Pre-Lent Contest at Tim's Catholic Bibles Blog

I am a fan of Tim's Catholic Bibles blog. Tim is a scholar of scripture and lover of all things Bible related. He is running a pre-Lent contest, the subject of which is, "What does Lent mean to you?"

The number 40 in the Bible often represented a time of testing. Israel wandered in the desert for 40 years, recapitulated in the life of Christ during his 40 days in the wilderness where he was tempted by Satan. Lent to me means a time of testing. Much like Israel, and unlike Christ, I will probably fail along the way.  At the end of that number 40 however, is the promised land and the resurrection. At the end of that number 40 is the risen, glorified Jesus who I long for with all my heart. You have to go through the tomb to get to the resurrection. You have to go through 40 days of Lent to get to the tomb. It is the way of the Cross and is the way of the Resurrection.

That is what Lent means to me.


-Tim-