Lent 2025

Pope Francis has declared 2025 a Jubilee Year with the theme “Pilgrims of Hope.” I invite you to think of the upcoming season of Lent as a pilgrimage. We set our feet to leave behind familiar patterns of ambivalence, temptation, and sin and to journey toward greater faith, hope and love. Here is some frequently offered advice for pilgrims.

Pack light. Remember, you’re going to have to carry your own luggage. A pilgrim will always want to bring along one nice set of clothes for that Sunday Mass in a remarkably special church or the farewell dinner with fellow pilgrims. Other than that, the rule is to bring simple, repeatable, conservative clothing that allows for comfortable walking in every condition. In other words, bring the basics.

The pilgrimage of Lent is a wonderful opportunity to get back to basics in our spiritual life. This is a moment to pare back those distractions that keep us from focusing our attention on the ones we love – most especially God. Daily prayer, daily scripture, the sacramental life, spiritual friendships (including the lives of the saints), works of mercy and sacrificing for others, these are the ways we typically focus on hearing and responding to God’s gift of himself. The pilgrimage of Lent is a great time to focus again on one or two of these practices.

Focus on relationships. A pilgrim seeks to grow in devotion to God. Also, a pilgrim comes to know something of God through other pilgrims and the local churches (communities) they visit.

Lately, I’ve spoken with several people who returned from walking the Camino de Santiago. I continue to be fascinated that most of these pilgrims never describe the church they enter to end the pilgrimage. They don’t generally report a mystical experience while kneeling at the shrine in Santiago de Compostela. Instead, they mostly share about the people they met along the way and the faith sharing that happens between pilgrims. Sometimes there is a spiritual lesson learned by dealing with blisters or accommodations. Lighting a candle or offering incense and prayer for a loved one, after carrying their special need in prayer throughout the journey, can be profound.

Lent also should focus on our friendship with God. A very special aspect of that relationship is the way the love, joy, gentleness, and all the Gifts of the Holy Spirit that flow from that relationship with God, well over into the lives we share together. God uses our neighbors to draw us into true worship of God, like pilgrims sharing life and prayerful accompaniment on the way. Marking Lent in a way that highlights this communal aspect of Christian life is likely to be a fruitful pilgrimage indeed.

Accept what comes. Sometimes the holy church a pilgrim dreams of visiting is covered with scaffolding and your holy hour spot is filled with picture-happy tourists. A queasy stomach makes it difficult to experience awe at even the holiest of relics. Rather than pronouncing the effort ruined, a pilgrim looks for the unexpected moments when mind and heart were lifted to God and gives thanks even for discomforts.

Your Lenten pilgrimage might be like this too. Maybe you promise to offer a daily rosary with your neighbor. Then your neighbor says something unkind on Ash Wednesday, and your first week of Lenten devotion is lost to the distraction of hurt feelings. Or your job becomes extra demanding just when you’ve promised to spend fewer hours at work and to have more family dinners during Lent. A pilgrim faces a decision. Do we declare the whole journey a loss because it doesn’t live up to our ideals, or do we accept imperfection and seek comfort, understanding, and grace in the moments

we can spend with the Lord? A pilgrim accepts. Most years, Lent is a tremendous moment for the spiritual exercise of accepting imperfection and graciously receiving God’s offer of mercy. Don’t fail to recognize the grace and growth in humility that comes from even our less-than-perfect offerings.

We are pilgrims of hope! Remember, when traveling, it’s great advice to be especially patient and understanding with yourself and others. May this holy Lent and Jubilee Year be a font of grace and growth for each of us.