time to reflect

Lent is a Church Season that lasts 40 days prior to Easter. It began on Ash Wednesday which fall on 21st Feb this year, a day after our wedding. Marriage is strictly forbidden during Lent, which explained the wedding rush days before that. It was thought that misfortune would come to those who married during lent - "Marry in Lent, live to repent" - simply because lent was a time for abstinence. Our poor priest had to conduct wedding mass back-to-back from 8am-9am, 9am-10am, 10am-11am and ours at 11am-12noon, plus some other mass in the afternoon. Thank God that not only Father Paul didn't collapse in exhaustion, but he was in a jovial mood that day, opposing to his normal strict disciplinarian self. :)

Lent is a time of reflection and penance, a season of soul-searching and repentance. When I was young, the only thing that I associate lent with was the brown coloured envelop handed to us by our class teacher for the Lenten donation drive purpose. Since all of us were from convent school, mum and dad had 4 envelops to fill year in and year out. As we grow older, we have been constantly brainwashed into giving things up for penance, especially things that we enjoyed. Lent, really focuses on our Baptismal promises as well. How easy to try and give up something for Lent? Not easy at all. Lately, my guilty pleasure has been the crisp almond biscuit. Unfortunately, I'd finish the whole jar before I manage to give it up. Not good. Not good at all for both my spiritual health and physical health. What are your everyday pleasures, that you know you can love without but you choose not to? Internet? Coffee? Astro? Women's magazines? I'm guilty.

Well, during the time of Lent, every time we crave what we desire and deprive ourselves of that something, we are reminded of what others are deprived of all the time and it gives us compassion. To really understand, empathically– not sympathically, what it’s like. For this reason, Lent serves a perfect time to reflect.