Lent 2025

March 5th is Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent, the day the Church begins its annual pilgrimage to the cross. For the uninitiated, I like how upperroom.org describes what Lent is all about:

It's the forty days before Easter. Lent excludes Sundays because every Sunday is like a little Easter. Basically, it's about one-tenth of a year (like a tithe of time).... [it's] a season of the Christian Year where Christians focus on simple living, prayer, and fasting in order to grow closer to God.

That's good. In its simplest form, Lent is a season where the Church quiets itself as it prepares to celebrate the death and resurrection of the Lord.  It's a time where we willingly enter into the sufferings of Christ.

So, How Do You Celebrate Lent? 

As mentioned above, it begins with Ash Wednesday (I wrote a post in an earlier year that helps explain what that's all about. Read about it here.) 

Beyond today, though, the simplest way is to take these next forty days to seek the Lord in a way that is perhaps more deliberate than at other times of the year. Often, this involves deciding to cut something out of your life (fast) that might allow you to remember Jesus with a more acute mind. For example, you might choose to cut out lunch so that the hunger pangs in those moments might alert you to the Lord. Traditionally, people have usually avoided meat, embracing a vegetarian diet for 40 days.

But remember, Lent excludes Sundays. That's the day the Church feasts! It's the reminder that causes us to look forward to the hope of the resurrection and the great feast of the Lamb!

This Year, 2025

So, what is this stirring in your heart?  This is a year when our world is groaning much more deeply. The war in the Ukraine and Gaza are at the front of mind. But now, in Canada, we too are preparing to suffer, as we engage in an "economic war" with our long time allies in the USA.  It's... a lot. The suffering we are entering into, it would seem, has also come to us.

So, how can you take this experience and turn it into something where your heart can be transformed?  Are you sensing an increase in longing for Jesus? Is there a deeper rumbling for prayer, even if the words aren't coming out? Take the invitation this season provides and lean in. 

Every Sunday, our video teachings will prepare us for the cross. But what else might the Lord invite you into in the season ahead? 

At the link below, you will also find a guide for prayer. That is how I (Andy) will be praying. Every day, a new scripture for Lent will also be provided for you to read. I'd invite you to join me in that prayer.

Access the Prayer Guide