Lent is a season for repentance, for turning from our old ways of life and opening ourselves to new experiences of God. While this is particularly true of those preparing for baptism, it also a call to us.

Lent is the time when we remember Jesus in the wilderness.  In the desert Jesus struggled with temptation and defeated the power of evil.  The church believes that this defeat is made complete on the Cross, when Jesus accomplishes his mission to save humankind.

Reflecting the penitential nature of Lent, the starkness of the desert, and in order to set a sharp contrast between this season and the glory and light of Easter, the church has enacted a number of simple practices to help set the ‘tone’ of these 40 days.

In Church:-
• Most strikingly the colour of the vestments change to purple – the traditional colour of penance and mourning.
• Flowers are no longer displayed – to reflect the barrenness of the desert.
• The music is toned down, the Gloria is no longer sung or said, the word ‘alleluia’ disappears from liturgy and music.
• The readings focus on repentance, sacrifice and our need for mercy.

As Persons:-
Prayer, fasting and almsgiving are the personal marks of Lent. 
• We are called to increase our devotional lives.  Come to mass more often, walk the stations’, say a rosary, read the scriptures or a spiritual book, etc.
• We are called upon to give up something we enjoy, it may be food or drink but it could be our favourite TV soap - in order to give some time to reflection and prayer.  This ‘fasting’ reminds us of Christ in the desert and draws our attention to those who have little or nothing.
• From what we may save in fasting, and more generally from the resources we have, we are called upon to remember the poor.

A Spiritual Springtime

Spring has come early this year and if you go out into the garden you will see signs of new life everywhere – buds on the tree, shoots coming from the soil, birds nesting.  All of which promise the autumn harvest.  Lent is an old English word for spring, it is proposed as a time when the old is cleared out and the soil of our lives prepared for new life - the new life Jesus offers to each one who put their trust in his death and resurrection.  By Easter we will be called upon again to rededicate our lives to Christ by remaking our baptismal vows.  In Baptism and through the journey of faith we are ‘Born Again’ into the new life of the Gospel.

To be born again is how Jesus in St John’s gospel describes what it is like to be saved.  For some this is a profound, almost devastating experience – like St Paul on the Damascus road.  For others it is the realisation of the truth of the gospel and a willingness to follow Jesus as a disciple – Like St Peter or St John himself.  For others it is a the slow process of growth and conversion where God opens our eyes to who Jesus is – Like St James, who only followed Jesus after the resurrection.  For all Christians it involves embracing as whole heartedly as we can the changes that God wants to work in our lives.

Growing Pains

The poet T. S Elliot begins his poem The Waste Land with the strange words

April is the Cruelest month, breeding
Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing
Memory and desire, stirring
Dull roots with spring rain.
Winter kept us warm, covering
Earth in forgetful snow…