Definition of Lent: The period leading up to Easter. The purpose of Lent is the preparation of the believer — through prayer, repentence, charity and self-denial — for the annual observance during Holy Week of the Death and Resurrection of Jesus, which recalls the events linked to the Passion of Christ and culminates in Easter, the celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.
You do not have to be Catholic to observe Lent. I try to use this time to just spend more time reading my Bible and praying. Especially because Jesus being raised from the dead is THE basis for my faith. It's an interesting thing to think about....
If Jesus didn't rise from the dead, my life is a sham. I've invested everything in, staked everything on, entrusted everything to the historical fact of the empty tomb of Jesus. If his body and bones are still buried somewhere in Palestine, or have long since disintegrated under the force of time and the laws of physics, nothing has meaning for me, nor do I have meaning for anything or anyone else. -Sam Storms
