LENT

The word Lent comes from the old English word, lencten, which means spring, the lengthening of daylight and hours. It comes from the Latin word, lente, which means to go slowly because haste makes waste. It is the past tense of the verb lend which means everything we have, is borrowed from God and what we borrowed we return to Him with abundance. God is a great lender. It comes also from the Latin word, quadragesima, which means forty days, a time of preparation for a special mission and blessing.  Lent is a sacred time and holy season because it is all about Jesus who is the beloved Son of God, radically obedient to His Father and revealed to us God’s extravagant love by His total self giving love on the Cross. He fulfills the work of new creation. Lenten season begins with Ash Wednesday when we put ashes on our foreheads reminding us that we are dust and to dust we shall return. Ashes remind us that we are nothing yet God created us in His likeness and image so that we participate in His life. That’s our true identity. Our true worth comes from God alone. He has made us a little lower than the angels and crowned us with glory and honor. He is never tired of loving and forgiving us. He never gives up on us. We put ashes on our foreheads tracing the sign of the Cross because it reminds us that we are broken yet claimed and restored by Jesus. We are so much loved that He heldnothing back not even His own self to lead us to the goodness  He desires for us. Lenten season is a call to put God above all else and imitate Jesus. He is the beloved Son of God and by imitating Him we will also become sons and daughters of the Father. Lent is a call to conversion and repentance. To learn to rely on God alone which is the only way to be strong. Lent reminds us of our baptism which is daily dying and rising to new life. It reminds us of our sin and weakness. But the good news is God’s love is greater than our infidelities, betrayals and sins. His love is stronger than death. Therefore, lent is a privileged time to go back to the basics, to what is essential and what matters the most. It is a time to go back to God who is the supreme good and the absolute treasure and put Him as the center so that we make Him shine in our lives.