Monthly Letter
LENT
February 2026
LENT starts on Ash Wednesday 18th February – there will be a Sung Eucharist with Ashing at 7.30 pm at St Matthew’s for all three parishes.
But what is Lent? Ask Google and you get this AI-generated answer: “Lent is a 40-day Christian season of prayer, fasting, and repentance leading up to Easter, commemorating Jesus' temptation in the wilderness, beginning on Ash Wednesday and ending on Easter Eve, where followers focus on self-examination, charity, and spiritual growth by giving things up or taking on new disciplines. This solemn period involves practices like abstaining from meat, reducing luxuries, and increased giving, preparing believers for the celebration of Christ's resurrection.”
A good summary, I think. Google goes on to ask four questions:
What is the forbidden word in Lent? Traditionally the word 'alleluia' is not said or sung between Ash Wednesday and the first celebrations of Easter. Shrove Tuesday services end with 'alleluia' before laying the word aside for the 40 days of Lent.
What are the 3 R's of Lent? Reflection, Repentance and Reconciliation are necessities on this journey, interwoven with prayer, fasting and almsgiving. The goal of the Lenten season should be to follow Jesus through his life of self-giving, beyond the Crucifixion to the Resurrection.
Why don't some Protestants do Lent? During the Reformation, John Calvin condemned Lent as a man-made celebration, “replete with superstition.” One Puritan writer said it seemed to be an outward show of self-denial while not addressing the heart. Martin Luther, however, urged it be kept, not out of any necessity (‘one does not need to observe Lent to be either saved or sanctified’) but because he saw Lent as an opportunity for the strengthening of faith and the proclamation of Christ's suffering, death, and resurrection.
What happens if you break Lent rules? Breaking your Lenten promise, perhaps sneaking a piece of chocolate that you swore to give up, is not the end. But practicing humility and honesty about yourself before God is a way to strengthen your relationship with Him.
And why the word ‘Lent’? It is short for ‘lengthen’ – this is the time when days are getting longer. On Ash Wednesday there will be 10 hours 12 minutes between sunrise and sunset; on Easter Day there will be 13 hours 17 minutes. Every day of Lent is about four minutes longer than the previous day. How might we use those four minutes for God?
The Very Rev Geoffrey Marshall
