Introduction to Lenten Series 2026, Part 2

Introduction to Lenten Series 2026, Part 2

In order to gain the most during the season of Lent, I encourage you to devote 15 or so minutes per day on each essay. Find a quiet place with minimal distractions and focus your attention on each day’s lesson. Although I have provided recommended spiritual disciplines and prayers, I encourage you to use whatever methods and techniques draw you closer to the cross. It will be helpful, however, to do more than simply read what I have written. While reading the words of others can provide knowledge, it will not provide an experience. The purpose of meditating on the Stations of the Cross is to experience the scenes with Jesus, not to simply read about them. I encourage you to keep a journal of your thoughts and insights as you traverse this road to the resurrection. Here is a brief overview of the spiritual disciplines recommended in this book:

Fasting

            Fasting is a spiritual discipline that should make a person uncomfortable but not miserable. It should be difficult, but not impossible to maintain. The point is to use the discomfort as a reminder of something important. Several different types of fasts are recommended throughout this study.

At its core, fasting is a break in routine. Generally, it involves some degree of sacrifice – intentionally giving up something of comfort, utility, or entertainment in order to receive something else, like a spiritual insight or experience. Too often, we cruise through a recurring rhythm in our days without stopping to contemplate meanings and significance. A fast, then, breaks that rhythm and shakes us out of our subconscious patterns and into a conscious awareness of the significance of the season. I have recommended several different types of fasts, each to last a few days before moving on to a different one. Feel free to design your own fasts, holding to the guideline that a fast should make you uncomfortable by breaking your routine.

Meditation

            Meditation is a practice of actively focusing attention. Finding a quiet environment, absent of distraction is important. The purpose of the discipline of meditation is to focus one’s attention on one thought or scene. Through this type of focused attention, we prepare ourselves to receive insights, inspiration, and wisdom related to the subject of our meditation.

Silence

            Attaining silence is, perhaps, the most difficult of the spiritual disciplines to achieve. To experience a degree of silence, one must find a quiet environment as devoid of televisions, computers, phones, and people as possible. The goal is to free our minds of all distractions, including and especially our own internal dialogue. In silence, we listen. We usually will hear nothing, and that is okay. The very experience of silence, however, lowers our heart rate and our blood pressure, while enhancing our ability to face whatever challenges confront us and, perhaps, even sense the gentle nudging of God. The benefits of striving for and experiencing silence may not be immediately apparent. Once achieved, however, silence will bring us as close to experiencing God as we can come on the Earth.

This is the 2^nd in a daily series titled The Stations of the Cross that will run through Easter 2026, at which time I will return to my weekly Life Notes. Life Notes are my explorations into mysteries that interest me. They are invitations for readers to explore more deeply into life’s mysteries. Engage with me or explore contemplative spiritual direction at ghildenbrand@outlook.com.