable us to remember where our real hunger lies – with the Lord. Like Jesus, we too can conclude as he did, that "One does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God."

Finally, almsgiving is a practice that enables us to be generous, especially to the poor. Almsgiving challenges us to see Christ in the poor and hungry and to respond with love and service. We remember the words of Jesus in the gospel: "Whenever you fed the hungry, clothed the naked, gave water to those who were thirsty etc...whenever you did it for one of the least, you did it for me."

Through the centuries, these three disciplines have served Christianity well as we prepare for the celebration of Easter. Lent is not so much about willpower, about giving something up simply for the sake of giving up, rather it is about preparation and finding the Lord in new ways through these disciplines of prayer, fasting and almsgiving.

The final week of Lent is known as "Holy Week." It is a time that we are given each year to focus on the central mystery of our Christian faith, namely the dying and rising of the Lord Jesus. Three days in particular are singled out. Holy Thursday draws our attention to the Last Supper where Jesus shared a memorial meal – the Eucharist whereby we may remember Him for all time. Good Friday focuses on the cross, the symbol of Christianity. It is from the cross that we draw salvation in Christ. Finally, the celebration of Easter with the focus on the empty tomb. On that first Easter Sunday morning the angel announced to the women: "Why do you look for the living among the dead, He is no here, He is risen!"

As we continue through this season of Lent and then into Holy Week may we truly prepare to celebrate the resurrected Christ at the celebration of Easter!

Fr. James Heithoff

St. Patrick's Catholic Church