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LENT—TIME TO REPENT AND FORGIVE

Mar 24, 2018 Editorial, Features / Columnists

We are into the Lenten season, which is the holiest period on the Christian calendar. Lent traditionally lasts for forty days to commemorate with the forty days Jesus Christ spent fasting in the desert where he was tempted by Satan.
In Guyana as in many other countries, Lent is the solemn observance by Catholics, Anglicans, Lutherans, Methodists and Evangelicals among others. Its interest is heightened in the annual commemoration of Holy Week, which marks the crucifixion of Christ on Good Friday and the joyful celebration of his resurrection on Easter Sunday.
Purple is the official colour used by Christians during Lent. It is the colour of repentance for sins and it also symbolises the state of our souls. Churches that celebrate Lent use the darkest shade of purple for this special season. Most churches may also strip bare of their usual decorations adorning the walls to honour the sacrifices made by Christ.
Lent began as a way for Catholics to repent for their sins. According to the Scriptures, the austerity of the Lenten season was seen as similar to how people in the Old Testament fasted and repented in sackcloth and ashes. However, over the centuries, Lenten observances have developed a much more sacramental value. Many Catholics believe that giving something up for Lent is a way to attain God’s grace. The Bible teaches that grace cannot be earned; grace is the gift of righteousness.
The observance of Lent has varied throughout the centuries due to different cultures, but the basic concept remains the same. Lent is a period of fasting, abstinence, repentance, prayer, moderation, spiritual discipline, almsgiving and the giving up of certain luxuries in order to replicate the sacrifice of Jesus.
It is the season of forgiveness and an opportunity to open the heart a little wider and come to terms with our own human condition in order to receive the blessings of God. It is not just another day to go to Church on Good Friday and Easter Sunday.
Lenten fast was established in the 4th century as 46 days (40 days, not counting Sundays). It is six weeks of self-discipline and a time of reflection and positive change and for believers to get closer to God in preparation for the grand celebration of Easter.
During the six weeks, Sundays are not for fasting, but as a commemoration of the Sunday that Christ resurrected. Christians would normally fast from Monday to Saturday for six weeks from Ash Wednesday to the Saturday before Easter Sunday. During Lent, Christians eat sparingly and many would give up a particular food or a habit.
Christians believe that there is absolutely nothing wrong with fasting or to forgive others. It helps them to focus on Jesus’ death and resurrection and to repent for their sins. During and after Lent, Christians pray for their brothers and sisters and even those who are not Christians. They also pray for those who lost their lives by accidents on the roads, by gang violence, armed robberies and by the senseless murders, which have defied logic and continue to baffle the nation.
In this Lenten season, people must seek to resolve conflicts without the use of weapons. Lent is also the time to pray for national leaders to repent, forgive and reflect on their priorities, put aside their biases, differences and partisan politics and solve the nation’s problems.
But Christians or otherwise, people must pray for peace and for a prosperous Guyana.

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