The beauty of the Lenten Cycle
A man prays during Ash Wednesday Mass on March 5, 2025 at Holy Trinity Parish in Azle. (NTC/Juan Guajardo)
"Unless there is Good Friday in your life, there can be no Easter Sunday.” — Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen
We begin Lent each year on Ash Wednesday — one of only two days the Catholic Church requires us to fast.
Memento, homo, quia pulvis es et in pulverem reverteris: Remember, man, that thou art dust and to dust thou shalt return.
This day is a humbling reminder that our time here on Earth ought to be used well, for it will come to an end. But Father Thomas Merton tells us, “Ash Wednesday is full of joy … the source of all sorrow is the illusion that of ourselves we are anything but dust.” The illusion that we matter more, or that we have more time.
Ash Wednesday, the beginning
Beginning on Ash Wednesday, we spend the next 40 days in diligent preparation through fasting and abstinence. This time can be used to refocus, especially in a world that can be so very distracting. The Catholic Dictionary says “a distracted life will involve distracted prayers. It is therefore incumbent on men to practice silence, solitude, and recollection so far as their state of life permits.”
During this time, we are beginning to develop discipline. Discipline then leads to perseverance. Perseverance is the skill of overcoming one struggle at a time without losing sight of the good, “without being daunted by besetting difficulties."
It is a skill that must be practiced. The struggles will not stop, so we must learn how to overcome them.
During Lent: Persevere for conversion
“The world offers you comfort, but you were not made for comfort. You were made for greatness.” — Pope Benedict XVI
We use this time to focus on our own conversion of heart. The Latin, convertere literally translates to “to turn towards.” To turn our hearts and minds to God, back to God, away from distractions.
St. Catherine of Siena says, “The devil fears hearts on fire with love of God.” Our conversions are powerful and even necessary for spiritual health. We are constantly converting our hearts back to Him in little ways, and it often comes through the struggles we face. This is why it is so vital to develop perseverance.
Conclude with grace
“The most deadly poison of our times is indifference. And this happens, although the praise of God should know no limits. Let us strive, therefore, to praise Him to the greatest extent of our powers.” — St. Maximilian Kolbe
At the end of the 40 days comes the Triduum: from the evening of Holy Thursday until the evening of Easter Sunday — the height of Catholicism, perhaps. Good Friday and Holy Saturday are the only two days on which no Masses are celebrated. We are mourning. We are deprived of the God whom we have just spent weeks turning towards. Good Friday is perhaps the saddest day of the year, and only the second day in which Catholics are required to fast.
Then, after sunset on Holy Saturday, we begin the Easter Vigil with the blessing of the new fire and the procession of the paschal candle into the unlit church. At the gloria in excelsis of the Mass, all the bells are rung! He is truly risen!
Easter Sunday is the feast of all feasts. It is the second Mass of the Easter season, which lasts 56 days. We renew our baptismal vows publicly — to renounce Satan and all his works. We are well prepared and very excited to celebrate the biggest celebration, the very day that exists as the foundation of our faith and our lives. The conclusion of our efforts has been found, our hearts converted, and Jesus resurrected.
Joy for a new beginning
It wasn’t until I hit 30 that I realized my dream of being “finished” would never really happen. It really isn’t “a thing” like that. We are not static beings. We learn and grow in a cyclical manner, always diving deeper and deeper, getting better and better ever so slowly, persevering through many trials large and small. The Church gives us so many new beginnings, why on Earth would we ever think we are done working on ourselves, that we are “finished”?
Katie Leonard studied early childhood education at Oklahoma State University. She has found her passion in home educating her children and passing on the faith to them. Find more of her columns for the North Texas Catholic here.