Lent is often portrayed as a journey from one point in time to another. Commencing at Ash Wednesday to the beginning of the period known as the Triduum it allows us to deeply reflect internally so our external actions imitate the resurrection and living God. Lent invites us to renew our baptismal promises to reject sin in all its forms and to turn our attention to what we believe as members of the Catholic Church. Some scholars believe the origins of forty days of Lent was developed around the same time as the First Council of Nicaea in 325A.D. exactly 1700 years ago. While the Nicene Creed was first adopted at this Council, we recite the Apostles Creed during Lent and Easter as the baptismal promises are directly derived from this statement of faith. Those journeying to become Catholic celebrate the Rite of Elect on the First Sunday in Lent and the sacraments of initiation at the Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday.

Lent is also a penitential period when we attempt to develop a deeper understanding of the role of sin in our lives. This awareness of sin and our need for penance and forgiveness is emphasised through our focus on the Passion of the Lord, his suffering and death. This journey assists us in our transformation as we move from one state to another, a state that is renewed by hope in the Paschal Mystery, so we truly understand why the risen Jesus matters.

Having recently read ‘Why the Risen Jesus Matters’ by Charles Waddell I was struck by his reflections which I believe take us on a Journey of Hope.

“You and I and all of us are also chosen to be on a journey: a deep inner journey from slavery to liberation, to become all we are divinely called to be, whether we realise it or not.” [1]

“It is not unlike the disciples’ U-turn from Emmaus to Jerusalem after realising their encounter with the risen Jesus. Practically speaking, for us this means (1) a heightened sense of our own vulnerability and weakness and those of others, (2) less brittleness toward our own faults and failures and more compassion toward others and their foibles, however hurtful and offensive, and (3) a bewildering depth of faith we may not have known possible, in the shepherding hand of divine love, the risen Jesus.” [2]

“Our wounds, faults, make us more beautiful, more valuable, not less, in the hands of the risen Jesus. It may be compared to kintsugi, the Japanese art of fixing broken pottery with lacquer mixed with precious gold, silver, or platinum. The greater the breakage, the more treasured lacquer must be used. So, too, with you and me. The greater our wounds, the greater the possibility of his priceless repair making us ever more glorious handiworks of God and ever more displaying his intimate, intense, unconditional love. It is in the thick of life where we are greatly blessed. When we may realise that we can’t do it alone, when we realise, we need the risen Jesus the most, when we seem furthest from the promised land—it is then that the risen Jesus takes us by the hand, and we may realise that he was with us all along.” [3]

As we enter Lent during the 2025 Jubilee Year, as Pilgrims of Hope, let us use this time as an opportunity to reflect and seek forgiveness so we can experience the unlimited nature of God’s Mercy.  Pope Francis’ Lenten message- Let us journey together in hope ‘proposes a few reflections on what it means to journey together in hope, and on the summons to conversion that God in his mercy addresses to all of us, as individuals and as a community.’[4]

You are invited to use the Diocesan Lenten resource to reveal the mystery of God each week through the scriptures, faith sharing and consider how we are called to be constant companions in the journey of hope.

To access the resource go to: https://www.mn.catholic.org.au/media/7345/0007121-dio-2024-lenten-program-web-v2.pdf

To access Pope Francis’ 2025 Lenten Message- Let us journey together in hope, to go: https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/en/bollettino/pubblico/2025/02/25/250225b.html

 

[1] Charles Waddell, Why the Risen Jesus Matters, St Pauls Publications Australia, 2024, 36.

[2] ibid, 38.

[3] ibid 47 & 48.

[4] Pope Francis, Lenten Message- Let us Journey together in hope https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/en/bollettino/pubblico/2025/02/25/250225b.html,2025

 

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