St.
Mary Star of the Sea
Lent - what is this all about?
Lenten Family Grace
God of commitment, You are our rock, our fortress, and our strength. You have remained faithful to your people, even though we have sometimes wandered far from you.
At times we feel unconnected and out of touch. We rejoice that in such moments, you are there, that you have never wavered, that you have remained steadfast. Help us to remember your loving presence and to recognize your guiding and patient Spirit. Bring us home to you, our loving
God. Bless this time that we have together, this meal that we share, and our faith that it symbolizes.
Let it be a moment that recalls for us the Eucharist that binds us to you forever.
Amen
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Lent - just
what is this all about?
Many people hear about this term and wonder `just what is this all
about?'. They know it is some sort of religious thing, but many do not
know exactly what it means... and this goes for both Catholic and
non-Catholic people alike.
Lent is a sacred and spiritual time not just for Catholics, but for every
Christian. It is a time which reminds us of the great sacrifice
that Christ gave for us; the time when he went through the public
scrutiny, the torture and eventual crucifixion... the time where he
ultimately died for OUR sins!
Lent is a time which is special to Christians... more specifically,
it is the 40 days before Easter in which Catholics prepare for the Easter
celebration.
But WHY do we give up something for 40 days? And why 40?
As Christians, we celebrate Lent by recognizing Christ's
suffering for us, and then sacrificing in our own way to better understand
this. We do this by `giving up something', `doing something'
for others, or praying more - for those 40 days before Easter. The
40 day time period reflects those 40 days that Christ spent in the
wilderness alone - praying and meditating.
During Lent we also take
time to reflect upon not only ourselves, but to others and how we
interrelate to them as well.
The main ideas behind Lent are to increase one's spirituality as we
examine our relationship with God. It is to remember Christ's sacrifice
for us, as well as his love for us, as we prepare ourselves and get ready
to celebrate Easter itself.
Then at Easter - we end our sacrificing and remember Christ's ultimate
victory - his victory over death - where he rises from the dead to be with
our Father again. This victory reminds us that he is the
resurrection and the life, and that we will share in this victory and
life.
Jesus gave his life in order to wash away our sins... so at Easter it is
also a time when we `baptize' people... to bring them into this new
light, and wash away their sins as well. A time where we end Lent,
and move ahead together as a people, to celebrate the victory of Christ
and what he did for us.
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