The Two Facets of Lent

Blessed Lent Everyone!

Each year when we enter Lent, we are reminded of the three disciplines of this holy season namely, Prayer, Fasting and Almsgiving. These are found in the Gospel of Matthew which we heard on Ash Wednesday. We are to intensify our prayer life – to take time out of our busy schedules to communicate with God. We fast from what hinders us from seeing how God is active in our lives and from becoming what God is calling us to be. And we give alms. This does not only mean financially, but also being good to ourselves and to others.

We are very familiar with these three disciplines and focus so much on them that we forget the two important facets of Lent – Penitential and Baptismal. Our forty-day journey invites us to enter the desert to re-evaluate our lives. To look at what blinds us from seeing how God continues to mold us as His beloved children. What are some areas in our life that need an adjustment? How do we prioritize what is important? Is prayer an important aspect of our daily life? How about fostering relationships with our co-workers, family, and friends? The penitential aspect of Lent is, as some would say, a time to make a “U-Turn” and turn our gaze back to God.

No wonder the next facet of Lent is baptismal. From its inception, Lent is a time to prepare those who seek to become members of God’s Church. This is called the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults – a period of purification and enlightenment. In this final stage, the elect are invited to intensify their spiritual preparation – to be ready to be immersed in the waters of baptism, sealed with the gift of the Spirit and partake around the table of the Eucharist for the very first time.

Because of Lent’s focus on new life, the baptized, we who are members of the Church, are also invited to prepare our spiritual lives. After journeying for 40 days, on Easter night, we hold a lighted candle, and renew our baptismal promises with a resounding “I do!”. We promise to live anew and strive to live in the life of Christ and recommit ourselves more fully to Him.

These days of Lent are given to us as an opportunity to prepare for the great feast of the Lord’s paschal mystery: Jesus’ passion, death, and resurrection. In the words of St. Paul, “now is a very acceptable time; behold now is the day of salvation.”