Lent thus offers a cluster of possibilities: fasting — or at least giving up something for Lent; repenting; joining Jesus in a wilderness experience; and experiencing the lengthening of days. Can everyone take part?
For the first time since 2018, Ash Wednesday and Valentine’s Day fall on the same day. It has happened three times in the last century – 1923, 1934 and 1945 – and will happen again in 2029 for the final time this century.