“Lent” comes from the Anglo-Saxon word lencton – meaning “spring” or “lengthening” from the time of year when the days grow long. The season begins on Ash Wednesday (February 14, 2024 ) and ends with the Easter Triduum (Maundy Thursday through Easter Day, March 31, 2024), covering 40 days, excluding Sundays which are little feasts of the Resurrection.
Fast from judging others, feast on Christ dwelling in them. Fast from discontent feast on gratitude. Fast on hunger, feast on patience. Fast from bitterness, feast on forgiveness. Fast from self-concern, feast on compassion. Fast from suspicion, feast on truth. Fast from gossip, feast on silence. Fast from sorrow, feast from joy. Fast from worry, feast on faith. - William Arthur Ward
Blessing for Ash Wednesday —Jan Richardson
So let the ashes come as beginning and not as end;
the first sign but not the final.
Let them rest upon you as invocation and invitation,
and let them take you the way that ashes know to go.
May they mark you with the memory of fire
and of the life that came before the burning:
the life that rises and returns and finds its way again.
See what shimmers amid their darkness,
what endures within their dust.
See how they draw us toward the mystery
that will consume but not destroy,
that will blossom from the blazing,
that will scorch us with its joy.
Grace cannot be understood by any ledger of merits and demerits. It cannot be held to patterns of buying, losing, earning, achieving, or manipulating. Grace is, quite literally, “for the taking.” It is God eternally giving away God—for nothing—except the giving itself.—Richard Rohr
The movement of grace toward gratitude brings us from the package of self-obsessed madness to a spiritual awakening. Gratitude is peace.—Anne Lamott
I do not understand the mystery of Grace…only that it meets us where we are, but does not leave us where it found us – Ann LaMott
Love these words by Anne Lamott: The movement of grace is what changes us, heals us and heals our world. To summon grace, say, "Help," and then buckle up. Grace finds you exactly where you are, but it doesn't leave you where it found you. And grace won't look like Casper the Friendly Ghost, regrettably. But the phone will ring or the mail will come and then against all odds, you'll get your sense of humor about yourself back. Laughter really is carbonated holiness. It helps us breathe again and again and gives us back to ourselves, and this gives us faith in life and each other. And remember -- grace always bats last.
Grace cannot be understood by any ledger of merits and demerits. It cannot be held to patterns of buying, losing, earning, achieving, or manipulating, which is unfortunately where most of us live our lives. Grace is quite literally “for the taking.” It is God eternally giving away God—for nothing, except the giving itself. I believe grace is the life energy that makes flowers bloom, animals lovingly raise their young, babies smile, and planets remain in their orbits—for no good reason whatsoever except love alone. - Rohr
Unless and until we understand the biblical concept of God’s unmerited favor, God’s unaccountable love, most of the biblical text cannot be interpreted or tied together in any positive way. It is, without a doubt, the key and the code to everything transformative in the Bible. People who have not experienced the radical character of grace will always misinterpret the meaning and major direction of the Bible. The Bible will become a burden, obligation, and weapon more than a gift. Rohr
May God give you grace never to sell yourself short; grace to risk something big for something good; grace to remember that the world is too dangerous for anything but truth and too small for anything but love. - William Sloane Coffin
Grace strikes us when we are in great pain and restlessness. It strikes us when we walk through the dark valley of a meaningless and empty life.It strikes us when we feel our separation is deeper than usual, because we have violated another life, a life which we love, or from which we were estranged. It strikes us when our disgust for our own being, our indifference, our weakness, our hostility, and our lack of direction and composure has become intolerable to us.It strikes us when, year after year, the longed-for perfection of life does not appear, when the old compulsions reign within us as they have for decades, when despair destroys all joy and courage. Sometimes at that moment a wave of light breaks into our darkness, and it is as though a voice were saying: “You are accepted. You are accepted by that which is greater than you, and the name of which you do not know….”If that happens to us, we experience grace. After such an experience, we may not be better than before, and we may not believe more than before. But everything is transformed. - Paul Tillich 1886-1965
May the troubled waters of your life be calmed,
may the rising winds that surround you be stilled.
May you find the tine you need just to think,
may you dwell in a space that allows you to breathe.
May the voices you hear be hushed from any distraction,
may the sound of a single friend reach your waiting ear.
May love abide all around you,
may peace be your garment of grace.
May your steps be as sure as the direction you follow,
may the destination quicken your heart with the thought of homecoming.
May you be who you are,
may you find what you need. -Steve Charleston
To let gratitude be the pillow
Upon which you kneel to
Say your nightly prayer
And let faith be the bridge
You build to overcome evil
And welcome good
A Grateful Lent -40 Days of Grateful Presence from United Thank Offering. Visit their webpage to download a hard copy of the 1 page calendar, or you can sign up to receive a daily text message during Lent.
Living Compass is an organization that outfits individuals, families, congregations, and organizations with tools and training for the journey toward wellness and wholeness.
Each Lent they produce daily reflections that enhance personal wellness. Click on the image to go to their website where you can read each daily reflection or sign up to recieve it in your email inbox.
The Episcopal Church has several resources that they produce each year to help people enter into the season of Lent. Click on the image to be taken to their website.
Lent Madness began in 2010 as the brainchild of the Rev. Tim Schenck. In seeking a fun, engaging way for people to learn about the men and women comprising the Church’s Calendar of Saints, Tim came up with this unique Lenten devotion which combines his love of sports with his passion for the lives of the saints.
Check out the 2022 bracket, and then come here every day of Lent to keep up with your favorite saint. Click on the image to be taken to the Lent Madness website.
The pretzel has been used during Lent for over 1500 years. It is thought that originally pretzels were made by monks to resemble arms crossed in prayer. These breads were called “little arms.” This can have deep spiritual meaning for us during Lent. Since basically only flour and water are used, pretzels can remind us of fasting. You'll find a bag of pretzels in our 2023 Lent in a Bag or make your own:
Here is a simple pretzel recipe:
The Pretzel Prayer: "Heavenly God, we ask you to bless these little breads. Each time we eat them may we be reminded of the special season we are in and that through prayer we will become better people to each other. Let us not forget those who are in need of our prayers daily. Keep your loving arms around us, O Father, to protect us always. Amen."
King Cake Listen to a podcast on the origins of King Cake and why it is a part of Lenten traditions. You can also read about it here.
1. Fasting and Feasting During Lent:
Make more room for God this Lent by choosing not to do some things (fasting) and by choosing to do other things (feasting). Fasting is an integral part of Lent. Traditionally it has included reducing the amount of food we eat and abstaining from meat. We fast to allow our physical hunger to remind us of our spiritual hunger, our need for God. The purpose of fasting is to turn our attention to both God and others.
Things to fast from…
Feasting: The dictionary defines a feast as “something that gives unusual or abundant pleasure.” Jesus tells us what gives us the most real and lasting joy: it is sharing ourselves in love for others, for our friends, our family, and also for our neighbors in need. During Lent, we pay attention to feasting on joy, compassion, service, and hope so that we might grow in faith all year long.
Things to feast on...
2. Prayer:
3. Almsgiving/Serving:
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