The past two Lents did not have that same thread of hope. He also said this year has the added hope that "by the time we get to Easter, the pandemic we're experiencing will look different." And with wisdom acquired in the past two years, he also added: "There are no guarantees there could be new (coronavirus) variants." ![]() ![]() We go through that to get to Easter," he said. "As Christian people, we believe our destination is not Good Friday. "We are living with long-term, low-grade trauma, " he said, adding that for many, the pain is just under the surface and he sees Lent as the antidote. Paulist Father Larry Rice, campus chaplain for Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York, agreed, saying the church is more than ready for Lent 2022 and he hopes it will help people "respond to all the trauma we have been through." The desert experience of Lent has already been lived out and with so many people exhausted from the past two years, she said this Lent offers new opportunities to find peace, community and faith. "It seems like this is the Lent we're most prepared for we've all sacrificed so much" she said. But this year, she thinks Lent's usual traditions might have a different feel. Jen Sawyer, editor-in-chief of Busted Halo, a Paulist website and satellite radio program, said in times of uncertainty, people "rely on muscle memory" of traditional faith practices they are used to. So many Catholics like the ritual of Lent and all of its "bells and smells," she said, which makes this season a great opportunity "to pull them back in the best way." "Lent is the perfect opportunity to recalculate the internal GPS" of where we're going, Poust said, speaking about individuals but also more broadly about what parishes can do as they look to welcome people back. Poust, who teaches yoga, leads retreats and writes a blog called "Not Strictly Spiritual," said that during recent virtual retreats she has led, it's obvious how much people want to reconnect in person.Īnd maybe this Lent, which starts on Ash Wednesday, March 2, is the time to do just that, she said about being with the parish community: gathering for Mass, prayer services and also for the returning soup suppers and fish fries.Īfter the tremendous losses of the past two years, she said, this Lent could be a good time for a reset. "It's a perfect storm: lower (coronavirus) numbers just as Lent approaches," said Mary DeTurris Poust, former communications director for the Diocese of Albany, New York. Lent, the spiritual season of prayer and sacrifice, has an extra pull to it this year because once again - and now for the third time - it will be under the cloud of the coronavirus pandemic.Īnd even though the third Lent in a pandemic can feel like a lot like a Jesus' third fall on the road to Calvary, people who spoke with Catholic News Service focused more on the season's path to Easter and how this year's Lent also coincides with an optimism around COVID-19 cases dropping in the U.S.
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