The season of Lent begins next week on Ash Wednesday, February 22.

In Lent, Christians prepare for the celebration of Easter, and Easter is the holiest time of the Christian year.

There are forty weekdays from Ash Wednesday to Easter Sunday, and on these days Christians traditionally fast.

Jesus fasted forty days in the wilderness, and Lent is modelled on that.

Fasting can mean reducing the amount we eat or drink, or it can be replaced by some other way of simplifying our lives – more exercise, more regular hours of sleep, more attention to the needs of people around us, more generous giving to charity.

The purpose of Lent is not self-improvement, nor is it to congratulate ourselves on how well we are doing.

The purpose of Lent is to open our hearts and minds more to God.

For that reason we try to make our lives less self-centred, less self-indulgent.

I remember being at a party in Worcester some time ago listening to a member of Worcester Mosque talking very simply and feelingly about the joy which the season of Ramadan gives to a Muslim.

I remember wishing that Christians could speak as simply and feelingly to other people about the joy of Lent.

Somehow we have allowed Lent to get a reputation for joylessness and gloom.

So if you are keeping Lent this year, do so with joy.

Make it a time to be more open to God, and a time to be more open to those around you. Help to give Lent a positive meaning again, and look forward to the holy time of Easter.