Ask Ellen: Why do Catholics take Lent to the extreme and make it so depressing? Jason, CA
Thank you for your interest in the Church’s liturgical calendar. I’m sorry that you feel that it goes to extremes with Lent and makes it feel depressing. This is often the case because Lent is misunderstood.
The Church sets apart this time each year to allow people to enter more deeply into their faith and share in the events of Salvation History. We are called to unite ourselves with Jesus in the wilderness. We are asked to purge ourselves of things that our hindering us and take on charitable acts that help others. We are asked to recognize our own sinfulness and inadequacies in order to rely more fully on God. On the surface this may sound depressing.
But let’s look deeper. How would your life be better if you were more united with Christ and understood more fully His experience in the desert? How would your life be better if you were able to part with bad habits that have become gods in your life? How would your life change if you did things each day to help others? How would your life be better if you admitted your own sinfulness and were totally forgiven for your sins?
I’d say that life would be much better. You would experience true freedom, unbound by sin. The Church offers you this experience through Lent. Let’s embrace it fully!
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