LENT - EASTER

The period of time from Ash Wednesday, through the forty days of Lent, through Easter (another forty days), to the Feast of the Ascension, marks the holiest time in the Church Year. The liturgy changes on Ash Wednesday and the "Alleluia" disappears until the Great Vigil of Easter, the great procession of choir and clergy also goes, and the community is gathered in the round, facing one another. This is the "rabbinical circle" in which the Faithful are asked to recall the words of our rabbi Jesus and to meditate on these words as part of the season of preparation for Easter. Also `hidden' is the ornate brass, and the silver communion vessels which not only note the penitential season but are a reminder that in the early church the practice was to literally bury the valuable appointments until the Great Vigil. The sacrament is received standing up at the 10:30 Eucharist to mark the continuing journey of Exodus from that which enslaves to the promised land of new birth. Finally, the congregation is invited to kneel during the Eucharistic prayer to indicate the willingness to accept the grace of God in order to enjoy our resurrection. In a sense the church strips down for the season of preparation – Lent -- looking to the essentials of the Faith and listening for the voice of Jesus. As with all of the liturgical seasons, this practice is all geared to prepare us for the personal faith journey into which we were baptized.