Lent

Details

Published: Sunday, 27 February 2022 12:45

In few days we will celebrate Ash Wednesday, the day which marks the beginning of the Lent season in the Catholic Church. As we have our foreheads marked with ashes, our minds automatically make the connection that we’ll be celebrating Easter in 40 days. But what is Lent? Why is it so important in the tradition of our Church?

One can think of Lent as an important journey, a road trip of sorts that requires a careful preparation. We need to attentively plan and consider what will be needed for a safe and successful excursion. We should start our lenten preparation with an observation, by taking a closer look at our hearts and souls, by invoking the Holy Spirit and asking few important questions. These questions will help us to realize where we are spiritually and understand what we need to do and work on. 1.What sins we confess over and over again? Confession is there for us no matter what we do, nor how many times we do it. Nevertheless, being sorry means that we are to try our best not to do it again. If we notice a pattern of repeating the same sins, it is a signal that we need to take this weakness seriously and work on it. 2. What spiritual practices do we find hard to maintain? Is it fasting, waking up in the morning to attend mass because we want to sleep in, daily prayer or praying rosary? Apart from the physical mortifications we inspire to offer during Lent, there needs to be a spiritual component to those actions as well. 3. What triggers sinfulness in us? This question relates to the first question because after we realize what sins we keep repeating, we then need to observe what is causing those bad habits. Anything from certain people or particular situations, food or entertainments may trigger us to commit sins, and these are the things we should get rid of during lent. 4. What faults get in the way of our spiritual striving? We are human and we all have faults that we struggle with. What are the faults that let the feeling of discourage, weakness and despair sneak into our hearts and allowing our vices and sinfulness take control? This is where the physical part of our Lenten sacrifice comes into play. By fasting we take control over our habits and our bodies. If we maintain self control over our habits, our bodies, and what we indulge in, we can train ourselves to better resist sin when it comes roaring like a lion. It is so important to have an honest look at oneself, and with God’s grace get to the root of the answers to these questions above. We need to convert our hearts to be ready for the Easter Triduum. The Lent season is really about conversion, about change. We don’t want to remain the same at the end of the Lent, because it would defeat the whole idea of Lent. We want to be converted more closely to the image of Christ and converted more deeply into our love of Christ. It’s a monumental process, but we should not be afraid to do this. There are many good resources available for us to make our Lenten journey the most fruitful ( relevant radio.com, ewtn.com, catholic answers.com) Let’s not wait till the Ash Wednesday to decide on the moments turn to do “something“ for Lent. At the end of the day our preparation really is to change our hearts, to convert our hearts so we are ready for the Easter Triduum: Death, Passion and Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.