Lent is an integral part of the Catholic liturgical calendar. Together with Advent, Lent is a season to help us prepare ourselves for key events in the Church’s life – the incarnation of God (Christmas) and the death and resurrection of our Lord (Easter).
The call
But Lent does not have to be just for Catholics. The idea of remembering Christ's sacrifices for us and the idea of dying to self are things that all Christians share!
Let us together put God above ourselves – “He must become greater; I must become less” (John 3:30), and we put into practice His call to love one another in His Body. We put our love for Him to action, by putting Him above our personal wants and desires. We put our trust to Him in action - through fasting, prayer and almsgiving (Matthew 6).
We take these 40 days to humbly acknowledge our sinfulness. For the many times we have ignored what His voice, we do penance and cry out to Him in thanksgiving for His mercy to those who repent.
If we desire to become more Christ-centred, and indeed more Christ-like, we must die to ourselves and focus on Him who gives life, on Him who is life itself. “Unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.” – John 12:24-25
The challenge
In his Lent 2009 message release on 3 Feb, our Holy Father B16 noted that we've been given "three penitential practices that are very dear to the biblical and Christian tradition - prayer, almsgiving, fasting - to prepare us to better celebrate Easter".
The challenge is to take upon ourselves the three practices as Matthew 6 points out. B16 reminded us that doing these acts with heart "dispels all evil, washes guilt away, restores lost innocence, brings mourners joy, casts out hatred, brings us peace and humbles earthly pride".
The invitation
I would like to invite you to join me on this Lenten journey, walking to become better children of God.
Non-Catholic Christians, you are also invited to join us. There are differences. This is not the place to compare those differences, but to see the similarities: we are all sinners who desire to give God every part of ourselves. By taking part in this, we hope you can gain a deeper appreciation of Christ's love for us all.
The acts of penance
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