A Lenten Way of Life

The Season of Lent is upon us. Of course, in the Christian Year, the service that launches us into this season is our Ash Wednesday Mass. Listen to the introduction of this liturgy as it is found in the Book of Common Prayer:

Dear People of God: The first Christians observed with great devotion the days of our Lord's passion and resurrection, and it became the custom of the Church to prepare for them by a season of penitence and fasting. This season of Lent provided a time in which converts to the faith were prepared for Holy Baptism. It was also a time when those who, because of notorious sins, had been separated from the body of the faithful were reconciled by penitence and forgiveness, and restored to the fellowship of the Church. Thereby, the whole congregation was put in mind of the message of pardon and absolution set forth in the Gospel of our Savior, and of the need which all Christians continually have to renew their repentance and faith."


I invite you, therefore, in the name of the Church, to the observance of a holy Lent, by self-examination and repentance; by prayer, fasting, and self-denial; and by reading and meditating on God's Holy Word. And, to make a right beginning of repentance, and as a mark of our mortal nature, let us now kneel before the Lord, our maker, and redeemer.


Lent is that significant season that reminds us that we are all still sinners in need of a savior. The early Christians would have been very aware of the below Old Testament passages:

Jeremiah 17:
9 The heart is devious above all else;
it is perverse—
who can understand it?
10 I the Lord test the mind
and search the heart,
to give to all according to their ways,
according to the fruit of their doings.

Psalm 19
12 But who can detect their errors?
Clear me from hidden faults.

However, in contrast to some “catholic” traditions, Lent is not about self-punishment, self-condemnation, or self-merit. It is about emotional and spiritual honesty so that true life and healing may be engaged and celebrated. Lent reminds us that we no longer have to pretend that we have it all together, but that God calls us to be responsible to grow in our salvation and ability to love Him and others. The denial of our appetites in concert with some more focused evaluation of the darkness still left in our hearts, helps us to more poignantly be receptive to the mystical realities appropriated to us through Good Friday and Easter.

What often hinders the blessing and penitence of Lent is the need to have it all together, and the fear that we are still under punishment, i.e., terrible things will happen to us if people (including ourselves) find out who we truly are. News flash: Jesus already knows, but He cannot bring healing to patients who wrap their arms around themselves in self-righteousness, self-worship, and self-protection.

Let us engage Lent this year because we long to engage our merciful and triune, God. Ask the Lord to give you the courage through the power of the Holy Spirit, to turn from your sin, and to find His help and healing.

Father Tom