There are days during Lent that feel less like prayer and more like hanging on. Days when hope feels distant, faith feels shaky and the waiting feels endless. Sometimes it’s not just our own personal lives that feel heavy —…
Letter to the Editor: A story for Ramadan and Lent
This year, in a somewhat rare convergence of calendars, Ramadan and Lent began on the same day — sacred seasons of prayer and devotion now wounded and scarred by missiles and bombs. That grave irony has called to mind, for…
Ash Wednesday protests and Masses make solidarity with immigrants a Lenten theme
Christian leaders — from Catholic cardinals and Episcopal and Lutheran bishops to moderate evangelical Christians — took their faith’s day of penitence and prayer as an opportunity to speak out on behalf of immigrants and against President Donald Trump’s mass…
Receiving ashes is a call to action
“You are dust and to dust you shall return.” With the words of one of several familiar formulas for the imposition of ashes on Ash Wednesday, many Christians begin their annual Lenten journey. Growing up Roman Catholic, Lent was a…
Some Conservative Protestants Spark Debate By Embracing Lenten Traditions
Not all Christians celebrate Lent, but that’s not stopping some – especially those who have never done so before – from embracing it.
Let this cup pass: Gethsemane’s cry through Palestinian experience
In the darkness of night, after sharing the Passover meal with his disciples, Jesus led them to a garden called Gethsemane at the foot of the Mount of Olives. This was not just any garden. Its very name tells a…
Lent 2025: Not a moment too soon
The Ash Wednesday liturgy in The Book of Common Prayer includes this reading: Dear People of God: The first Christians observed with great devotion the days of our Lord’s passion and resurrection, and it became the custom of the Church…
This Lent, US Lutherans are learning a new Palestinian practice: Sumud
Lent is a time of reflection for many Christians, and each year a host of devotionals are published to bring insight and inspiration to the 40 days of contemplation leading to Easter.
What’s Truly Mortifying
Growing up as a Methodist, the church calendar oriented my childhood around twin poles of Christmas (and Advent) and Easter (and Lent). Advent was my favored season of the two: Waiting with a pile of presents in view is not…
The evil among us
This week, Christians around the world begin the observance of Lent — a period of repentance and self-reflection. It is no accident that the Revised Common Lectionary includes the story of Jesus’ temptations in the wilderness in the readings for…
Should we skip Lent this year?
I would like to skip Lent this year, because life already feels tragic enough. Do we really need extra sackcloth and ashes right now? We usually give up something for Lent, and so much already has been taken away. Forty…
This Lent, why not talk to somebody?
Talk is cheap, people used to say. But it seems to me it’s at a premium in a world where politicians trade insults and sneer at each other, and social media and technology has replaced many face-to-face conversations.