Ash Wednesday

"At once the Spirit sent him out into the desert, and he was in the desert forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him" (Mark 1:12-13).

Lent is not a season to celebrate, I think. And yet as Ash Wednesday approached, I felt the anticipation building. Here is a time set aside around the world for penance and fasting in anticipation of the true celebration: Christ's resurrection at Easter. In observing this season, we commemorate Christ's forty days of fasting in the wilderness. We identify ourselves with His suffering among us. We chasten our flesh for the purpose of strengthening our spirits. We give up some things in order to more fully depend on those more nourishing to our souls.

May the Lord keep you from the hour of temptation.