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JUBILEE TEACHING

Lent: preparing for Easter

JUBILEE TEACHING FOR FEBRUARY 10, 2008 | FIFTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

Lent is the season that prepares us to celebrate Easter. The main reason Lent is important is that Easter is our most important feast. On Easter we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, whose passage beyond death into life offers redemption to believers. The Resurrection is the cornerstone of Christian faith. The mystery of Christ’s rising from the dead is so deep that the church invites us to six weeks of preparation before we fully celebrate it. We call that period Lent.

For the faithful, Lent is a time of penitential practices and spiritual discipline. During this time we acknowledge our sins and seek God’s help to overcome them.

Traditionally, we engage in acts of prayer, fasting and almsgiving. Together these actions show our dependence on God, our renunciation of the fascinations of this world and our desire to better the lives of others.

For the elect, those preparing for baptism, Lent is a time of intense spiritual preparation. They will celebrate baptism at Easter because in this sacrament they enter the mystery of Christ’s dying and rising. They die to their former way of life and open their hearts fully to discipleship in Jesus. For the elect, this is a season of purification and enlightenment.

The prayers of this season help scrutinize and purify their intentions, removing whatever might block their commitment and strengthening their resolve. They will become fully illumined with the light of Christ when they celebrate initiation at the Easter Vigil.

Lent begins on Ash Wednesday and ends before the Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday. Ash Wednesday is a day of fast and abstinence. All the Fridays of Lent are days of abstinence.

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Lent: preparing for Easter

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