The Real Mystery of Lent
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The Real Mystery of Lent
“Immediately afterwards the Spirit drove Jesus out into the wilderness, and he remained there for forty days and was tempted by Satan. He was with the wild beasts, and the angels looked after him.” Mk 1:12-13
As some may be surprised to learn, Ash Wednesday is not the beginning of Lent, but only the beginning of the Lenten fast. The liturgical time of Lent begins this Sunday, and here the liturgy has a different character. The structure of the Sunday Mass is loftier and more noble in its simplicity. Nothing is said about how a sinner feels, and the question of any possible conflict between the mercy and justice of God is not raised. All is bathed in the same pure light of the wilderness where Christ the Lord fasts in solitude and is tempted by the devil.
The dramatic medieval rites of Ash Wednesday may perhaps make a stronger and more immediate appeal to our feelings. The Mass of the first Sunday however leads us deeper into the real mystery of Lent, uniting us more profoundly and more directly with the Christ who, praying and fasting in us, will purify us and offer us together with himself to the Father in the glory of his Easter victory. Thomas Merton