It is that time again, when the faithful return to church to get ashes and are told to repent. It is the time when millions of people around the world are told to pray, fast and to give alms for forty-days. Yes, it is the time when networks start showing movies about Jesus and his ministry and how he died on the cross. Its the time of Lent.
I think back of what this all meant and how it changed for me as time went on. As a cradled Catholic I grew up thinking of lent as the prohibition of meat on Fridays and the complete silence during the Tridium Paschal leading to Easter and what seemed as a time of prohibition of fun altogether. All this meant was that I had to find ways to keep myself occupied at home, to refrain from asking to be outdoors and to try to be quiet the best I could. Lent wasn't fun. In fact, when the time approach, I would dread the idea of it. People were not talking to each other, fun wasn't allowed and to top it all I had to confess my misbehavior to a priest!
I remember the day that my conception of Lent started changing. Around the time I could ask questions and not be afraid of being told that the Church knew what was best for me or that I had to do certain things a certain way because the priest or Church said so. Around the age of 12, when I was doing my first-communion and I was immersed in Catechism I would ask, why do we even celebrate Lent? It made little sense to me. Christmas on the other hand was a feast! Everybody likes new born babies and if they're healthy it is a reason to celebrate. That is why we celebrate birthdays! Then it hit me, I was reminded that we also remember the people that left, we also remember our love ones that have died. We celebrate by remembering them. Lent was celebrated for this reason. It all was troubling for me, after all, the concept of celebrating death for a kid is somewhat troublesome or a contradiction almost.
Then, at some point. I was told of the importance of the Liturgical Calendar. In the same way that we all have days that are very important for us and we keep them in mind, graduations, anniversaries, accomplishments, etc. in the same way, the Church celebrates and remembers those days of the life of Christ. At this point, Lent made a little more sense. By now, I was told of the association of the death of Jesus himself for my sins and for my salvation, and so it made more sense to be respectful and mournful during this time. I would still dread the time, but at least now it made sense so I would not complain about it.
Many years later I would have a personal religious experience during my confirmation at Thursday of Passover in the beginning of the Paschal Tridium and once again my understanding and experience of lent would change. At this point, I was a fully grown adult. Now, lent would no longer be something that didn't make sense, but now it was personal. I celebrated it not only because it had to do with the life of Christ, but because it had to do with my life!
Yet, my experience and contemplation at that time would be still incomplete as it is still incomplete now. Many masses and sermons later I kept pushing, trying to make a connection between my personal experience of lent, my personal understanding and the world where I lived. I wanted this all to come together alive in the community of believers. Sure enough, what I was seeking came to be realized yet again. I approached lent once again through understanding, through time and history, through all the people who have celebrated it over centuries, through the culture barriers it breaks. This worldview was pointing at what I would referred to as a mystery beyond time and space for a lack of a better expression. A celestial community that transcends history and time and yet a story that speaks to the very here and now that we experience. Lent was a story about the redemption of human beings, that takes place now. It was about the universal reality that grounds all men to the same fate--death. Yet, lent told me that it doesn't end there. Yes, this was after some philosophy courses had shaped my vocabulary.
Today, I now live lent as the reality that speaks of the redemption of people. In all ways that people can be saved. We are called to enter these wounds, which are the wounds of Christ Himself and in doing so to experience resurrection. The brokenness of the world reminds us of the cross. The lack of charity in our own hearts reminds us of the man who gave it all. We celebrate because these wounds do not define us. We celebrate because we can overcome them. We celebrate because death is not the end. We celebrate because we are together in this journey.
