So Lent is 40 days and 40 nights, which mark the amount of time Jesus spent in the desert, being tormented by his archnemesis, Satan. During these 40 days and 40 nights, we are supposed to “give up something,” meaning that we are supposed to give up anything that brings us pleasure, such as a favorite food, favorite television show, favorite snack, etc. Giving up this item or items puts us in solidarity with Christ as he experienced his suffering in the desert.
But Lent, from what I’ve learned talking to other faithful and religious, doesn’t have to be a depressing time. It can also be a happy time, as written about in a column published in 2008 by Monsignor Jim Gehl, pastor of St. Bede the Venerable Parish in La Cañada: “ If we find ourselves thinking of Lent without joy or a Lent that makes us feel less happy, possibly our understanding of Lent doesn’t bring us quite far enough.”
And instead of thinking of Lent as a period of time where we take away something, I’d like to include what the Rev. Amy Pringle, rector of St. George’s Episcopal Church in La Cañada, wrote in 2008 as Holy Week was just getting under way: “To attend the services of Holy Week is to make a spiritual pilgrimage into the heart of the deepest mysteries of life, death and resurrection — a journey through the full range of human experience: joy and sorrow; doubt and faith; agony and trust; sin and innocence; self-giving love, and the power of redemption in the face of suffering.”
Gehl finishes: “One specific suggestion is to be sure that we decide not only to “give up” something for Lent, but that we decide to do something special for Lent.”
