As the Diocese of Brooklyn began the Lenten season with Mass at the Cathedral Basilica of St. James in Downtown Brooklyn on Ash Wednesday, Bishop Robert Brennan opened the season of fasting, prayer, and almsgiving — the three pillars of Lent with an optimistic tone. “We begin the season of repentance and conversion. First is good news that there is room and opportunity for conversion in the light of God’s love,” Bishop Brennan said.
“God gives us the ability to turn once again to him. This is a chance for us to deepen our relationship with the Lord, and we always do so in the light of God’s love for us.” The Lenten season should not be looked upon as just a pious period leading up to the Easter miracle, but of a time of joyous reflection of our own baptism and how it affects our present life. Celebrate that the Lord is an important part of your life. The repentance aspect of Lent can be found through the sacrament of Reconciliation.
This year, Reconciliation Monday will be held on April 14. The Tablet is highlighting the conversion portion of the season this week by writing profiles of candidates undergoing the Rite of Election to become Catholics by preparing to receive the sacraments of baptism, Communion, and confirmation prior to Easter. As the United States Catholic Conference of Bishops (USCCB) wrote, “In Lent, the baptized are called to renew their baptismal commitment as others prepare to be baptized through the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults, a period of learning and discernment for individuals who have declared their desire to become Catholics.
“The Lenten season’s 40 days of observations draws its length by honoring the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring the temptations of Satan, according to the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Afterward, Jesus began his public ministry. The 40-day fast that Jesus did in the desert was a direct reference to the fasts of Moses and Elijah chronicled in the Old Testament. Yes, we too, need to endure our own 40-day sojourn through Lent.
However, we undertake it with the strength in knowing that our faith will be renewed through the joyous resurrection of Jesus. Another aspect of the Lenten season is the Stations of the Cross, which commemorates Jesus’s passion and death on the cross. There are 14 stations, each depicting a moment on his journey to Calvary, usually through sacred art, prayers, and reflections. The practice began as pious pilgrims traced his path through Jerusalem on the Via Dolorosa.
The Lenten season is not just a time of penance, fasting, and solemn worship, but an opportunity for profound joy and renewal as we prepare our hearts for the resurrection. As Pope Francis said in his 2025 Message for Lent: “God is asking us to examine whether in our lives, in our families, in the places where we work and spend our time, we are capable of walking together with others, listening to them, resisting the temptation to become self-absorbed and to think only of our own needs.” During this Jubilee Year, let us rejoice in this time of preparation for the risen Lord and support one another in faith and love, knowing he will rise.