Create in Me a New Heart: Lent 2025
About this Series
Ash Wednesday begins the 40-day season of Lent: a time of self-examination and prayer in preparation for Easter.
Lent historically began as a season when those hoping to be baptized at the Great Vigil of Easter gave themselves to profound fasting, prayer, study, and works of charity. Years of preparation were about to end at the font. The entire Church supported them and shared in their special devotion, so Lent became a time of renewal for everyone and a season of gratitude for the gift of baptismal rebirth.
All those millennia ago, no one else in the culture knew or cared, but the Christian community was consumed with preparation for baptism. Lent still knocks us out of step with the rest of the world and invites us to pause, look deeper, and be challenged by what we see. Above all, Lent encourages us to see that in baptism God has given us new life and made us members of Jesus’ Body. Our gratitude for such a gift is matched by our regret that we have failed to embrace it fully. So, Lent is a paradoxical season of gratitude and repentance.
This series of weekly reflections has been prepared by the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine, featuring the voices of our Cathedral clergy, Chapter, and our Diocesan Bishops. Wherever you are in your journey of faith, we hope these meditations invite you into this sacred season of reflection, repentance, and ultimately, renewal. Download them here.
You are also warmly invited to join us for worship at the Cathedral. We have opportunities to gather both in person and online; both on Sunday and throughout the week. Please visit our website for updates regarding the observance of the Lenten and Easter seasons at the Cathedral.