02/15/2026
RECTOR'S LENTEN LETTER 2026
February 15, 2026
Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the Lenten season. The late great Lutheran Bishop, Bo Giertz outlines the ancient origins and timeline of Lent thusly:
Jesus fasted for forty days in the desert. In memory of that, Christians fasted for forty days. But since Christians didn’t fast on Sundays, because it was the day of resurrection, and a day of great joy, they had to start on a Wednesday in order to fast for forty days before Easter.
The word “Lent” comes from the Old English word for Spring, and it’s helpful to think of the Lenten Season as a sustained time of spiritual Spring cleaning. Over these forty days we intentionally remove things from our lives that get in the way of our fellowship with God—not just sinful things but good or neutral things that can loom overlarge in our lives—like food, social media, and entertainment.
The goal isn’t merely growth in self-discipline, although there is great value in this; it is growing in the likeness of Christ. St. John Chrysostom reminds us:
"The fast of Lent has no advantage to us unless it brings about our spiritual renewal. It is necessary while fasting to change our whole life and practice virtue. Turning away from all wickedness means keeping our tongue in check, restraining our anger, avoiding all gossip, lying and swearing. To abstain from these things— herein lies the true value of the fast."
These inner transformations inevitably work themselves out in Christian charity: our love for God, for our brothers and sisters in Christ, and for those in need.
So how are you going to spend Lent? Traditionally, Christians have embraced four major disciplines during this season: fasting, almsgiving, prayer, and meditation on Holy Scripture.
1. Fasting reminds us of where true fulfilment lies. In Pensées, Blaise Pascal tells us, “There is a God-shaped vacuum in the heart of every person, and it can never be filled by any created thing. It can only be filled by God, made known through Jesus Christ.” Fasting also teaches us discipline so that when we are tempted by something shiny but spiritually destructive, we know how to say “no” to it, and “yes” to God.
2. Almsgiving is3. giving to the poor. In Isaiah 58:6-7, God says:
“Is not this the fast that I choose:
to loose the bonds of wickedness,
to undo the straps of the yoke,
to let the oppressed go free,
and to break every yoke?
Is it not to share your bread with the hungry
and bring the homeless poor into your house;
when you see the naked, to cover him,
and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?
We are blessed to be a blessing and to love others as God loved us. God calls us to look at the poor, the disenfranchised, the vulnerable, and to see them as people who need his grace and need his love. And seeing them, we are to act. Jesus said, “As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you” (John 20:21). In Lent we give in his name.
3. Prayer is the heartbeat of the Christian life. It is communion with the one who made us for himself; it is worship; it is thanksgiving; it is intercession; it is listening to and obeying God. Prayer is something we do as individuals, and it’s something we do together as God’s family. It is to the soul what breathing is to the body, because it puts us in touch with the Source of all life, who is also the lover of our souls. Each of us is called to union with Christ, and in prayer we know his presence. We pray because, in prayer, God changes us and he changes the world. And prayer is indelibly linked with God’s word to us in Holy Scripture.
4. The Prayer Book encourages us to “hear, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest” God’s word. We know people through their words. The same is true of God. God breathes out his word (this is what “inspiration” means) and then he reveals himself to us in and through his word (this is called “illumination”). We can’t really know God apart from his word. His word is truth; it is life; it is power. As we make meditation on Scripture a part of our daily lives, God uses his word to shape our hearts and minds and open our eyes to realities we could never have imagined.
As we establish these patterns of fasting, charitable giving, prayer, and Bible reading, we will see God at work in and through our lives. I invite you to make this Lent “count.” Jesus died and rose again so that we might have life— and that to the full! Let’s turn our eyes and hearts fully towards him. The Lord be with us all as we walk this path together!
In His Love,
David McElrea+
Rector
