Bishop Julito Cortes of the Diocese of Dumaguete urged the faithful on Wednesday to view the Lenten season as an opportunity for repentance, transformation, and reconnecting with the Lord.

Cortes said in his homily during the Ash Wednesday concelebrated Mass that he presided over at the St. Catherine of Alexandria Cathedral that believers are to give up their ways and practices that separate them from God.

He emphasized that Lent signifies a period for fasting, prayer, and charity, but this should not be confined only to the seasonal religious practice.

“This is the moment when we are provided with a means to restore our connection with God through these practices, but I hope that we will not confine this only to 40 days during Lent, but rather establish it as a lifelong practice and culture,” Cortes said in Cebuano.

He also noted that fasting and abstinence extend beyond food to include harmful actions toward others like engaging in gossip.

The bishop led other priests in the blessing of the churchgoers with ashes on their foreheads, which he said is a sign of repentance for sins and for one’s humility before God.

Cortes also told the people that the 40 days of Lent represent the 40 years of long and harmful suffering of the Israelites while in exile in Egypt until their miraculous liberation.

Lent serves as a brief “exile” in which followers are encouraged to detach from comforts and distractions to concentrate on repentance and self-discipline, he said. (PNA)