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The Season of Lent
For us, Lent is a time of preparing for Easter by reflecting on the meaning of our Baptism. We contemplate our baptismal dying to the old life of sin and rising to the new life in Christ. We confess our failure to live in the covenant of our Baptism, our failure to live the life our Creator intended for us. Our sin separates us from God, from our neighbors, and from creation. We pray, “Graciously cleanse us from all sin and make us strong.” Lent is a time of spiritual cleansing, of prayer, and of growth in faith…a time of returning to the Lord our God, who is gracious and merciful and abounding in steadfast love. Lent concludes and Holy Week begins on the Sunday of the Passion, Palm Sunday. Then we will contemplate our Lord’s Passion and participate ritually in his death and Resurrection. After our forty days as Lenten people, we will move from darkness to light, from death to life, from repentance to forgiveness, from ashes to Easter…and we will live as God’s Easter people. Crosses are veiled during Lent as a reminder that this is a season for austerity, purification, and spiritual cleansing. The omission the “Alleluia” from the Liturgy and hymns reflects the solemnity of Lent. The absence of flowers reminds us of the somber nature of this season. Purple, the color of repentance and solemnity, is the color for Lent.
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