Lent, Holy Week and Easter
Lent, Holy Week and Easter
Lent is a season for investing time and care in our relationship with God. Many people make extra time for daily bible reading and prayer during Lent.
The Sacred Season of Lent is a journey we undertake each year with our Lord Jesus Christ – from his public ministry through his betrayal, passion and death by crucifixion, to his resurrection and ascension to God’s right hand.
The story has its origins in history and is interwoven with rich symbolism. It is the story of our redemption from the power of evil that began in the Garden of Eden, through the Old Testament teaching on sacrifice that atones for sin and which prophets insisted had moral consequences for those seeking salvation or wholeness. Jesus Christ conquered death and sin, and we are called in the New Testament to walk in his footsteps to fulfilment and glory. In Lent, we make time to survey the wondrous Cross that makes this possible.
Easter is a time of reflection, tradition and symbolism. So, what’s the meaning behind the symbols of Easter.
2024 Lenten Resources
Anglican Board of Mission
'God's Own Country' Based on the Seven Days of Creation and with stunningly beautiful paintings by the Rev’d Aunty Robyn Davis, ‘God’s Own Country’ is an essential, life-giving and challenging study.
Common Grace
Lenten video series from Christian leaders exploring the teachings of Jesus and their application today
Loyola Press
The Ignatian Workout for Lent - 40 Days of Prayer, Reflection, and Action
Resources for your Lenten journey - Daily Reflections, Prayers and Devotions, Art, Family and Children’s Activities, Reading List for Ash Wednesday, Lent and Holy Week
Books
Lent For Everyone: Mark Year B
Gathered into One: Devotions for Lent 2024
Abraham: A Journey Through Lent
Palm Sunday
Falling on the Sunday before Easter, Palm Sunday marks Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem. This is done with the distribution of palm leaves tied into crosses. It is these same crosses which are burnt the following Ash Wednesday with the ash marked on the foreheads of worshippers.
Stations of the Cross
Stations of the Cross is also called Way of Sorrow or simply The Way. This is a series of artistic representations, very often sculptural. They depict Christ carrying the cross to his crucifixion in the final hours (or Passion) before he died. The devotions use the series to commemorate the Passion, often moving physically around a set of stations. The tradition as chapel devotion began with St Francis of Assisi and extended throughout the Roman Catholic Church in the medieval period. It is commonly observed in Lutheranism and amongst the Anglo-Catholic wing of Anglicanism.
The Way of the Cross
Credit: The Book of Occasional Services, by The Episcopal Church in the United States of America, Church Publishing: New York, 2018.
Lent, Holy Week and Easter Resources
Each liturgical feast, fast and season has its own special character. To help congregations travel through the whole spiritual landscape of the Church’s year, these resources are provided for some key events: Ash Wednesday and its focus on repentance and returning to God, Passion Sunday also known as Palm Sunday with its dramatic readings from the Gospels, Maundy Thursday and the washing of feet, Good Friday and its solemn celebration of the Lord’s death, and the great Vigil of Easter, complete with lighting of the new fire, special readings and psalms, renewal of baptismal promises and celebration of the resurrection.
For the other Sundays and weekdays of Lent and the Easter Season, up to and including Pentecost, variations on the “Gathering in God’s Name” section of the Eucharist are also offered.