Lent is Upon Us

The liturgical season of Lent begins with the solemn celebration of Ash Wednesday (Mass schedule available here). The practice of placing ashes on our foreheads stems from ancient and biblical traditions surrounding acts of repentance. One of the clearest examples in Scripture comes from the story of Jonah, where the people of Nineveh, told that the Lord would destroy their city if they did not repent, covered themselves in sackcloth (uncomfortable clothing) and ashes and cried out to God for mercy. In that story we are told that God heard their cries and decided not to destroy them.

As the Church moved forward in its early history, very quickly she developed the process of accepting new members at the celebration of Easter. What began as a 40 day period of preparation for just those to be baptized (the Catechumens) was eventually taken up by all the faithful as an annual opportunity to repent and begin again, which we now call Lent. The sign of the ashes on the forehead is the symbolic mark of repentance for each of us as we begin this holy season. The USCCB tells us: 

During Lent, we seek the Lord in prayer by reading Sacred Scripture; we serve by giving alms; and we practice self-control through fasting. We are called not only to abstain from luxuries during Lent, but to a true inner conversion of heart as we seek to follow Christ's will more faithfully.

(taken from the USCCB website titled "What is Lent")

The Church has various traditions during Lent, such as abstaining from meat on Fridays during Lent, and setting aside Ash Wednesday and Good Friday as days in which we fast in addition to meat abstinence. All of these are meant to be opportunities to grow in self control as well as to focus our minds and hearts more fully on the God who made us.

Want to read more about Lent? Click here for an article offering 10 things to remember for Lent.