Leaning into Lent: Ideas to make the most of your journey
By Margreta Grady, LCSW
Gita Grady
Whether you grew up in The Episcopal Church or are new to this tradition, you’ve heard about “giving things up for Lent” either in church or outside of it. You may be wondering how to approach Lent, and if you “need” to give something up. Our Ash Wednesday service invites us to “the observance of a holy Lent, by self-examination and repentance; by prayer, fasting and self-denial, and by reading and meditating on God’s holy word.” Please note, it is an invitation, not a demand. It’s not an invitation to a party — try the Mardi Gras bash for that! — but to find more peace in your life, increase your faith, or come to a deeper and more sustaining relationship with Jesus.
Last Sunday, Father Ben spoke about how helpful it is to have a buddy or a goal to help hold ourselves accountable for change. During Lent, we have an opportunity to use the power of our Christian family to help us maintain new disciplines and new growth. We have a congregation of folks we can buddy with to help us meet our goals. This week is a good time to think about how you have grown in the past year, and where you have opportunities for growth. What do you do too much of? What would you like to do more of? When thinking about Lenten discipline, it’s important to pick something that will work for you in your life. Self denial gives us the opportunity to also add. In fact, if you decide to “give up” something, your best chance of maintaining that change is to add something in its place. In that space where coffee, desserts, alcohol or social media (or what have you) used to be, you create a moment to engage with your family, pray, read, or meditate. Some people prefer to focus more on what they are adding to their lives than what they are “giving up.” An ideal Lenten discipline will have helped you learn something about yourself and your faith journey, or given you a new perspective.
If you are interested in adding to your prayer, study or mediation time, there are many ways to get started. Keep it simple and manageable, and plan to use a time of day that will be easy to form into a routine. For a family with young children, that hour before dinner just isn’t super realistic. Can you get up 15 minutes earlier to carve out some time for yourself? For empty nesters, that hour before dinner could be perfect. Choose something that works for your personality. If you love to read, a focus on scripture could be just the thing. If you’re a busy extrovert, a daily phone call with a faith partner on your drive home might suit better. Below are a few ideas. Whatever you choose, be kind to yourself on the journey, and treat it as an opportunity to grow in faith. I will be leading a short retreat on March 6-7, which gives us the chance to get started and then support each other to keep going (but you don’t need to have chosen a Lenten discipline to come!).
Resources
Daily Scripture reading: One way is to choose one Bible book you are interested in, and divide it into 40 sections. If you are avoiding technology, keep your Bible nearby. Another idea is to use the daily lectionary. Forward Day by Day quarterly booklets are available in the back of the church and will help you find the daily lectionary readings along with a nice devotion. If you would like to use technology, you can access Forward Day by Day online, or use Bible Gateway to access the Bible in different translations. Bible Gateway offers reading plans to help you create a routine. If you would like to try an app on your phone, Blue Letter Bible offers many tools to enrich your study experience, and also offers reading plans.
Daily Office/Daily Liturgy: If you’d like to try a daily liturgy, you can use the Book of Common Prayer to find short services to read to yourself or with a buddy. These can be found under Daily Devotions for Families starting on page 136. If you’d like a phone app for daily prayer, Forward Movement’s Day by Day iPhone app also has the daily lectionary. Another good app is Venite. Both allow you to choose the time of day and will give you the appropriate service.
Meditation: If you are new to meditation or centering prayer and would like to try it for Lent, start small. Even two minutes twice a day is a good start. Work your way up to praying or meditating for 10 to 15 minutes at a time. You can use any timer, so that you are not distracted by trying to keep track. Insight Timer is a nice free app that gives you a timer with bells and also free guided meditations. There are many other resources for learning to meditate.
Whatever you choose, you will have a chance to lean on Jesus and your faith family when the going gets tough. Blessings on your journey.
Events
About Lent
Lent begins Feb. 18, 2026, with Ash Wednesday, and ends Saturday, April 4, 2026, with the Great Vigil of Easter.
It is a 40 day season of penitence and fasting in preparation for Easter meant to emulate the story of Jesus’ 40 days in the wilderness.
The name comes from an Old English word for “spring.”
