Lent 2026
the gospel and Spiritual practices for living
1st Sunday in Lent
February 22
Matthew 4:1-11
As we begin our journey together, we start with Jesus in the wilderness. He spends 40 days in prayer, fasting, and self-denial, clearing his heart and mind in preparation for the work that is to come. We’ll begin with learning the Ignatian Prayer of Examen, something you can practice every day through this season (and beyond). It’s a wonderful way to become more attuned to the actions of the Spirit in our daily lives.
2nd Sunday in Lent
March 1
John 3:1-17
Jesus meets with the Pharisee Nicodemus, who is curious about Jesus’ teaching. ‘Are you a teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things?’ Jesus asks him. Scripture offers life and truth, and yet sometimes we need to dwell with it a while in order to understand. We’ll learn the practice of Lectio Divina, a way to engage more deeply with God’s Word. You might try this with a passage from the Daily Office Lectionary, or with a favorite psalm (like 23, 121, or 139). Choose a short passage so you can settle in more deeply.
3rd Sunday in Lent
March 8
John 4:5-42
Jesus has his longest, most in-depth conversation in the gospels with the Samaritan woman at the well. He promises her living water, a well that will never run dry. The practice of Centering Prayer is one form of Christian contemplative prayer, a way to drink more deeply from God’s life-giving Spirit.
4th Sunday in Lent
March 15
John 9:1-41
The rich story of the healing of the man born blind is a provocative meditation on sight, vision, and what can blind us from the truth. It is so easy for our minds and hearts to be cluttered with tasks, online distractions, and too many claims on our attention. Practices of fasting, simplicity and reclaiming the Sabbath clear space in our lives to see God’s hand at work in our lives and the world around us.
5th Sunday in Lent
March 22
John 11:1-45
Jesus raises his friend Lazarus from the dead and tells the astonished onlookers, “Unbind him, and let him go.” Lazarus is set free from the bonds of death and is given new life, just as we are in Christ. Living our new life in God means a radical reorienting of priorities. Creating and keeping a rule of life, a system of structured intention, paradoxically becomes a way to live free of all the ways the world tries to keep us captive.
Episcopal Relief and Development 2026 Lenten Meditations - Holy Habits
Written by Sister Monica Clare, an Episcopal nun, author and unlikely TikTok star, these 2026 meditations offer an invitation to rediscover—or deepen—holy habits of prayer, worship and engagement with Scripture. These "holy habits" provide a path to a life that is given shape, meaning and direction by being rooted in a deeper relationship with God. To sign up for Daily Emails or to click links for other resources click here.
United Thank Offering 40 Days of Gratitude
This year the United Thank Offering theme for Lenten materials is 40 Days of Gratitude & Reciprocity, a call to spend 40 days thinking about our relationship with our communities and the world around us. For the Daily Calendar for UTO click here. For weekly Family Resources click here.