5Ws + an H
Who exactly is being called to convert during Lent? ...I’m already Christian.
Where does the concept of penance come from?
Why do we receive ashes at the start of Lent?
How does the Church recommend living Lent?
Who exactly is being called to convert during Lent? ...I’m already Christian.
Conversion means turning away from sin and drawing closer to God. Even baptized Christians need ongoing conversion because we are constantly growing in holiness. All of us could give examples of ways we’ve grown closer to God over time… Or fallen short, in spite of our good intentions.
The Church reminds us that conversion is a lifelong process (cf. Lumen Gentium, no. 8; Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 1428). And St. Josemaria says, “Conversion is the task of a moment; sanctification is the work of a lifetime” (Christ is Passing By, no. 58).
The Church has always recommended some specific ways of putting our desire for conversion into practice, including:
- Going to the sacrament of reconciliation (also called confession)
- Forgiving others and overcoming divisions or disharmony
- Practicing the works of mercy
What is Lent?
Lent is the 40-day season when the Church prepares for Holy Week and Easter. It’s been a time of penance and renewal since the 4th century, and it’s marked by prayer, service, and sacrifice (you might recognize the traditional description of those three activities, which is “prayer, fasting, and almsgiving”).
In this season, the Church invites us to follow Jesus’ example in the desert (cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 540), preparing our hearts, deepening our faith, and making sacrifices out of love for God.
When does Lent start and end?
Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, which falls on different dates each year (between February 4 and March 10) depending on when Easter falls.
It ends just before the Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday, when we enter into the Easter Triduum:
- Holy Thursday: the evening of Lord’s Supper, when Jesus tells his disciples that He is ready to give everything for them (St. John says: having loved his own in the the world, He loved them to the end (13:1))
- Good Friday: Jesus’ death on the Cross. He “gives Himself up to death with the full freedom of Love” (St. Josemaria, Way of the Cross, 10th Station), for love of us.
- Holy Saturday: a day of silence, the only day of the year on which the Holy Mass isn’t celebrated. The whole Church gathers around our Lady, like the frightened apostles after Jesus’ death.
- Easter Sunday: we celebrate the most important news in history: Jesus has risen and has prepared a place for us in Heaven!
Each Friday of Lent is a special day of penance, in memory of Jesus’ sacrifice on the Cross. On these days, we are called to prayer, service, and sacrifice in a special way. The Church asks us to abstain from meat on Fridays in Lent.
Where does the concept of penance come from?
Our penance is inspired by Jesus’ self-gift on the Cross. It is an act of repentance, a way of expressing sorrow for sin and a desire to change. The word penance literally means “change of life.”
The Catechism reminds us that our interior penance can be expressed in different ways, including trying to heal any broken or wounded relationships with others, sorrow for our personal sins, trying to do good to others, praying to the saints, and anything that helps us grow in love for God and others (cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 1434).
Why do we receive ashes at the start of Lent?
Receiving ashes is a sign of our desire to turn back to God. It’s an ancient tradition. Both the Jews and the Ninevites used to cover themselves with ashes when they offered sacrifices to God.
The prayer of blessing the ashes talks about the sinful condition of the people who are going to receive them. They symbolize our weakness, the fact that we are sinners, our prayer for God’s help, and the Resurrection, because after death, we are called to share in Christ’s triumph.
The ashes are made from burned palm branches blessed the previous year on Palm Sunday.
How does the Church recommend living Lent?
Again, Lent is a time for prayer, service, and sacrifice. You know what you have to offer God and what the people around you need, so there’s a lot of room for creative generosity in that description.
There are a few concrete things that the Church asks all of us to do. On Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, those aged 18-59 are required to fast (to eat only one full meal, plus two smaller meals). On Ash Wednesday and all the Fridays of Lent, those 14 and older are required to abstain from eating meat.
The Church also encourages us to go to Confession and receive Holy Communion at least once during Lent.
Of course, since Lent is all about turning back to God, we don’t want to aim for the bare minimum, but to embrace it as an opportunity for spiritual renewal and a closer relationship with Jesus Christ.
