Due to the enormity of our sins and the horror of the public sins of nations and of the ecclesiastical hierarchy, our penance must be accompanied – and preceded – by the proclamation of the truth against lies.
The divine liturgy accompanies us through the solar year as in a mirror, in which we see the history of the redemption summarized and represented.
The time of Advent takes us back to the expectation of the Messiah in the ancient law; the time of Christmas celebrates His most holy Incarnation; Holy Lent and Passiontide take us back to the times that preceded the Sacrifice of the Cross; the time of Easter celebrates the Resurrection and the Ascension of the Lord into heaven; the time of Pentecost retraces the earthly life of the Savior, His miracles, and His teachings; and at the end of the liturgical cycle – just as at its beginning – we are projected to the End Times, to the Universal Judgment, to the reward or condemnation of each and every person.
In a certain way the seasons of the year themselves accompany this sacred summary of salvation history, so that during the rigors of winter we understand the pains of the Child King born in a manger, and then as nature awakens during springtime we are able to see the homage of creation to the Lord who rises again and triumphs over death.
On Ash Wednesday, we entered into a time of penance and purification to prepare ourselves in body and spirit for this triumph of Our Lord: a real, historical triumph, witnessed by those who were its contemporaries, and celebrated by Christians of every age and place. To accompany us in this purification, the holy liturgy shows us what our fathers did in the Old Testament and points out to us the need to be ready in turn to face the great persecution of the End Times. Because one cannot fight without preparation, nor line up for a race without training for it.
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