Lent is a season of preparation, introspection, and reflection. Voice of the Faithful has prepared the following list of links to resources, reflections, and readings to help you observe the season. Some of the links lead to online reflections, and others lead to places where you may purchase booklets or pamphlets for use during your 40-day journey toward Jesus’s suffering, death, and Resurrection.
Uppermost in our minds as this 2022 season of Lent begins is the war in Ukraine, so we start with Pope’s Francis’ request for peace and no more war.
Pope Francis’s Asks for Peace in Ukraine
I ask you to pray the Our Father for peace in Ukraine, now and throughout this Day.
Let us ask the Lord to grant that the country may grow in the spirit of brotherhood, and that all hurts, fears and divisions will be overcome.
We have spoken about the Holocaust. But let us think too that [in Ukraine] millions of people were killed [1932-1933].
They are a people who have suffered; they have suffered from hunger, suffered from much brutality and they deserve peace.
May the prayers and supplications that today rise up to heaven touch the minds and hearts of world leaders, so that dialogue may prevail and the common good be placed ahead of partisan interests.
Please, no more war.
If you have a favorite resource for Lenten reflections, let us know. You can email office@votf.org (link sends e-mail), and we will review your resource for our list.
Lent and Easter Resources, offered by the Catholic Apostolate Center.
Lent calendar, offered by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
Lent 2022: Spiritual reflections, prayer resources, and more, offered by America: The Jesuit Review magazine online, a resource developed by the America staff.
Return to Me: Lenten Reflections from Holy Cross(link is external), offer by College of the Holy Cross, Worcester, Massachusetts, by tradition and choice, a Jesuit liberal arts college serving the Catholic community, American society, and the wider world, where participants in college life to join in dialogue about basic human questions: What is the moral character of learning and teaching? How do we find meaning in life and history? What are our obligations to one another? What is our special responsibility to the world’s poor and powerless?
The Crucified Is My Love: Morning & Evening Devotions for the Holy Season of Lent(link is external), by Johann Ernst von Holst, translated by Kathleen Hasenberg, offered by Plough Quarterly, a magazine of stories, ideas, and culture to inspire faith and action.
Sacred Silence: Daily Meditations for Lent(link is external), by Phyllis Zagano, Ph.D., an internationally acclaimed Catholic scholar and lecturer on contemporary spirituality and women’s issues in the Church, and senior research associate-in-residence and adjunct professor of religion at Hofstra University.
Lent Resources(link is external), from Ave Maria Press, a ministry of the United States Province of Holy Cross.
Lent and Easter Reflections(link is external), daily devotional offering reflections on the Gospel of the day in practical, faithful, and down-to-earth ways from My Catholic Life’s daily reflections series.
Lenten Resources(link is external), from Loyola Press based on Ignatian Spirituality, to encourage contemplation and reflective prayer during the season of Lent.
Lent: A time to be broken?(link is external) Fr. Robert McTeigue., S.J., offers reflections on poetry for Lent on Aleteia, an online publication distributed in eight languages.
Lenten Reflections(link is external), essays and podcasts by Boston College’s Church in the 21st Century Center.
Lenten Meditations(link is external), sign up to receive a Lenten meditation each morning during Lent from the clergy of the Washington National Cathedral.
Wondrous Encounters(link is external), Lent meditations on daily scripture readings from Richard Rohr, Franciscan priest and globally recognized ecumenical teacher who founded the Center for Action and Contemplation in Albuquerque, New Mexico (Use the Amazon Smile link on our website to order Rohr’s booklet to support Voice of the Faithful with a small percentage of the purchase price).
Lent: The Way of Ignatius of Loyola(link is external), a 2019 Lent retreat on Sacred Spaces’ (Jesuits) website that is still timely for 2022.
Your 40-Day Journey(link is external), full of amazing possibilities from Dynamic Catholic, “It’s not what you give up. It’s who you become.”
A Concord Pastor Comments(link is external), a daily reflection/prayer from Fr. Austin Fleming of Holy Family and St. Irene Parishes in Concord, Massachusetts