Lord of Lent, Lord of Easter,

As you went into the desert

So do I follow

Putting aside that which distracts me

Grabs at me

Falsely claims me.

To search inside

To confront myself

My best, my worst

My good works and my sins.

 

And each time, I find you there

To call to me again

With words of challenge and words of mercy.

 

And as I fall to my knees, in prayer, in fasting

In sacrifice and penitence

Somehow, You have it in yourself to reach out and

Gently lift me

To renew me

To claim me as nothing of this world can claim me.

Meet me in the desert, Lord

Claim me anew. Amen

 

Lent is a time of repentance, fasting and preparation for the coming of Easter. It is a time of self-examination and reflection. In the early church, Lent began as a period of fasting and preparation for baptism by new converts and then became a time of penance by all Christians. We focus on our relationship with God, growing as disciples and extending ourselves, often choosing to give up something or to volunteer and give of themselves for others.

Lent comes from the Anglo-Saxon word lencten, meaning “lengthen” and refers to the lengthening days of spring. The forty days represents the time Jesus spent in the wilderness, enduring the temptation of Satan and preparing to begin his ministry.