Good Shepherd Lutheran Church: Grace-Centered & Christ Focused
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Epiphany Season
Each year, the Christian Church embarks on a forty-day journey leading up to Easter known as Lent, a season marked by solemn reflection and spiritual preparation. Within Lutheran liturgical practice, Lenten observances can be broadly categorized into visual, historical/traditional, and emotional/spiritual expressions—though many practices naturally overlap these categories. A key visual elemen
The second visual component is that of the sign of the cross applied upon the repentant Christian’s forehead during the imposition of ashes on Ash Wednesday. Typically utilizing ash created by the burning of palms from the previous Palm Sunday, this symbolic rite is a reminder of the sign of the cross that was placed on us in our Baptisms, our mortality (“Remember: you are dust, and to dust you
As mentioned earlier, the emotional/spiritual character of the Lenten season is one of penitence. Connected to the Great Vigil of Easter; however, the season of Lent may also be one of preparation, as catechumens who had been prepared, were appointed to be baptized during the Service of Holy Baptism in the Easter Vigil service.
The practice of fasting (or “giving something up”) during Lent is not