Wednesday the 5th of March was Ash Wednesday, a day that began a very special time in the life of our Church. Lent means many things to people, not least of which is the beginning of a spiritual journey leading us to the Feast of Easter Sunday--Jesus Christ is Risen from the dead.
In the prayers of the Church for Ash Wednesday we receive a richness of the teaching of the Church which can help us appreciate the forty days of Lent. The Collect for the first day of Lent reads:
?Grant, O Lord, that we may begin with holy fasting this campaign of Christian service, so that as we take up battle against spiritual evils, we may be armed with weapons of self- restraint.?
Right from the beginning of the journey the focus is on a commitment to Christian service so that we may be strengthened to build up our self-restraint to embrace the ways of God in our daily lives.
Saint Leo the Great framed this very well when he wrote:
