8 2 1 3 4 5 10 9 8 7 6 11 16 15 14 13 12 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 28 27 26 25 Ash Wednesday First Sunday Second Sunday Third Sunday Fourth Sunday Fifth Sunday My Forty-Day Journey THE KEYS TO MY LENTEN JOURNEY The color of the priest's vesture should be purple. Purple is the liturgical color of times of penance and of the expectation of Christ, and, therefore, the color of the great seasons of preparation: Advent and Lent. ASH WEDNESDAY, the first day of Lent, is a day of fasting. At Mass, the priest draws a cross on the foreheads of the faithful with ashes. The ashes are made from the dried palm branches that were blessed on Palm Sunday of the previous year. Ashes remind us that we are fragile, that we always need God to live. We must then remain humble. The Sign of the Cross recalls the love of God for us, and for all men. God is waiting for our answer, and we will respond with love as we make efforts to change and be more holy. At Mass during the Lenten season, the joyful acclamation Alleluia is not said or sung. It is replaced by other words. The organ and other musical instruments remain silent (unless the people are singing) and there are no flowers on the altar, except on the fourth Sunday of Lent and on solemnities and feasts. On the altar, the candlesticks will be simpler as well. Sundays are not counted in these forty days of Lent, for each Sunday reminds us of the day of Jesus’ Resurrection on Easter Sunday. The crosses and statues in churches are veiled with purple cloth on the fifth Sunday of Lent. We fast from their beauty and focus our worship on the suffering of the Lord, whose Passion is now near. Some churches will wait for Holy Thursday, veiling them closer to the time when the Holy Sacrament will be placed on the altar of repose. The fourth Sunday of Lent is Laetare Sunday. In Latin, Laetare means “to rejoice.”We can glimpse the joys of Easter approaching. The priest might wear rose-colored vestments.
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