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During LENT we are asked to:

PRAY- for those who are not close to us but are struggling through difficult times

FAST – forgo something that we really enjoy partaking in

ALMSGIVING-give financially and go without things ourselves 

PREPARE – change our ways to be more giving and a better person

LENT

Lent is a wonderful season in the Church calendar – time set aside to renew and prepare ourselves to receive the fullness of life in the resurrection. It’s a time for a bit of a spiritual ‘spring-clean’. After all, the word ‘Lent’ means ‘springtime’. Just as a ‘spring-clean’ in our homes gives us a renewed sense of order and purpose, a spiritual spring-clean lifts our spirits, sweeps out the bad habits and creates space in our lives for God.

Giving up chocolate or other sweet indulgences is a traditional favourite for Lenten promises. However, in order for our Lenten commitments to really serve the purposes of Lent, it is better to approach what we ‘give up’ from the point of view of how giving it up frees us to more fully embrace life in Christ. It’s not deprivation for the sake of deprivation… it’s for the sake of greater love, more abundant life, deeper peace, more life-affirming joy. Think in terms of what you are embracing rather than what you are forgoing. For example, instead of ‘giving up’ sugar, I’m embracing a daily ritual of honouring God – every time I drink my sugarless tea, I am reminded to thank God for his love.

Lent is a great time to sweep our lives clean of any habit, attitude or practice that serves ourselves rather than God and those God sends us to love. Used well, Lent becomes something so rich in blessings that you will look forward to it year after year.

The forty days of Lent, taken from the forty days Jesus spent in the desert, do not include Sundays – the day Christians celebrate the Resurrection. Forty is a symbolic number in the Hebrew scriptures: it signifies an irreversible event, something from which there is no turning back.

The prayer table in each classroom has a purple liturgical cloth to remind the students we have moved into the season of Lent. We usually celebrate on ‘Ash Wednesday’ and are marked with the ashes to signify that ‘from ashes we came and to ashes we shall return.’ This was unable to occur this year due to the Covid lockdown. We will celebrate the ‘Beginning of Lent’ liturgy next Wednesday 24th February from 2.45pm.

Jenny Keely REL