Lent 2026: An Orientation

Lent has deep biblical foundations. The primary inspiration for Lent is the forty days Jesus spent in the desert fasting, praying, and overcoming mortal temptations by the Devil (Matt 4:1–11). The number forty is significant for other reasons. Moses spent forty days on Mount Sinai when he received the Ten Commandments (Exodus 24:18). The great prophet Elijah journeyed forty days to Horeb to seek the Lord’s guidance as he fled from Jezebel (1 Kings 19:8). And even though it is a much longer period of time, the Israelites spent forty years in the wilderness en route to the Promised Land.

Now, we stand on the threshold of the forty days of Lent 2026. The primary call of Lent is to conversion, renewal, and rebirth brought about by a reorientation of the self. It comes from the realization that humankind is moving in the wrong direction; that human heart is not in the right place; and that the only remedy is a total reorientation away from the self toward God and others. This goal is not accomplished merely by feeble desires and superficial piety. Rather, it is accomplished through deep rooted conversion that profoundly throws open one’s life to God’s mercy and grace.

There are many perspectives from which to approach Lent. For example, “Rend your heart and not your garments” (Joel 2:13) is one approach. The most fundamental and highly effective way to navigate Lent is given to us by Jesus himself – prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. His teaching regarding these is found in (Mt 6:1-18).

Whereas prayer or fasting or almsgiving on its own is a powerful discipline, practiced together they accomplish something far greater. When integrated into daily life together for forty days and beyond, prayer, fasting, and almsgiving have the power to radically reorient our minds, hearts, and life away from the self and toward God and neighbor. Prayer, fasting, and almsgiving together brings about the conversion, renewal, and rebirth we seek.

The Power of Prayer

Jesus’ focus in his teaching on prayer was on authenticity in human relationship with God. “Babbling” and using many words do nothing to impress God. Rather, Jesus invites his disciples to “go to your inner room” (Mt6:6). The inner room here is not a reference to a physical room. “Your inner room” is a reference to the depth of the human soul. It is a reference to a deep and intimate relationship with God. Jesus did this during his forty days in the desert. In the desert he entered his “inner room” where he was face-to-face with God in prayer.

This Lent, like Jesus, let each day find you in “your inner room.” There, in silence and solitude, orient yourself to God in the deepest and most intimate way. It is in “your inner room” that prayer moves from being a practice to a becoming an irreplaceable relationship. This kind of prayer brings about a deep bond with God and nurtures an even deeper intimacy with God. 

Reorientation through Fasting

As with prayer, fasting goes deeper than its actual practice. Often, at the center of our self we find ourselves. Our relationship with ourselves can be healthy, but it can also range from self-obsession to narcissism. Jesus addressed this in his teaching on fasting. In his days, some people had made spiritual practices a way to draw attention to the self. Rather, “When you fast,” Jesus said, “do not look gloomy like the hypocrites. They neglect their appearance, so that they may appear to others to be fasting” (Mt 6:16). When fasting becomes a way to make the self the center, it loses its power as a spiritual discipline.

Jesus’ forty days of fasting in the desert accompanied with prayer oriented him away from himself. He overcame the temptations to turn stone into bread, to test God, and to amass power and glory (Mt 4:1-11). It helped him to orient himself radically toward total devotion to God and to the task of human redemption.

For us too, Lenten fasting is an effective way to move away from a destructive focus on the self and to orient ourselves toward God and neighbor. Since food and drink are the most basic needs of the human self, fasting and abstinence become a powerful way to overcome the temptation to constant self-gratification. Rather, the denial of a very basic needs becomes a means to gain control over all of life’s temptations. When fasting is accompanied with genuine prayer, it orients the soul toward God in a the most profound way.    

Restorative Almsgiving

The re-orientation of the self in Jesus’ teaching is not only toward God, but also toward the neighbor. Surprisingly, in his time even almsgiving had become an exercise in self-promotion (Mt 6:2). This is not uncommon even today. Many people give alms to deal with their guilt, or to feel good about themselves, or even to gain the good graces of God.

True almsgiving comes from understanding the dignity of the human person. Every human person is created in God’s own image and likeness. Many of our brothers and sister are denied the dignity that is due to them. Genuine almsgiving is reaching out to those in need for their sake and not ours. It is fulfilling the needs of others and restoring them dignity and respect.  

During his time in the desert, Jesus not only oriented himself toward God but also to the cause of human redemption. The God-given dignity surrendered by our first parents in the Garden of Eden was reclaimed by Jesus in the desert. Jesus did not merely give alms to do this. He gave his life to restore dignity to humankind.  

It is Jesus’ self-giving that is the motivation and model for our Lenten almsgiving. Whereas our fasting reorients us away from self-gratification, our almsgiving orients us toward the needs of our neighbor. In doing so, we don’t just satisfy some fundamental insufficiency in us but reach out in genuine love for our neighbor. This kind of almsgiving takes more than giving a few coins. It involves some form of self-giving.   

The call of Lent goes beyond lent. The goal of Lent is not that after forty days we revert back to the lifestyle we left behind. Rather, Lent orients us to a lifelong selflessness that keeps us intimately connected to God and makes our spirituality life-giving for others. This indeed is the meaning of conversion, renewal and rebirth.  

Fr. Satish Joseph