The Invitation of Lent: Ash Wednesday

"Show me your way, O Lord!"

The Psalmist's longing for God still echoes in us today. For those of us on the road of pilgrim faith, Lent is a season of the Christian year which invites us to listen to our own longing, to simplify our lives, and to focus on our relationship with God in Christ.

The Soul's Springtime

Lent comes from the Anglo Saxon word lencten, the lengthening of days from winter towards summer: spring. The term lento directs a musician to play slowly and thoughtfully. The Christian season of Lent is the 40 days (excluding Sundays) between Ash Wednesday and Easter Sunday. Traditionally it has commemorated Jesus' 40 days of fasting in the wilderness following his baptism. Lent also reminds us of the 40 days that Elijah and Moses both spent with God, and the 40 years Israel wandered in the desert. Lent prepares the way for the greatest observance of the year, the death and resurrection of Jesus on Easter morning.

Lent can be our own springtime path from darkness into light. As we spiritually journey into the wilderness, through solitude and self-reflection, Lent can flower in us with its fruits of right relationship with God and joy in Christ's resurrection.

On Ash Wednesday

"May God grant us the wisdom to know ourselves; the courage to admit our sins; and the grace to receive God's never failing mercy and forgiveness."

"Go in peace, remembering that you are but dust and ashes and unworthy of being called the people of God. But also remember that you who were no people, God by his love and grace has made a people, children of his own household. Let us go forth in humility to be Christ to the world."