Lent Has Begun

Lent Has Begun

Hello –

Lent is a season of great power and richness. Embracing the experience of Lent is one of the most valuable things we can do if we want to embrace the fullness of what it means to be Christian.

With that in mind, I want to share with you words that were said three separate times Ash Wednesday:

Dear People of God: The first Christians observed with great devotion the days of our Lord’s passion and resurrection, and it became the custom of the Church to prepare for them by a season of penitence and fasting. This season of Lent provided a time in which converts to the faith were prepared for Holy Baptism. It was also a time when those who, because of notorious sins, had been separated from the body of the faithful were reconciled by penitence and forgiveness, and restored to the fellowship of the Church. Thereby, the whole congregation was put in mind of the message of pardon and absolution set forth in the Gospel of our Savior, and of the need which all Christians continually have to renew their repentance and faith.

I invite you, therefore, in the name of the Church, to the observance of a holy Lent, by self-examination and repentance; by prayer, fasting, and self-denial; and by reading and meditating on God’s holy Word. And, to make a right beginning of repentance, and as a mark of our mortal nature, let us now kneel before the Lord, our maker and redeemer.

Kneeling is a good practice, a sign that themes of Lent are not lost on us, and in fact are in our very bones. May you have a rich and blessed Lent. I hope to see you often at St. Paul’s.

Blessings,

Christopher
p: (415) 456-4842