How Does Our Altar Change During Lent?

Lent is the penitential season of forty days preceding Easter. Marked by the color purple, Lent begins on Ash Wednesday. No altar flowers are used during Lent. At St. Peter's, the we place a manzanita branch on the shelf behind the altar.

The branch is backed by a purple hanging scrim to represent the wilderness where Jesus spent forty days before returning to Jerusalem on Palm Sunday.

Purple will dominate our altar during Lent: priests wear purple vestments; the cross over the altar is draped in purple; a purple veil and burse (fabric-covered case) will cover the chalice on the altar; processional crosses are draped in purple veils, and the crucifix on the south wall of the nave is draped in purple.

Plan to make the forty days of Lent your own personal time for reflection, learning, penitence, and prayer.