Do we really need Lent this year? Do we need—yet another—season of withdrawal, discipline, and abstention? Haven’t we been living in such a season for the last two years? Since the global pandemic began, we have been deprived of birthday meals, wedding gatherings, and the comfort we receive from expressing our collective grief at funerals. We’ve missed out on meals at restaurants, concerts and plays, hugging our friends, sitting at our favorite coffee shops, and receiving consecrated bread and wine. What does Lent have to teach us that the last two years haven’t?
