Just as each season of the year has its own qualities, so do the seasons of the Church Year. Lent, the season leading up to the Passion and Resurrection of Jesus Christ, is a time for introspection, for repentance, fasting, and for renewed commitment to God and gratitude for God’s gracious love. Our worship together is different because of these qualities.
Look around you. The colors of the altar hangings and vestments are now a deep purple. The Sanctuary (altar area) has been simplified without flowers and fewer candles on the altar. And the candles that are there are covered in burlap or purple fabric. The processional cross is also covered in purple fabric.
The tone of our worship is likewise more austere. There are no organ voluntaries and the procession out of worship will be in silence. Worship will begin with the Lenten Exhortation and the Decalogue or Ten Commandments each week. There will be silence following the readings and the sermon – a time for reflection. Even in the midst of Lent, we celebrate the reality of the Resurrection and so, the Eucharist and our joyful thanksgiving of Christ’s giving of himself for us is still the heart of our worship. The service often closes with a Solemn Prayer Over the People, a silent procession and the dismissal.
During the six weeks of Lent, the first readings highlight the covenant relationship that God establishes with the people, while the epistles and Gospels constitute an album of snapshots that capture Jesus bringing God’s love to the world. It is clear that the readings for Lent focus on what God has done out of love, rather than on what we might do out of guilt.
The readings do much more than simply describe the saving action of God. They call us to respond to that divine magnanimity. Mercy and love have been offered to us; our acceptance of divine solicitude will prompt us to change the sinfulness of our lives. This is the reason for our penance, the meaning of the season.
