As alarms ring to remind of obligations, phones ding with alerts, and social media and news alike highlight the continued global challenges of hatred, bigotry and violence, Christian faith leaders across denominations are encouraging people to dive into the power of Lenten practices to find ways to mute societal distractions, listen to God, and build community.
“Now more than ever, Lent calls us to listen more deeply for God’s voice, to fast from indifference, and to draw closer to one another in community.” the Rev. Thomas L. Bowen, newly minted General Secretary for the Progressive National Baptist Convention, told The Informer.
Lent, which officially started this year on Feb. 18 — Ash Wednesday — is the 40 days and nights leading up to Easter, where Christians around the world often fast. The tradition of fasting is not only in acknowledgement of Jesus’ death and resurrection, but his own 40 days and nights in the wilderness, after his baptism, where he was pushed and tested.
The Rt. Rev. Mariann Budde, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington, calls this the time where Jesus was “on the edge of his physical and spiritual limits for 40 days.”
“One way to practice Lent, then, would be to go to the edge ourselves, however we define it,” Budde wrote in the Feb. 19 statement: “Lent: Life at the Edge of Our Comfort.” “It’s not an easy journey—going to your physical edge hurts. If you stay there too long, you can collapse or do real damage to your body. But without reaching your edge and staying there long enough for your body to learn from it, you will never improve.”
From Bowen, to Budde, the Rev. Grainger Browning of Ebenezer A.M.E. Church in Oxon Hill, Maryland, and Pope Leo XIV, faith leaders emphasize the importance of following God’s voice, fasting, and seeking community throughout Lent, noting the benefits of doing so last beyond the 40-day season.
“Lent is a time in which the Church, guided by a sense of maternal care, invites us to place the mystery of God back in the center of our lives, in order to find renewal in our faith and keep our hearts from being consumed by the anxieties and distractions of daily life,” the pope said in a Feb. 5 message delivered from the Vatican.
Listening for God
While online trends, personal needs and desires, and political leaders, might influence much of society, Pope Leo XIV, the first American-born pontiff, encouraged following God’s guidance throughout Lent.
“The Lenten journey is a welcome opportunity to heed the voice of the Lord and renew our commitment to following Christ, accompanying him on the road to Jerusalem, where the mystery of his passion, death and resurrection will be fulfilled,” he said.
The pope places listening as the first part of the 40-day spiritual journey.
“Listening to the word in the liturgy teaches us to listen to the truth of reality. In the midst of the many voices present in our personal lives and in society, Sacred Scripture helps us to recognize and respond to the cry of those who are anguished and suffering,” he said. “In order to foster this inner openness to listening, we must allow God to teach us how to listen as he does.”
Inspired by Matthew 4:1, where the gospeler tells of Jesus’ retreat to the wilderness following his baptism and prior to kicking off his ministry, Budde said that it is critical to listen to God’s guidance during the season “on the edge.”
While fasting often shines as a central part of the Lenten season, faith leaders explain that the practice should come from spiritual direction.
“If we are already living on the edge, the spiritual task is to listen for the voice of God, and take on practices that can help us find peace and learn what the wilderness has to teach,” she explained.
Fasting: A Personal Journey in the Wilderness
Often fasting is not only about giving up things that distract people from their faith journey, but also taking on a practice that deepens the relationship with God.
“If Lent is a time for listening, fasting is a concrete way to prepare ourselves to receive the word of God. Abstaining from food is an ancient ascetic practice that is essential on the path of conversion,” Pope Leo XIV said. “Precisely because it involves the body, fasting makes it easier to recognize what we ‘hunger’ for and what we deem necessary for our sustenance. Moreover, it helps us to identify and order our ‘appetites,’ keeping our hunger and thirst for justice alive and freeing us from complacency. Thus, it teaches us to pray and act responsibly towards our neighbor.”
As pastor of Ebenezer A.M.E., Browning also encourages his congregation to treat fasting as a means of spiritual formation.
“During Lent I encourage people to identify anything that is hindering your relationship with God,” said Browning. “Some of the things people give up include watching TV, being on social media, giving up certain foods and drinks.”
Browning said he has witnessed the transformative power of observing Lent firsthand.
“I have seen marriages restored,” he told The Informer. “This is one of the high moments in the life of our church. At the end of the Lenten season I am at a spiritual high.”
While she does not mention fasting directly, Bishop Budde discusses the physical, mental, and spiritual discomfort while on the edge, that can ultimately help to strengthen Christian’s faith.
She likens the physical challenge to watching Olympic athletes push themselves to limits, in order to achieve their goals, or yoga teachings, which encourages “stretching beyond your flexibility,” in order to eventually find “peace in that uncomfortable place,” and develop more flexibility and core strength.
The Episcopal bishop said mentally going to the edge means moving “beyond the comfort of our own assumptions and knowledge.”
“It involves learning new concepts, some of which may be so foreign that our minds simply cannot grasp them at first,” she said in her statement ahead of Lent. “It’s not a comfortable place. Yet if we don’t ever go to the edge of our mental capabilities, we will never learn anything, nor experience the joy of at last understanding that which previously eluded us.”
She breaks down spiritually going to the edge as perhaps starting a new practice “perhaps in an area of weakness.”
“Maybe this is the year for me to practice forgiveness and acceptance of what I cannot change. Maybe this is the year for you to be quiet, or to be anything but quiet. Maybe it’s the year to let go of something, or maybe to take on a new commitment,” she wrote. “Whatever the spiritual edge is for you and me, it is by definition uncomfortable, taking us somewhere beyond our flexibility.”
Budde said that practicing Lent requires being mindful of what one does and does not do in order to survive and thrive during the character- and faith-developing moment.
“It matters what we eat in the wilderness and how well we sleep,” she explained. “It matters what we spend our time thinking about, what we read, or watch on our screens—or refrain from watching.”
Creating Community Even in the Loneliness of the Wilderness
While listening to God and fasting are critical to Lenten practices, Christians are also called to prioritize togetherness during sacred time.
“Lent emphasizes the communal aspect of listening to the word and fasting,” Pope Leo XIV said. “The Bible itself underlines this dimension in multiple ways. For example, the Book of Nehemiah recounts how the people gathered to listen to the public reading of the Law, preparing to profess their faith and worship through fasting, so as to renew the covenant with God (Nehemiah 9:1-3).”
Though practicing Lent is a personal journey, building community is one way to make it through the mentally, physically and spiritually demanding time.
“It’s also important to be in community when we’re on the edge. While there is an unavoidable loneliness in the wilderness — in that no one can walk our path for us — we can offer one another support and encouragement,” Budde said. “This is a particularly good season to be faithful in Sunday worship and to take advantage of the opportunities to spend Lent with others that your local congregation offers.”
Browning, who said that during Lent more than 400 people attend weekly services, explained the importance of giving back to others as part of the 40-day season.
“For me it is a time to not only read the Bible more, pray and be devoted to ministry, but also get involved in community service like the PTA (parent-teacher association), tutoring and teaching,” said Browning, who has been intentional about Lenten practices for more than 40 years.
Bowen, who also serves as Earl L. Harrison minister of social justice and congregational care at Shiloh Baptist Church, said for Black Americans in particular, Lent offers a charge to follow God’s guidance in order to achieve a more just and equitable society.
“In the Black Church tradition — as the Progressive National Baptist Convention’s Lent in the Black Church Tradition: A 40-Day Justice Journey reminds us — this season is not only about reflection,” he told The Informer, “but about renewing our commitment to seek justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with God in both our personal lives and our public witness.”