Christ
The greatest feast of the liturgical year – Easter – is preceded by a forty-day fast, which begins on Ash Wednesday (February 18, 2026) and ends on Easter Eve (April 4, 2026). The length of Lent is determined by the fact that Christ himself fasted in the wilderness for forty days, during which He prepared to fulfill His calling by praying and resisting the temptations of the devil (Matthew 4:1-11).
In this way, the Church participates annually in the mystery of Jesus’ desert through the forty days of Lent. It recalls the time Jesus spent in solitude in the desert, “driven” by the Holy Spirit, immediately after His baptism by John (Mark 1:12). At the end of this time of solitude, Jesus courageously repelled Satan’s attacks and thus proved himself to be God’s servant, completely obedient to God’s will. Thus, Jesus’ victory over the devil in the desert foreshadows his final victory in suffering, which is the greatest sign of the Son’s love and obedience to the Father (CCC 539).
Christian
Contemporary Christians should also build this time in the same way, as a time of solitude, obedience, and fasting, which leads us to prepare for the celebration of the mystery of Easter through the remembrance of baptism and the practice of penance (SC 109). Human beings are a whole, whose spiritual, physical, and social nature are different aspects of the same reality, so that the three practices of penance during Lent (prayer, fasting, and almsgiving), which we hear about in the Gospel of Ash Wednesday (Matt. 6:1-18), help us to convert and strengthen our love for God and our responsibility towards our neighbors.
The prophet Isaiah reminds us of true fasting in this way: “Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please and exploit all your workers. Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife, and in striking each other with wicked fists. You cannot fast as you do today and expect your voice to be heard on high. Is this the kind of fast I have chosen, only a day for people to humble themselves? Is it only for bowing one’s head like a reed and for lying in sackcloth and ashes? Is that what you call a fast, a day acceptable to the Lord? “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter — when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood? Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard. Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.” (Isaiah 58:3-9, NIV)
Love for one’s neighbor
Lent calls us in a special way to live out this love for our neighbor. It obliges us all to strengthen our love, deepen our faith, and strengthen our hope, that is, to continually convert and renew our lives. In our church, there are now only two days associated with abstinence and fasting, namely Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, not to mention that during Lent, a fast offering is collected for a good cause chosen by Caritas Finland. This year’s Lenten collection will be directed towards helping the poor in Finland. Only in God’s love and love for our neighbor can we find true happiness and salvation.
Lent gives us a favorable liturgical time to deepen our understanding of Christ’s salvation and strive to realize its impact in our lives. The Risen Lord calls us to conversion and offers us the grace of repentance. Lent is therefore a new season of grace for us!
I wish you all a truly blessed Lent and a grace-filled Easter celebration to come!
Fr. Tri Nguyen
Lähde:
- Vatikaanin II kirk.kok., konstituutio Pyhästä liturgiasta eli Sacrosanctum Concilium (4.12.1963)
- Paavi Paavali VI, apostolinen kirje Mysterii Paschalis (14.2.1969), Roomalainen Messukirja, ss. 79-81
- Yleiset ohjeet kirkkovuotta ja kalenteria varten, Roomalainen Messukirja, ss. 82-101
- Helsingin hiippakunnan kalenterin mukainen, Ordo, Kirkkovuosi 2024-2025, KATT 2024, ss. 2-7.
- Katolisen kirkon katekismus, LEV & KATT, Jyväskylä 2005, II osa, nrot 1163-1178