Our Lenten season has begun. What we see and hear changes, and our liturgy becomes more austere. The colour of Lent is penitential purple. There are no flowers in the Church and there won’t be any until the Easter Vigil. We do not say or sing the gloria, and instead of claiming the gospel with joyful alleluias we will sing “Glory and praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ” or a similar acclamation. On the first Sunday of Lent we will leave the Church in silence, with neither singing nor organ to cheer us. Instruments are only meant to be used to support congregational singing.
I think the psychological purpose behind a dry and dreary Lenten liturgy is create in us a holy dissatisfaction, a hunger to sing and rejoice on the Easter Vigil as we celebrate the resurrection of the Lord. Our hearts are impatient for rejoicing, and the “delayed gratification” forced on it by the Lenten fast serves to heighten the joy of our Easter liturgy. It’s not just in the liturgy that we see changes. We are also asked to do things that we may not normally do a lot of. The three pillars of Lent that Jesus referred to in the Ash Wednesday gospel are prayer, fasting and alms-giving.
Prayer is necessary for us to grow in our relationship with God. In every other relationship that we value we know that we have to invest time with the other, to reveal ourselves and have our beloved reveal themselves to us. And our relationship with God is no different. In the parish notices I refer to the “School of Prayer” that we have in the parish. One Saturday this month I will be giving a talk on the different ways in which we can come to know God, with prayer as one of the most important ways of doing so. Two weeks after that there will be a “Prayer Practicum” where we will focus on three particular ways of praying, and give ourselves a little taste of each of the methods. You can also gather with us on the Friday evenings of Lent to pray together the Stations of the Cross.
Fasting is also one of the pillars of Lent. When we fast from something significant we proclaim that our desires or addictions do not rule us, but that we rule them. You may fast from meat, or sugar, or alcohol, or cigarettes, or social media, or gossip. In doing so you are embarking on a process or reordering your desires, of examining values and priorities, and where your true allegiance lies.
Alms-giving helps us to realise that everything we have is a gift from God, and that we have a responsibility to use God’s gifts wisely. We are encouraged during Lent to support the poor through the weekly Lenten Collection. We are encouraged to support the Church in the Holy Land through the Good Friday collection. Some people I know will eat at home rather than go to a restaurant, and then put the money saved towards a charitable purpose. Others give up sweets and desserts or meat, and then put the money saved to a good cause.
There are many ways for us to enter into the spirit of Lent – a refocusing of our lives on God – and Jesus gave us three good ways in prayer, fasting and alms giving. May your Lent be a time of blessing for you. As you journey this pilgrimage of life may hope be born into your hearts and bring you new peace.
