Why is Lent so Important?

Every year we go through a period of forty days of Lent. Lent begins on Ash Wednesday and ends with the Holy Week. From our younger days, we have been taught about so many religious observances during the lent period, such as fasting, prayer and various sacrifices. The Church invites us to cleanse our souls, go for confession and prepare ourselves for the events of Holy Week. The period of Lent is considered as a sacred time, where you make special efforts to become a better person and strengthen our relationship with our Lord. Various religious activities such as The Way of the Cross, Pilgrimages and other activities are organized by churches, in order to help people to prepare themselves during Lent.

As much as it is important and good to follow these religious rituals year after year, we need to actually understand why this period is so sacred. The Holy Week ends with the suffering, death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Easter Sunday is the day that Our Lord was risen from the dead. Through this death and resurrection, we have been given a new life. Our sins have been forgiven and the broken relationship between us and Our Heavenly Father has been restored. Just imagine, what our plight would be without this beautiful plan of salvation. Through this great event, Our Lord shows us how much He loves us. The suffering, humiliation and pain that Jesus goes through, during this event, is just unthinkable. And cannot be performed by an ordinary human being. This suffering is the ultimate act of love and nothing less to that.

When we go through the Holy Week, we see so many ups and downs in Our Lord Jesus' life. The Holy Week begins with Palm Sunday. Jesus enters Jerusalem in grand manner amidst praise from the people and finally these people crucify Him. And then Jesus immerges victoriously by Rising from the dead on Easter Sunday. Just imagine the emotional storm that He had to go through. When we actually understand the weight of this event and the significance this event had on mankind, we realize the magnitude of the Holy Week and Easter Sunday in particular.

With this understanding, we also realize the immense love that Our Lord has for us.

So we need a significant period to prepare for these events. That is why the period of Lent is so important and the church emphasizes on this. Amidst all the religious observances, we need to really remember why all this is important and really prepare ourselves to commemorate what can be considered as the greatest event for us Christians.