Lent
Today is the first of the six Sundays in Lent.
In last week’s Window we read about how Ash Wednesday marked the beginning of this liturgical season, a period of spiritual preparation for the great feast of Easter.
We also found out about different ways we can individually approach this preparation, including giving something up or deciding to do something extra like attending the Lent Course here at St Stephen’s. It is often helpful to remember that in order to encourage us in our Lenten resolutions, the Church does quite a lot of other things in terms of sights and sounds to help keep us in the right spiritual mood and to remind us that others throughout the world are taking part this journey too.
It is not something that we do alone. Church services often take a quieter and more reflective tone during this time and many churches will mark the season by removing decorations such as fresh flowers. Some will change their altar frontals to purple or blue, colours which symbolise penitence and the possibility of reconciliation.
Others will mark the solemnness of these weeks by only allowing their church organ to be used to accompany hymns, removing the traditional organ voluntary from the end of the service. Most poignantly of all however, in many churches that great exclamation of joy that is used to greet the reading of the Gospel, “Alleluia,” will remain unheard until the celebrations of Easter begin.
This, along with the absence of the Gloria, makes their sudden reappearance at the Easter Vigil all the more dramatic and powerful. Lent might have started a few days ago, but if you have not yet decided either to give something up or to do something extra, do not worry. It is never too late to start down the path of your Lenten journey, joining others as they travel towards Easter!
Tomos Reed (Curate)
1 March 2020
