What Lent means to me: A song

Every liturgical season is a reminder that many newcomers here at St. Paul’s come from other traditions,  and may not be familiar with the various seasons of the Episcopal church calendar.  This year, we're asking members of the community, from "old hands" to recent arrivals,  to answer the question,  “what does Lent mean to me?”  We'll be posting them here regularly as we move into, and through,  the Lenten season.


From Charles Hudgins: 

The spirit of Lent is perfectly presented to me in Psalm 51, the Psalm for Ash Wednesday. That beautiful entreaty for perfect sacrifice and a clean heart inspired me to write a paraphrase, metered and rhymed for singing to 'Herzlich tut mich verlangen [Passion Chorale]' by Hans Leo Hassler (1564-1612), adapted and harmonized by Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) - the familiar setting for "O Sacred Head, Sore Wounded" and surely one of the most mournful tunes in Christendom. I have offered the hymntext for use at St. Paul's during Lent. Click for a closer view.