ALLENTOWN, Pa. – Ash Wednesday has arrived once again.
These 40 days invite Christians to sacrifice and to slow down before Holy Thursday and the Easter Sunday resurrection.
A centuries-old tradition is renewed at the Cathedral of St. Catherine of Sienna in Allentown.
As winter loosens its grip on the Lehigh Valley, the season of Lent arrives as the light lingers a little longer each evening. It brings into focus the quiet signs of life that have been patiently waiting beneath the surface.
“Only through the mercy of God and through the death of Jesus Christ on the cross, are our sins able to be forgiven,” explained Bishop Alfred A. Schlert of the Diocese of Allentown.
Inside the Connelly Chapel on the campus of DeSales University, Lent mirrors the renewal of the spring season. What has felt frozen is gently warmed again, by hope and attention to faith.
“Being a part of Lent, and giving up something, you feel a part of the church, and feel closer to God,” said student Gavin Baldwin.
Like the change from winter to spring, Lent teaches us to trust slow change, and to prepare for better days ahead, through sharing, fasting and prayer.
“Me personally, it’s a great time of year to create good habits and really reflect,” said DeSales student Phil Ritchie.
The season gives us time to reconcile our habits, and even our flaws, with our hopes. The ashes a reminder of our creation and mortality.
“It’s a wonderful thing when it unites in a visual sign of that faith for many people,” said Fr. Daniel Lannen, DeSales Chaplain.
Lent draws us closer to Jesus Christ, reminding us that transformation often begins in small, and quiet ways.
Like the sunlight returning to the soil.
Christians in our area received their ashes, which represent mortality and renewal.
Lent focuses on Jesus’ 40 days in the desert, preparing for Easter.