February 18, 2026

By Darcy Fargo
Editor

“Lent doesn’t have to be so morbid,” said Father Frank T. Natale, a Missionary of the Sacred Heart and pastor of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart in Watertown, St. Paul’s Church in Black River and St. Mary’s Church in Evans Mills. “It can be an exciting time!”

Father Natale said he feels most people focus on only the penitential aspect of the season, missing the portion focused on rebirth and renewal.

“Lent has two primary elements, but we tend to focus mostly on one of them. Of course, there’s the penitential aspect, the aspect we all know too well, but there’s this element, this baptismal element, that I think is more hidden,” he said. “Lent is also about the baptisms people will receive at the Easter Vigil and the baptisms those of us who are already baptized will renew and remember.”

Father Natale pointed to the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy Sacrosanctum Concilium, a document promulgated by Pope Paul VI in 1963.

“The season of Lent has a twofold character: primarily by recalling or preparing for baptism and by penance, it disposes the faithful, who more diligently hear the word of God and devote themselves to prayer, to celebrate the paschal mystery. This twofold character is to be brought into greater prominence both in the liturgy and by liturgical catechesis.”

“We have to hang on to the penitential aspect of Lent. It isn’t bad, but I think we’re morbidly hung up on it,” Father Natale said. “We need to bring it into balance. Instead of focusing on just what we can give up, let’s consider what we can do.”

Father Natale said he didn’t know much about that two-fold character of Lent until he attended a workshop on baptism at a Eucharistic Education Congress in California while serving in that state.

“Once your eyes are opened to it, you see the baptismal element in nearly everything in Lent,” he said. “I think we over emphasize the penitential. When it’s tied to baptism, it’s also 40 days to renew and recommit.”

Why baptism?

“Baptism is the basis of the whole Christian life, the gateway to life in the Spirit, and the door which gives access to the other sacraments,” Father Natale said. “Through Baptism we are freed from sin and reborn as sons and daughters of God; we become members of Christ, are incorporated into the Church and made sharers in her mission. (According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church,) ‘Baptism is the sacrament of regeneration through water and in the word.’”

As part of this emphasis on baptism, Father Natale says he encourages the faithful to spend time reflecting on their reception of that sacrament.

“Find out when you were baptized,” he encouraged. “See if you can find any photos. Think about who was there – Godparents, parents who loved them enough to bring them to the font, family and friends. Reflect on what it’s meant in your life. Go visit the church where you were baptized. Find out what saints’ feast days are on your baptismal date and learn about those saints. There are a lot of threads that can connect to baptism.”

Lent is also a good opportunity to reflect on and pray with the baptismal vows.

“Joining those who receive baptism for the first time, we all renew our baptismal vows as part of the Easter celebration,” Father Natale said. “That renewal takes on additional meaning when we spend the season entering into baptism.”