Recovered Not New

Lent's emphasis on baptism is not new. For Latin Rite Roman Catholics it was recovered before the Second Vatican Council, which implemented the discovery by restoring it to church practice. This recovery is enshrined in the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults.

The second reading in today's Office of Readings of the Liturgy of the Hours (see the seventh section, Celebrating Hours, at this link) included this sentence from Pope St. Leo the Great of the fifth century:

The special note of the paschal feast is this: the whole Church rejoices in the forgiveness of sins. It rejoices in the forgiveness not only of those who are then reborn in holy baptism but also of those who are already numbered among God’s adopted children.

Lent's emphasis on baptism is clearly not new. Its recovery benefits us by helping us to celebrate our baptismal vocations.
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Wiki-image of Pope Leo the Great is in the public domain.