"Lent is a journey of hope. Indeed, this prospect is immediately evident if we consider that Lent was instituted in the Church as a time of preparation for Easter and that, therefore, the whole meaning of this 40-day period is illuminated by the Paschal Mystery toward which it is directed. We can imagine the Risen Lord who calls us to come out of our darkness, and so we set ourselves on the path toward the One who is Light. Lent is a journey toward the Risen Jesus; it is a period of repentance, also of mortification, not as an end in itself, but rather aimed at enabling ourselves to rise with Christ, to renew our baptismal identity, that is, to be born anew 'of the spirit', by the love of God (cf. Jn 3:3-6). This is why Lent is, by nature, a time of hope." (Pope Francis)

How easy is it to forget why we started the journey of Lent in the first place. Our focus is to be better able to enter into the celebration of the Paschal Mystery (the death and resurrection of Jesus).  To put away sin which brings death, so as to share more deeply in the life of Jesus. To prepare ourselves to renew our Baptismal promises, acknowledging God as Our Father, Jesus as our Lord and Savior and the Holy Spirit as the One who sanctifies and anoints us. As a time of hope we fix our sights on the newness that is ours in God.