3rd Sunday of Lent

During the first centuries of Christianity, the forty days leading up to those celebrations also took on a special significance. Those forty days are called Lent, a name taken from the Old English word meaning “spring.” The liturgical season of Lent is meant to be a time of spiritual spring-training, so to speak: six weeks during which we pay particular attention to prayer, penance, and works of mercy in order to prepare for Holy Week. The more deeply we live Lent, the more abundantly we will be able to receive the spiritual renewal that God wants to give us during the holiest days of the liturgical year.