‘Repent and believe in the Gospel.’ The priest or a strong lay Christian speaks these words, inscribing a small cross of ashes on the forehead of each person who comes to the special Ash Wednesday Mass at the beginning of Lent. For two consecutive Lenten seasons, I have been blessed to inscribe a small cross of ashes on the foreheads of little believers and some staff who get engaged in other school duties during time for Mass. Even non-Catholics receive it and testify that it is miraculous, as they get what they didn’t expect.
Lent is forty days from Ash Wednesday to Easter Sunday, excluding Sundays for the Catholic church. It is a time of repentance and preparation, during which Christians strengthen their faith through studying the word of God, fasting, and abstinence. This is the time when believers practice most of their religious beliefs. They get deep in prayer, study, meditation, and sacrifice a lot in terms of arms giving, visiting the sick, and praying for them. The restriction and solemnity of Lent contrast with the celebrations of Easter, the Sunday celebration of Christ’s resurrection from the dead, and a holiday for Christians.
In the early church, this was the initiatory season in which new Christians were prepared through instructions and catechism for the initiation of baptism, which took place on Easter Sunday. Today, Lent is still a preparation for baptism. It is also a time for all Christians to strengthen their faith through study and reflection, fasting and abstinence. During this season, there is abstinence from all meat, fish, and dairy products, especially on Ash Wednesday and every Friday for Catholics; however, for Orthodox churches, the abstinence is for the whole Lenten season.
The last week of Lent is known as the Holy Week. Over this period, worshippers recount, step by step, the events in Christianity at that time, beginning on Palm Sunday, marking Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem, when Christians lay palm branches for Jesus to ride on and hailed him as the long-awaited Savior. What a solemn welcome! what a hail! It was so marvellous from the crowd. He was received with great joy. As he entered riding a donkey, the crowds spread their cloaks, strewed palm branches before Him and cried out, ‘Hosana to the Son of David, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. ‘Hosana in the highest’ [Mt. 21:9] Jesus is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, and He is given a Kingly welcome. It should be noted, however, that the shouts of ‘Hosana’ greetings were very short-lived, only to hear “Crucify Him, crucify Him!” In most Ugandan Catholic churches today, palm branches are sold to Christians at the entrance to the church compound on Palm Sunday. The congregation holds them in high victory and hope, singing ‘Hosana.’
On Holy Thursday of the Holy Week, many churches observe the ‘Last Supper’ of Jesus with his disciples. In some churches, a priest practically washes the feet of his Christian brothers and sisters as he emulates the example of Jesus. On Good Friday, many churches observe a three-hour vigil from noon until three o’clock in the afternoon in what is termed ‘The Way of the Cross,’ the hours Christ hung on the cross before his death. Easter Sunday is the greatest festival of the Christian year. Three days after Jesus’ death, a few of the women who followed him went to his tomb and found it empty. Today, the priest leading the Easter Mass echoes the women’s discovery by exclaiming, ‘Alleluia! Alleluia! Christ is risen!’ The congregation responds, “He is risen indeed! Alleluia!” Tr. Andrew
