Lenten Reflections

Tomorrow is Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent.  For many of us, we will receive our ashes and hear the call to conversion and reconciliation.  In the Gospel for the day, we will hear the three things we are called to do during this great retreat of the Church – prayer, fasting and works of charity. All this prepares us to celebrate the holy and life-giving mystery of the Lord’s Death and Resurrection. Many of us will be thinking (and perhaps dreading) what we are going to give up this Lent – candy, ice cream, social media.  Others will focus on trying to do something – more time for prayer, some work of charity in the community or in the parish.  All of this is good and helpful for our Lenten Journey.  

In his recent letter for Lent 2026, Pope Leo XIV invites the Church to focus on two activities for our renewal and preparation for the Paschal Triduum.  He focuses on listening and fasting. We are bombarded with so much noise around us.  We need to focus on the call to listen to what is truly important for us.  The Pope mentions how God listened to the cries of the People of Israel during their bondage in Egypt and called Moses to lead them out of slavery.  God still hears our cries.  God listens to the cries of the people in Ukraine, Iran and other parts of the world. Lent gives us the time to listen.  We are invited to listen to God speak to us in the Scriptures.  We are called to listen to the struggles and questions of others around us. Lent gives us the time to slow and listen to God, to others and to ourselves.  

The second activity that the Holy Father invites us to do is fasting.  He speaks of the evangelical dimension of fasting and its place in the spiritual life of the Church through the centuries. It needs to be rooted in faith and humility as well as our communion with the Lord.  Often, we associate fasting with reducing what we eat or leaving out a meal.  The Pope challenges us with another fast. He speaks of the fast or the refraining from words that offend our neighbor.  He talks of disarming our language, avoiding harsh words, slander, and gossip.  We need to cultivate a vocabulary of compassion, hope and peace. 

Lent is often described as the great retreat of the Church and often with image of the desert (from the Gospel for the first Sunday of Lent). It is hard to experience this with everything that demands our energy and attention.  Perhaps, these two activities offered by Pope Leo can help us to make the most of Lent, to hear that call to conversion, reconciliation and prepare ourselves to celebrate the life-giving mysteries of Holy Week. 

Each year at the start of Lent we hear these moving words: “Come back to me – says the Lord!” (Either in Joel 2: 12 – 13, Zechariah 1:3, or Malachi 3: 7.)

In fact, at times we known these words “Come back to me or return to me” so well, we forget to realize that they are meant as a sort of mantra to accompany us for the whole 40 days of Lent, not just on Ash Wednesday.  They are not the kind of “Get back here, young man or young lady!!!!” when we have not paid for something while walking out of Walgreens or CVS.  These words, “Come back to me!”, do not come only from God; they also come from the lips of very human Hebrew Scripture prophets. In that way these words can be interpreted as a welcome, a gentle invitation, and a command.  Come back! Come back to a balanced and authentic relationship – something hard to find on TikTok and Instagram.

Lent is the privileged time to think of a return to something we once knew or experienced as God’s unconditional love.  To be very honest, I have always had a great difficulty with the anachronistic dimensions of going back to the “good old days” – back to the way things used to be before, or going back to grand-ma’s house just like the old days when everything was simple and lovely for former Thanksgivings. We need to acknowledge that the good old days, socially, economically and even religiously, were not always good for everyone.

As humans we do not walk or live our lives looking back.  We also know that going back to unhealthy behavior and painful times is not always a good thing.  There is a lot of romanticism in our world about the past, precisely because our times are complex.  For those worried about declining church attendance the cry is often “Let’s go back to the good old days with the mass in Latin, full unquestioning churches and pews, each Sunday”.  The problem is that none of this brings us close to the invitation of the prophets at the start of Lent.

What Christians at the start of Lent return to, or come back to, is the unconditional love of a loving God.  All the things that Jesus was tempted with in the desert for 40 days were external things: external power, dominion, external authority. What he finally realized was that the intimacy of his Loving God dwelt within in him and that it was the Kingdom of God that we would be announcing.

In my ministry, for almost 38 years, I have so often found people very frustrated with themselves, that they could no longer pray just as they did when they were 12 or 13 years old.  My suggestion was to encourage them to return to a sense of a healthy God; a God who is present, now, in the present, not hidden in our pasts.   We encounter this return to God as a good affirmation of the good words and works already flourishing in our lives.  Our sense of compassion for the poor and the powerless, our sense of justice, or our desire to be at peace with others, all brings us closer to God – a God who welcomes those who feel abandoned by both formal religion and society.

“Come back to me”, says the Lord!  This is not a return to the good old days; rather it is a return to the persons we were always meant to be in the first place – in the words of the wise 20 th century Redemptorist moral theologian, Bernard Haring, we are always called to be “free and faithful in Christ”.  

Walking, running or just sitting our way through Lent will always allow us to experience our own journey just as it should be.  Like the people of Israel wondering through the desert, let us forget the flesh pots of Egypt; let us return to a God who journeys with us.  This is not a return to past journeys but in a strange way a return to something new and inviting - a return to a God that blesses us.  

My hope is that each of us will take some time, perhaps alone, in silence, for a short while despite all our busy academic lives, to feel deeply united, loved and blessed by a compassionate God during the next few days of Lent.

Dear friends, as we journey through Lent, this powerful antiphon from Psalm 95 in this Sunday’s readings, “If today you hear His voice, harden not your hearts, ” reminds us that Lent is not a burdensome trial, but a season of joyful conversion, where we listen to God’s gentle voice, who calls us to soften our hearts and listen deeply, intently, and to grow in great love with Him and for one another.

The Loving Call of "today."

God speaks to us, today, and always – even in this very moment you are reading this reflection, He is bestowing upon you His grace, as our merciful Father who desires our heart. God will always oJer us a fresh start, “If today you hear His voice, harden not your hearts” , is saying – this is hope! No past failure is final; His voice pierces our distractions, inviting transformation, even amongst chaos. 

In daily slips, such as impatient words, selfish choices, or even missed prayers, we have a choice – do we harden in frustration or soften in trust? If we choose to listen, it will open us up to His peace, turning any Lenten stumble into steps towards holiness.

But How Do I Soften My Heart?

Lent is a time where we are awakened to God’s voice in the ordinary.

• A friend or family member in need and interrupts your rest – respond with patience and understanding – this echo’s Christ compassion. 
• If disagreement arises – choose loving words over rash judgement – fasting from harsh speech or criticism. 
• If temptation is unavoidable – choose honor and honesty – allowing God’s grace to reorder your desires.

Do not view these as tasks or a checklist, but as opportunities for joy, for your hearts to be softened.

Hopeful Practices for Your Lenten Journey

Follow and embrace these simple, prayerful steps, placing your trust in God to mold you:

• Daily listening – Read the day’s readings (5 minutes). Pause and ask the Lord to speak to your heart today. Journaling is also another way his voice can call to you.
• Fast with Mercy (and not just food!) – Skip social media, or being on your phone or watching TV, instead pray a decade of the Rosary, or volunteer your time to a local nursing home and visit the lonely, or call a relative who lives alone. 
• Evening Examination (not that kind!) – Reflection! Reflect on, “where did I harden today? Help me Lord, soften my heart and be open to your love and mercy. ” 
• Communal Call: Gather with family or friends weekly to share “How did God speak to me today?,” build the church and be a witness of mercy.

God does not demand perfection – He rejoices in your openness and willingness. Lower your defenses, refocus your heart on the Lord, and entrust yourself wholly to Him. Open yourself to His gentle voice – for He will teach, guide, and transform you into a radiant disciple. 

God bless you now and always.