Worn in both Advent and Lent, purple signals a posture of readiness: a time of preparation, attentiveness and honest expectation. In Lent, we are invited into self-examination and hope, grounded in the faithfulness of God and oriented toward the promise of Easter. 

The forty days of Lent echo a biblical rhythm of testing, transformation and trust. Forty days in the desert, forty days of rain, forty years of wandering, each marks a threshold between what has been and what might yet be. Lent is not something to be endured or achieved, but a pilgrimage of the heart, a time to allow God to reshape us. Traditionally, this journey is marked by prayer, fasting and almsgiving. Prayer draws us back into relationships, reminding us that faith is sustained by attentiveness and listening. Fasting loosens our grip on what we consume, accumulate or cling to, creating space for honesty about our deeper hunger. Almsgiving turns us outward, re-orienting our lives toward compassion, justice and solidarity with those who carry heavy burdens. 

This Lent unfolds within a world that feels increasingly fragile. The violence of the Bondi massacre has shaken our sense of safety and pierced our collective heart. In the face of such grief, Lent resists easy answers. Instead, it invites us to sit with sorrow, to pray for healing, and to recommit ourselves to ways of living that honour life, care and peace. 

In his recent call for peace, Pope Leo XIV reminds the Church that peace is neither passive nor abstract. It begins in converted hearts and is sustained through daily choices that resist violence, fear and indifference. Lent invites us to attend carefully to the people we are becoming and the world our lives help to shape. 

Lent is also a season of hope. Across the Church, those engaged in the catechumenate and the wider journey of faith walk these forty days with particular focus. They remind us that faith is not static but living, something we grow into, stumble through, and receive as gift. Their journey renews our own baptismal calling and invites us to return to the heart of our faith. 

Unlike Advent, which can often feel like a rush toward Christmas, Lent does not hurry us to Easter. It walks us there, honestly, attentively, together, trusting that beyond the purple threads of preparation, resurrection light awaits.