Same Lent, Different You

It’s a blessing that Lent happens every year.

It makes me think of hearing a song you loved when you were younger. Or picking up a book you read years ago.

The song can take you back. It breathes some youthful life into you, remembering bygone days. There’s nostalgia in it. Familiarity.

Rereading a book is similar yet different. There’s still familiarity, you know the story, you remember the characters. But you notice things you didn’t notice the first time.

Not because the book is different. But because you are.

I think there’s a lesson here as we start Lent.

There’s both familiarity with the season and the opportunity to see it anew. To discern how this Lent will build on past Lents—but also how it will be new for you.

Maybe that’s taking up a different spiritual discipline this year. Maybe it’s a different form of prayer you’ve never tried.

Or maybe it’s bringing something back that you’ve done before and found to be fruitful. Try that again. See what the Lord does with it this time.

The Church gives us the same Lent every year. The same forty days. The same call to prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.

But we’re not the same.

We’re different than we were last Lent. Different struggles. Different graces. Different places in our journey.

So, this Lent will be different too.

The same season. A different you.

Reflections by:
Mark Quaranta

Mark Quaranta’s daily reflections, formerly known as Summons, are now The Victor’s Crown. Subscribe for free at TheVictorsCrown.com. Paid subscriptions support the work and unlock premium content. Explore Mark’s prayer journals at PrayOnPaper.com.