Lent is the penitential season of the Church's year. It begins on Ash Wednesday and ends with the Mass of the Lord's Supper on Holy Thursday. Lent has six Sundays. The sixth is called Passion or Palm Sunday and marks the beginning of Holy Week.

The Easter Tridium begins with the evening Mass of the Lord's Supper on Holy Thursday. It commemorates the Lord's passion and death on Good Friday, reaches its high point at the Easter Vigil and ends with evening Prayer on Easter Sunday. Then the joyful Easter Season of 50 days begins.

Traditionally, the Lenten season is a time of penance throughout the Catholic Church. Lent is a season in which prayer, the reception of the sacraments, charity and alms-giving are emphasized. Fast and abstinence are to be observed on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. All the Fridays of Lent are days of abstinence from meat, as well.

PLAN FOR A NEW LIFE!
Lent is an old English word for this time of year. Coming from the word lengthen, it describes the season by the lengthening of daylight hours that occurs each day. It is another word for springtime. It is an important time of year for all Christians. For various reasons, it is most significant in the spiritual life of Roman Catholics.

Our Savior Jesus Christ rose from the dead on the Sunday after the Jewish feast of Passover. Commemorating the great events of the exodus from Egypt of the Hebrew people by the hand of God, Passover occurs on the first full moon of springtime.

The oldest description of Easter that we have comes from Ancient Syria: "You shall fast for two days and then at sunset on the second day, you shall gather for your vigil, and throughout the night you are to pray and read the scripture with fear and trembling until the third hour of the morning, when you shall offer your gifts, because Christ passes over in the third hour of the morning" from death to life.

From the earliest days of the Church, new members would receive the sacraments of Initiation, Baptism, First Holy Communion and Confirmation during the great vigil of Easter. For in Baptism they sacramentally die and rise with Christ. In Holy Communion, they sacramentally receive the Body and Blood of Christ, as the apostles did at the last supper. In Confirmation, the Holy Spirit is poured out upon them as at Pentecost.

A period of intense spiritual preparation for the catechumens, or candidates, for initiation into the church was established. This period of about 40 days (the time Jesus spent in the desert preparing for his mission) would conclude with the celebration of the sacraments on Easter. Soon everyone joined the candidates in this preparation.

For every Christian, the celebration of our Savior's suffering, death and resurrection is not just an anniversary of an historic event. For the follower of Jesus in every age, it is something that they want to happen to them.

To the extent that we can enter into the fasting, prayer and charitable works of Lent, we can also rise to a new life with Jesus when we renew our baptismal promises at Easter Mass.

So, begin this sacred season by reflecting on what you want to change in your own life. Use the discipline of Lent to make those changes. By Easter, become that new person for the rest of your life.

As you begin Lent on Ash Wednesday, Plan for a New Life!