One of the good things about Lent is it is not of our initiative. We are reactive, not proactive, though our reaction is important. As The Word Among Us puts it:
It is time to learn how to love Jesus more deeply and to pray that more people will come to believe in him. But this is also a time when God promises to pour out his Spirit upon us. It is a time when grace flows from his throne, drawing us close to his heart and delivering us from the sin that can so easily cling to us.And from a 1955 prayer book, see the inspirational phraseology involving the dignity of the soul:
This combination of our dedication and God’s grace and power can make this Lent a time of real transformation for us.
In a Lenten sermon, Pope St. Leo said: "I preach to you the holiest and greatest of fasts. Although there is no season which is not full of divine gifts, yet at this time the minds of all should be urged toward spiritual progress, that being cleansed in heart and body, we may celebrate that mystery which excels all others: the Passion of the Lord.
Since the frailty of the body leads to relaxation of discipline, the hearts of men become defiled by the dust of worldly things. Hence this most wholesome, divinely appointed institution provides that, in order to restore the purity of our minds, we should be corrected by discipline these forty days. Therefore, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, that the soul, which should govern the body, may uphold the dignity of its rule."
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