LENT

Take Up Your Cross and Deny Yourself

(Self-Denial)

Lent is a season of forty days, not counting Sundays, which begins on Ash Wednesday and ends on Holy Saturday. It is a season of reflection, self-examination, and quiet observation of the mysteries of God. Lent comes from the Anglo Saxon word lencten which means “spring.”
The forty days represents the time Jesus spent in the wilderness, enduring temptation and preparing to begin his ministry. Lent is a time of repentance, fasting, and preparation for the coming of Easter. Christians focus on their relationship with God, often choosing to give up something or to volunteer and give of themselves for others.
Each Sunday during Lent represents a ‘mini-Easter” and is therefore not counted in the forty days as the reverent spirit of Lent is tempered with joyful anticipation of the Resurrection