The hope of Lent lies in our anticipation of the Glorious Resurrection of Our Lord.
It also lies within us as beings who are ‘diurnal,’ whose time is daytime and sunlight.
Lent encourages us to contemplate and find in prayer, renewed hearts, and souls. It reminds us to strive to live in ways worthy of the Easter gift Jesus gave us: the triumph of life over death. It marks forever the triumph of love over despair, the triumph of hope over fear.
With Lent, the Solstice draws nearer, days are growing longer, and many of us who rise in the dark to begin the day’s work, see the soul-lifting daybreak coming ever earlier.
Our morning prayers of praise should also include our thanks for the gift of that sweet abundance of longer light. We can rejoice that as the Lord’s victory approaches, so does the morning sun remind us that the victory is coming ever closer. Just as the Star led the Magi to Bethlehem, the longer sunlight hours are leading us to Easter. They are symbols for us, symbols that the Lenten days embody radiant hope and the growth of faith within us.
May we all find greater hope and joy through Lent’s holy, lengthening days.
