Living Lent and Easter Every Day

What if Lent wasn’t just a season… but a way of living? Each year, the Liturgical season of Lent invites us into something deeper: Prayer, Fasting, and Generosity (almsgiving). For forty days, we try a little harder. We become more intentional. We make space for God in ways we might not at other times of the year. But what if Lent is not just something we do… what if it’s something we are meant to become?

Our practice of Prayer, Fasting and Almsgiving are supposed to lead to transformation. It is about becoming people who pray not just occasionally, but regularly; people who give not just when asked, but generously as an act of worship; people who seek God not just in times of need, but daily. Ultimately, through these observances, Lent is about drawing us closer to God and His love for us.

Throughout the Scriptures, we see a God who loves His people so deeply that He does not want them to remain where they are but continually calls them to something more.

Here at OLR, we are always striving to become who God created us to be through our parish vision. We are called to be a vibrant community that actively accompanies people to encounter Jesus. And that encounter, that ‘mountaintop transfiguration moment’ is meant to shape the whole of our lives.

This is an ongoing journey, a continual work in progress, because God’s work in us is never finished. And so each of us is invited to play our role in the life and mission of our parish.

In a few weeks, Holy week will be upon us. Everything we believe as Christians centres on this week. Holy Week is so much more than remembering past events. It is an invitation to walk with Jesus through an encounter of His suffering, death, and Resurrection.

Holy Week begins with Palm Sunday where we see the tension of the human heart. The same voices that cry “Hosanna!” can so quickly turn to “Crucify Him!”. On Holy Thursday, we are given the gift of the Eucharist as we commemorate the Last Supper, and we are shown that love is expressed through humble service as Jesus washes the feet of His disciples. On Good Friday, we stand before the Cross and witness the depth of God’s love poured out for us. Jesus is killed on the cross for our sins and he loves us anyway… how incredibly sobering and unfathomably beautiful. On Easter Saturday the church lays dormant in stillness. It is a day of sombre reflection as we await the promise of new life. And at the Easter Vigil, in the darkness of night, light breaks forth. Christ is risen, and death is defeated. Life wins, Love wins, God wins!

Holy Week is not just something we observe once a year. It reveals the pattern of the Christian life: dying and rising, letting go and receiving anew, turning back to God again and again.

Lent is our spiritual training ground where we build our spiritual muscles. Holy Week is the moment we enter most deeply into the mystery. And Easter is the joy-filled and hope-filled life we are called to live. May you use those spiritual muscles you have trained so vigorously during the 40 days of Lent to keep you spiritually fit throughout the rest of the year. (I’m reminded of the witty church noticeboard: “7 days without prayer makes one week/weak”).

As we journey through the last few weeks of Lent, ask yourself: “Who am I becoming?”. Because when someone truly encounters Jesus, something changes. Desire awakens. Joy begins to grow. And naturally, we begin to share that with others. The Church may plant and water the seeds through its many ministries, but ultimately it is transformed lives and encounters with God, shaped through the rigours of spiritual training, that bear the greatest witness.

Through our Lenten observances, may we become people of prayer, people of discipline, and people of generosity. God is not only preparing our hearts for Easter Sunday, He is preparing us to become an Easter people, not just changed for a day or a season, but transformed for a lifetime! And this is the kind of parish I pray that we may become.

Pilgrim well,
Fr Gerard