A Lenten Journey of Hope and Renewal

We have entered this Jubilee Year of Hope. We are also about to enter the season of Lent where we are invited to examine our Christian life and to reflect on how we can be more faithful in our witness of Christ by turning away from sin and undertaking spiritual practices of detachment so that we become pilgrims of faith and hope. Lent invites us to pray more frequently, give alms, and fast, which can instill in us a “graced self-discipline” to helps us to avoid the sins that draw us away from the love of God and neighbour.

The word Lent comes from the Anglo-Saxon word that means “springtime” since this liturgical season normally occurs during the month of March, the time of the spring solstice. Lent can also be understood as a springtime of the soul – a time to renew our faith, the grace of our baptism, through spiritual practices that promote both conversion and growth in our Christian life. 

In many ways the spirit of Lent is signified in our Ash Wednesday  celebration when this spiritual pilgrimage begins with the sign of the cross on our foreheads with ashes. It is intended to remind ourselves of the constant need to turn away from sin in our lives and of the humility of ongoing penance, which allows God’s grace to renew us with His mercy and forgiveness and to heal and to restore the divine life we received in baptism. It is through the discipline of our passions during Lent that we experience a renewed confidence in the spiritual experience of the victory of the cross of Christ. Therefore, the Church encourages us to engage in acts of discipline or penance – fasting, abstinence, prayer, and almsgiving or charity. This spirit of repentance should not only be inward and individual but also outward and social, and should be directed toward works of mercy on behalf of our brothers and sisters.

It is true that Lent is a time of discipline but also one of conversion, of being a more authentic and faithful disciple of Christ. We are called to be a living witness of him who gives us new life and who asks us to share this with others.  Lent can teach us to witness to the love of Christ in a radical way. Fasting and abstinence has many motivations but for Christians it takes on a religious significance – by rendering our life poorer, we learn to overcome selfishness in order to live and love as Christ did. It is a time of renewal when we can distance ourselves from our “ego” to discover the face of God in so many of our brothers and sisters. In our life’s journey we face the temptation to accumulate material goods which can erode our dependence on God in our lives. Almsgiving opens us up to the capacity to share with others and to restore the primacy of God in our lives with respect to the material goods we have received and to turn our attention towards others who are in need, who are truly the face of Christ. 

Fasting and abstinence has many motivations but for Christians it takes on a religious significance – by rendering our life poorer, we learn to overcome selfishness in order to live and love as Christ did." ​

Through our parishes we are offered an abundance of opportunities to pray in this season of Lent. The Rosary, the Stations of the Cross, Eucharistic Adoration, and the attentive listening to the Word of God especially in the Sunday readings of Lent to nourish the faith that we received in our Baptism. Prayer also allows us to gain a new concept of time in the busyness of our lives. For in prayer, we find God who is always present to us at every moment of our lives. Listening to God in prayer is an important part of our life of faith. God desires to speak to us and we listen to the promptings of the Spirit through the graces of both consolation and desolation that we receive from God in our time of prayer. 

To be in Christ means to serve our brothers and sisters in this Lenten Season  – and through our acts of prayer, penance and almsgiving receive the fruits of our redemption through Christ." 

Entering the season of Lent during this Jubilee Year of Hope, we are invited to receive the Jubilee indulgence so as to live our Christian life in a more meaningful way. To see our strivings, failings, and the gift of salvation that we receive through Christ as the ongoing source of renewal in our lives. To accomplish this, Jesus asks us to follow His example. To be in Christ means to serve our brothers and sisters in this  Lenten Season  – and through our acts of prayer, penance and almsgiving receive the fruits of our redemption through Christ. It is through these annual spiritual practices that the grace of our Lord prepares our heart to profess our belief in the gift of the Resurrection that we celebrate at Easter. With these in mind, let us be pilgrims of hope in this Jubilee Year.

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Written by Most Rev.  William T. McGrattan, Bishop of Calgary
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​Mar 2, 2025

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