At the heart of Lent is the larger story of God and our relationship to faith and prayer.
If we are asked what Lent means, we may answer by outlining what we believe. Lent, for example, reminds us that we are sinners and strengthens our belief that Jesus died to save us from our sins. This is true, of course, but a more powerful response might be to tell stories. That is true also of answering other deep questions. If we are asked about our family relationships, for example, telling stories about childhood illnesses, the death of a parent, moving house and depression may be more informative than answering abstractly.
That is true also of Lent. At its heart is a story around which we have built our lives. It is a story that gathers other stories around it. At the heart of Lent is the large story of God who, through the death and rising of Jesus, has forgiven our sins and given us life. That led Christians to dedicate a special feast to celebrate Jesus’ dying and rising. This story was surrounded by layers of other stories that were embedded in prayer and other Christian practices.
FASTING MARKS SERIOUSNESS
These included fasting, a regular part of Jewish and later of Christian practice. Fasting marked seriousness. It was associated with acknowledging sin and communal renewal of faith. The fast was then surrounded by other stories relevant to Jesus’ death. They included the story of God freeing the Jewish people from slavery in Egypt, which was celebrated in the feast of the Passover. The link to the Passover was central in Jesus’ own faith and to the Gospel story of Jesus’ death.
The length of the forty-day Lent fast was also shaped by stories. The people of Israel spent forty years in the desert before entering the promised land. Jesus spent forty days fasting and praying in the desert for forty days before beginning his public ministry. Shaped by these stories, the Lent fast was lengthened from five weeks to forty days.
When the Roman Empire tolerated Christianity, allowing Christians to return to Jerusalem, another layer of story was added. During the Lenten Fast, Christians in Jerusalem celebrated Jesus’ last days in the city from his entrance to Jerusalem through to the Last Supper, imprisonment, and crucifixion. The stories of each of these days and their associated ceremonies were gradually adopted by the rest of the Church in the celebration of Lent.
RISING TO A NEW CHRISTIAN LIFE
In the Scriptures the story of Jesus’ baptism was also linked to his death and rising. Christians died with Christ in baptism and rising to a new Christian life. Preparation for Baptism and its celebration became central to Lent. During Lent, too, Christians also confessed serious public sins and dressed in sackcloth and ashes before being received back into the Church at Easter. This story is reflected in the sombre colours of Lent and in the sprinkling of ashes on Ash Wednesday (18 February 2026).
The large story of Lent is of God’s journey with the human race through creation and through calling the people of Israel to be his own. It focuses on Jesus’ journey with us on earth and particularly on his final journey to eat which his disciples, to the humiliation of arrest torture and death, and to rising from the dead.
GOD’S JOURNEY
The lesser story of Lent is of our entry into God’s journey with us through Christ. In our Lenten journey we ask ourselves what matters to us. Ideally, we shall reply by describing our story of growing in love.
Finally, Lent is a shared human story. A story of prayer together, of reflecting together on the Gospel, of joining with people who are preparing for Baptism, of recognising our common weakness and receiving forgiveness, and of sharing in the joy and light of Easter.
Fr Andrew Hamilton SJ is an editorial consultant at Jesuit Communications
