Lent, a time of miraclesLent will set you freeThe rite of imposition of ashes in the time of Covid"The Lenten ascetical journey (...) has as its goal a personal and ecclesial transfiguration. A transformation which, in both cases, finds its model in that of Jesus and is brought about through the grace of his paschal mystery". The Pope's words in his message for Lent 2023 summarizes the mystery of this liturgical season.
Cyclical repetition cannot lead us to see this time as just another celebration. St. Josemaría Escrivá, founder of the Opus Deihe wrote in "It is Christ who passes"This moment is unique; it is a divine help to be welcomed. Jesus passes by our side and expects from us - today, now - a great change".
Ash Wednesday
There is indications that as early as the second century, the faithful were following practices to prepare for the feasts of EasterHowever, it seems that these preparations were observed only on Friday and Holy Saturday, through fasting and abstinence. Little by little, these customs were lengthened in time until reaching the period of forty days that we live today. That number, 40, is not accidental, since it recalls both Israel's pilgrimage through the desert and Christ's retreat before beginning his public life.
From the fourth century onwards, the structure of Lent began to be established and formed until it reached its present form. The entry into this liturgical season is marked by Ash Wednesday, a day on which ashes are imposed on the faithful and at the same time they are reminded: "You are dust and to dust you shall return".
With the palms of the previous year's Palm Sunday, the imposition of ashes helps the faithful to enter a liturgical season whose sobriety allows them to focus their gaze on Christ and his saving mystery.
Lent, a time of penance
The Church in the West asks Catholics to increase their spirit of penance during Lent and, as a guide, establishes two obligatory mortifications: on the one hand, fasting on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday; on the other hand, abstinence from meat on Ash Wednesday and on all Fridays during this liturgical season.
At eastThe tradition, however, is somewhat different. It is striking, for example, that during the Lenten season Holy Mass is celebrated only on Saturdays and Sundays. In addition, abstinence from meat is not limited to Fridays only, but Eastern Christians do not eat meat or dairy products on any day during this period.
What did the Pope say?
On January 25, Pope Francis issued his message for Lent 2023. In it he spoke of how "Lenten asceticism is a commitment, always animated by grace, to overcome our lack of faith and our resistance to follow Jesus on the way of the cross". Francis used the passage of the transfiguration as a clear image of this liturgical season. This episode teaches us that "we must allow ourselves to be led by Him to a deserted and elevated place, distancing ourselves from mediocrity and vanities".
For his part, Pope Benedict XVI, in the first message Lent, which he published, affirmed that this "is the privileged time of interior pilgrimage towards the One who is the source of mercy. It is a pilgrimage in which He himself accompanies us through the desert of our poverty, sustaining us on the way to the intense joy of Easter".
And St. John Paul II wished to stir the hearts of all the faithful in 1987 launching some very direct questions that serve as an examination both at the beginning and at the end of this penitential journey: "Shall we leave this Lent with a conceited heart, full of ourselves, but with empty hands for others? Or shall we arrive at Easter, guided by Our Lady of the Magnificat, with a poor soul, hungry for God, and with hands full of all God's gifts to distribute them to the world that needs them so much?"
