Lenten Journeys: The Same, But Different

With so many beautiful sunny days here in Southern California throughout January, February, and March, I have to remind myself that in many other parts of the U.S. there's still a winter chill and even some snow, as spring is anticipated.

Torrey Pines Reserve near San Diego, CA

This year for Western Christians, when spring officially arrives on March 20, Lent will almost be over - while for me, as an Orthodox Christian, Lent will just have started!  

The lenten spring shines forth,

the flower of repentance!

Let us cleanse ourselves from all evil,

crying out to the Giver of Light:

Glory to You, O Lover of man!

-from Cheesefare Wednesday Vespers

Every year, this presents somewhat of a challenge for me as a blogger - trying to schedule my Lenten and Easter posts for all my readers who share the same fast and feast, but with different dates.  

It was easy in 2011, since Western and Eastern Christians shared the same date for Easter, but this year, the calendars are quite different - Orthodox Easter, or "Pascha", won't be celebrated until May 5th, while Western Christians will celebrate on March 31. (One major difference in determining the dates, is that the Eastern Orthodox Church calculates the date so that Easter always falls after Passover, since the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Christ took place after he entered Jerusalem to celebrate Passover. In the Western Church, Easter sometimes precedes Passover by weeks. Read more HERE).

Books for LENT:
So, for any of you Orthodox readers who are looking for some Lenten reading for your kids (and yourself), go here to read my Lenten Good Books posts.

For  HOLY WEEK:
And for my readers who are about to embark on Holy Week, check here for my past posts for book recommendations and activities (including making your own Easter Egg Tree).

This year, my own Lenten reading will include The Jesus We Missed: The Surprising Truth About the Humanity of Christ, by Fr. Patrick Henry Reardon (Senior Editor at Touchstone Magazine).

Please stay tuned for my Easter and Pascha posts...but you're welcome to see my past posts here.