Lent isn't about hunting for Easter eggs or wearing the latest fashions, but they are a part of the tradition of the church. Lent is a time of reflection, penance and prayer. Christ went into the desert to pray and fast and was also tempted. It is also a time to remember that we too are tempted and in need of reparation and re-generation of our spirits.
We think of Lent as 40 days and forty nights of spiritual rejuvenation, but there are actually 46 days of Lent. Sundays are not counted because they are when we are to celebrate the resurrection of Christ. Sundays are free of fasting and penance and Christians are forbidden to to deprive or do penance. Sundays are days of joy and hope and thankfulness for what the Lord has done for us and what he has given us.
While Ash Wednesday is not a holy day of obligation, it is a day we are reminded of our own mortality through the sign of ashes on the forehead. It is a day of personal mortification through fasting, prayer and penance. Most Catholics try to attend mass on Ash Wednesday.
The ill, the infirm, the aged and young children do not have to fast. There are rules that cover those that can not practice or comply with the demands of Lent.
I could go on and on and write a lot more, but you can look up most of this on your own, and should. Think of Lent as something like good transportation. You need to have a repair and maintenance schedule for you inner workings-the spirit. If you don't take care of your transportation-soul-something is bound to go wrong. I hope readers can makes some sense of what I post because I try to keep it simple. I often run out of ideas to write about and how to present it. So, you see, I need a little rejuvenation-or maybe a lot-myself.
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