It is time to think about the Lenten season.
Easter is quite early this year and Lent is already upon us. I believe times of the year like the Christmas and Easter seasons are so important that we really do need to prepare ourselves for those opportunities that can strengthen our spiritual lives. If we don?t, our chances to benefit spiritually will be diminished.
When I was young, the Church had a formal preparation period leading up to Ash Wednesday and the season of Lent. The wisdom of the Church was truly insightful because like a good mother, she realized that people needed the context that would challenge them to do their very best. That preparation period began with the Sunday before the beginning of Lent, which is called Septuagesima Sunday, the name for the ninth Sunday before Easter and the third before Ash Wednesday. After that Sunday, the next two Sundays were called Sexagesima, the second Sunday before Ash Wednesday, and Quinquagesima, the first Sunday before Ash Wednesday.
The Church?s effort to prepare people for this very special time of the year was realized by special readings, prayers and devotions that helped people focus their attention on the great celebration of our faith that happens during Holy Week and Easter Week.
I am not recommending a return to an older liturgical calendar. However, I am advocating an appreciation of the value of serious spiritual preparation. This will help ensure that Lent will be spiritually enriched because we will benefit from the focus of what we are doing and why such preparation will enhance the celebration of Holy Week. I remember very clearly using a small book of meditations intended to help people prepare for Lent. A priest named Father Philip Hughes translated into English the work of St. Thomas Aquinas entitled ?Meditations for Lent from St. Thomas Aquinas.? The reflections went from Septuagesima Sunday up to and including Holy Saturday. The thrust of the first 17 reflections was to impress upon the reader that one needs to be prepared well to enter into Lent.
Think for a moment about a person who wishes to run a full marathon of 26-plus miles. He or she knows very well that they do not start to get ready for the event a week before it occurs. They know only too well their performance would be diminished if there was no preparation. Or, consider a law school graduate preparing for the bar exam so that he or she will pass the exam, thus fulfilling their dream of practicing law. They do not simply show up the day of the exam. No, many start studying weeks and months before the exam so that they are well-prepared for this significant event.
I hope these two examples underscore the significance of being prepared for an important event. They also show how it helps us appreciate the wisdom of the past relative to being spiritually prepared for the beginning of Lent, as well as to enrich the journey right up to Easter Sunday and through the 50 days of the Easter season.
The lesson from the past is well worth our attention. St. Paul often wrote in his letters about running the race and the importance of being prepared for it, right up to the finish line. In addition, St. Thomas Aquinas offered valuable meditations for the days leading up to the beginning of Lent so that people might be ready to wholeheartedly embrace the challenges of the season for their spiritual benefit.
Most likely, you are reading this article at the beginning of Lent and have just celebrated Ash Wednesday. It is important to take time to reflect on our commitment to the season of Lent and the conversion of heart that it requires.
The words used in the imposition of the ashes on Ash Wednesday sum up our needed commitment quite well: Repent and believe in the Gospel. Each of these actions, repenting and believing, in a true sense are lifelong goals. Preparation for entering into them calls for our attention and commitment. Something this serious demands our engagement now.
The wisdom of the past invites us to incorporate the value of being prepared so that we don?t miss this opportunity for spiritual fulfillment.
