Fridays in Lent are less about deprivation and more about clarity.
When we lay something down — a habit, a comfort, a distraction — we discover what remains.
Often, what remains is space.
Space to pray without hurry. Space to listen without interruption. Space to love without calculation.
Restraint is not misery. It is spaciousness.
We lay things down not because they are evil, but because they are heavy. And sometimes we have been carrying more than we need.
The curious freedom of Lent is that choosing less can feel like receiving more.
And if, while fasting, we discuss recipes with suspicious enthusiasm, God’s mercy appears undiminished.
Companion Prayer
Generous Lord,
Teach us to lay down
what we do not need.
Make space within us
for compassion,
for listening,
for love.
May simplicity
draw us closer to you.
Amen.