Centre for Liturgy Director Sr Kerry Willison explains some of the finer points on Lent.
We have just entered into the liturgical season of Lent and, for many of us, we can each find ourselves reflecting on the challenges of the season. Lent, as we know, is a penitential time.
It is a time to assess our day-to-day lives in the light of the Gospels and our baptismal promises.
In this Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy, perhaps there is an added dimension we might consider. In the words of Pope Francis, “Lent is a good time to train ourselves to be more sensitive and merciful” to others. He added that Lent presents the occasion to practise simplicity and sharing. So, how do the various rituals of the Easter season reflect this call to be for others as we strive to be the best people we can be as a followers of Christ?
Ash Wednesday
The ashes we receive on Ash Wednesday with the words spoken by the priest, “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return” or, alternatively, “Repent and believe the Gospel”, are a symbolic reminder that we only have one life to live, and so, just how am I going with the challenges of family, work, relationships?
Where might I need to be more sensitive to others? Who in my life might I need to ask forgiveness from? It sounds so simple and yet forgiving is so very hard to do for many people. Nevertheless, forgiveness is one of the most powerful gifts we can receive and give to one another.
Palm Sunday
Palm Sunday is the Sunday before Easter and marks the end of Lent and beginning of Holy Week. How Palm Sunday is celebrated has evolved over the centuries. Today, Palm Sunday traditions are much the same as they were in the 10th century. Jesus riding into Jerusalem on a donkey and making His way through waving palm branches was the fulfilment of the prophecy of the prophet Zachariah (9.9). The donkey was a symbol of peace and those who rode on a donkey were advocates of peace. The laying of branches indicated that a king or dignitary was arriving. In the words of Pope Francis that I quoted in the beginning of this reflection, “Lent presents the occasion to practise simplicity and sharing”. If there is one thing the world as a whole is in need of, it is advocates of peace and, as Christians, we have the most wonderful example of how to do that in Jesus. How do I create peace in my world? How do I live the message of peace? How do I share the wisdom and wonder of my faith with others?
Holy Thursday
Holy Thursday is the commemoration of the Last Supper of Jesus where He instituted the Eucharist and the priesthood. Jesus was raised as a Jew and so celebrated the last supper as a Passover feast.
Jesus Himself would later fulfill His role as the Christian victim of the Passover by dying on a cross so that we might never forget what God’s love requires of each of us in the events of our daily lives. How do we die to those parts of ourselves that keep us from truly living as Jesus showed us how to live? One of the other aspects of the Holy Thursday ritual is the extraordinarily rich symbolism of the washing of the feet, or the Mandatum as it is referred to in Latin which also gave this day of Holy Week the name Maundy Thursday.
This action is twofold as it relates to the challenge of our baptism promises to follow the example of Jesus and the need to be cleansed of those things in our lives that contradict those promises. The action of the washing of the feet is also a symbolic action echoing a central precept of the Church: we are all called to serve.
There is so much more that could be explored with regard to each of the Easter rituals I have reflected on. It might be a good time to do some of your own research on these rich and wonderful rituals and so deepen your understanding and knowledge of these celebrations.
From page 18 and 19 from Issue 1: ‘The Year of Mercy: Seeking an Encounter with Christ’ of The Record Magazine