Online Lenten Resources
As we enter the first week of Lent, you may have been caught off-guard by the sudden arrival of the season! If it has, like it has for me, then maybe a collection of Lenten resources could help you enter more deeply into the season. Here are some contemporary resources from several diverse sources. I hope they are helpful!
As always, the beautiful words of Pope Francis, from this Lenten message for 2021, captures the heart and spirit of the Lenten seasonal invitations:
Dear brothers and sisters, every moment of our lives is a time for believing, hoping and loving. The call to experience Lent as a journey of conversion, prayer and sharing of our goods, helps us – as communities and as individuals – to revive the faith that comes from the living Christ, the hope inspired by the breath of the Holy Spirit and the love flowing from the merciful heart of the Father.
May Mary, Mother of the Saviour, ever faithful at the foot of the cross and in the heart of the Church, sustain us with her loving presence. May the blessing of the risen Lord accompany all of us on our journey towards the light of Easter.
The National Council of Churches in Australia is a national organisation that works in partnership with state Christian ecumenical councils around Australia. They are an ecumenical body, working to provide spaces of dialogue for Christian denominations to find common ground in faith and to pray together in a spirit of fraternity. They offer many links to free online Lenten resources, including Lenten reflections for 2021. The library can be found here:
https://www.ncca.org.au/ncca-newsletter/february-2021-1/item/2360-lenten-resources-2021021
Godspace, an online space for Christian spirituality, is organised by a husband-and-wife team of Christine and Tom Sine. They have collected an eclectic and considerable amount of Lenten resources across a number of Christian perspectives. Although dated 2019, the site was recently updated to include videos, reflections, and links to numerous current resources. Have a gander here:
https://godspacelight.com/2019/02/12/resources-for-lent-the-latest-for-2019/
From the USA, the Marist Fathers have produced a calendar of daily reflections for Lent, drawing on elements of our shared Marist spirituality for the season. The link to the calendar is here: https://www.societyofmaryusa.org/content/uploads/2021/02/Lenten-Calendar_2021_F.pdf
America Magazine, one of the world’s leading English-language Catholic publications, is providing substantive reflections on Lent for 2021. Check out the current resources, and regular updates, here: https://www.americamagazine.org/lent2021
On the international website for the Marist Brothers, there are collections of prayers and resources offered across our Marist spirituality and for the liturgical seasons. By far the largest collection of resources are provided for Lent, so check them out here: https://champagnat.org/en/library/prayers/