Censings

Lent marks a distinct change of pace in our liturgical life. The tone of our Mass becomes introspective instead of our usual exuberant style, which will return at Eastertide. In Lent, we add a spoken confession and those parts which are sung are quieter and often in a minor key. While Advent in our parish is not a penitential season, Lent is . For us, Advent is a time of expectation of the Incarnation, while Lent is a time of preparation for the Resurrection. The Advent liturgy has alleluias, while the Lenten one does not.   We sang our last alleluias until Easter last Sunday. To visually illustrate the difference between the two seasons, the clergy wear blue vestments in Advent, while in Lent they wear purple, the color that symbolizes penitence. To be penitential is somewhat out-of-style in the twenty-first century. Sin, as such, is of no significance to the secular world. We don’t see people running around sackcloth and ashes. We don’t see the humility, the contrition, an