Have you noticed the daylight hours are already lasting a little longer? That means the season of Lent must be near at hand! “Lent” derives from the old English word for “spring” (“lencten”), the season which marks the lengthening of days. And, in fact, the three week season of Pre-Lent begins on Sunday with Septuagesima Sunday–the Sunday closest to 70 days before Easter.

The key to a profitable Lent is understanding where we are headed! As we make our annual trek through this season, may we recognize with growing anticipation (supported by the light of the heavens, which declare daily the glory of God) that the Resurrection is coming!

But the Resurrection of Christ that we celebrate at Easter is more than a commemorative date on the calendar. It was and is the beginning of the new creation of which those in Christ are a part, the consummation of which we await in the final Resurrection at the return of Christ.

O GOD, whose days are without end, and whose mercies cannot be numbered; Make us, we beseech thee, deeply sensible of the shortness and uncertainty of human life; and let thy Holy Spirit lead us through this vale of misery, in holiness and righteousness, all the days of our lives: That, when we shall have served thee in our generation, we may be gathered unto our fathers, having the testimony of a good conscience; in the communion of thy Church; in the confidence of a certain faith; in the comfort of a reasonable, religious, and holy hope; in favour with thee our God, and in perfect charity with the world. All which we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (Book of Common Prayer)

Hope to see you at Christ Church on Sunday!