Return to me with your whole heart, with fasting, and weeping, and mourning.
Rend your hearts, not your garments, and return to the Lord, your God.

~ Joel 2:12-15

It is time again for deep reflection and prayer as we prepare ourselves for the agony of Good Friday and the joy of Easter.

Our prayers continue for a conversion of hearts and minds to nonviolence. Many are distressed and frightened as almost every facet of the federal government in the United States is being destabilized, as civil and human rights are being eliminated; we pray for guidance as we determine a response that is faith-filled, just, positive, and effective.

We pray for all who live in war: for all those in Gaza, the West Bank, Israel, and across the Middle East; for everyone affected by the war in Ukraine; for the people of Yemen, who have been bombarded for years; for the people of the Great Lakes region of Africa; for those around the world who endure constant threat from state or paramilitary actors. We lament the continued loss of life and health caused by the COVID pandemic and other widespread illnesses, from the overt threats of white nationalism and racial injustice to the intractable issues of poverty and unequal access to healthcare.

human standing beside crucifix statue on mountain

The season of Lent allows us to root ourselves ever more deeply in discipleship to the nonviolent Jesus, to demonstrate the unbreakable bond that exists between an authentic spirituality and our commitment to social justice, between the proclamation of the gospel and the call to practice peacemaking, fortifying us to address injustice, violence, and oppression as we have for more than 50 years.

We hope the resources below for prayer, study and action will be helpful to you as we journey through Lent together, walking the way of discipleship with Jesus toward the Cross by challenging systems which dominate and oppress in our world today.

REFLECTIONS FOR SUNDAYS AND HOLY DAYS

On this page throughout the season, we will feature reflections from this year’s Pax Christi USA Lenten reflection booklet and other excerpts from past booklets (based on Cycle C of the liturgical year.) We’ll also send our weekly Lenten emails directly to your inbox if you’re subscribed to our free email service. (Click here to sign up if you are not already subscribed.)

PRAY-STUDY-ACT EACH WEEK OF LENT

Each week, we’ll be crafting a special Pray-Study-Act e-bulletin (PSA) with resources for us all to use and to act on in common. Each PSA will be sent out a few days prior to the week to which it refers; links will be made available closer to the dates.

OTHER LENTEN RESOURCES

Weekly events

Holy Week and Good Friday observances, April 14-18

Traditionally, many Pax Christi USA local groups plan and stage a Way of the Cross event on Good Friday, connecting the sufferings of Christ during his passion with the suffering of our brothers and sisters at the hands of violence, greed, poverty, sickness and war.

>>Join Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP) during Holy Week as we enter into a time of prayer and fasting, reflecting on love, sacrifice and redemption. Each day, beginning April 14 and going through April 19 from 12:30-1:00 pm Eastern, an honored guest will reflect on Jesus’ life in the week leading up to the Cross, followed by a time of communal prayer. As we journey to the reconciliation found in the Cross and resurrection, we will pray for reconciliation and peace to prevail in the Middle East. Use this link to read more and to register.

>> Let us know if you have a Way of the Cross planned in your community.

  • New York City, starting at 8:30 AM: Pax Christi Metro New York (PCMNY) will hold its annual Good Friday Way of the Cross starting at Dag Hammarskjold Plaza (East 47th Street between 1st Avenue and 2nd Avenue). This year’s theme will be “In a time of polarization and conflict, how do we follow the path of Jesus?”Contact PCMNY for more details: 212-420-0250, paxchristimetronewyork@gmail.com, or visit the website or Facebook page.
  • Washington DC, starting at 12 PM: The Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns invites everyone to join them for an in-person Stations of the Cross procession, starting at the National Archives, 700 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, across from the Archives-Navy Memorial metro station. The procession will last approximately two hours, stretching west on Pennsylvania Avenue towards Lafayette Park.
  • Pittsburgh, PA (Hazelwood), starting at 9:30 AM: Hosted by Pittsburgh Area Pax Christi. This is a contemporary, ecumenical public procession using prayer and silence to commemorate Christ’s passion as it is lived out in our world today. Gather at the corner of Second Avenue and Renova Street and process through Hazelwood for about one mile stopping at various sites to pray and commemorate Christ’s passion. Participants are encouraged to bring a cross or a sign to carry concerning a social justice issue important to them. This year we also encourage participants to bring pairs of socks for the unhoused. These will be collected at the end of the walk. For information please call Mimi Darragh 412-445-7102.

Below are resources for groups interested in undertaking a Way of the Cross in their community during Holy Week and on Good Friday, April 18.

2025 LENTEN REFLECTION BOOKLET

Purchase a downloadable PDF edition of this year’s Lenten reflection booklet, Return to me with all your heart: Reflections for Lent 2025, which includes reflections based on the daily liturgical readings for the entire season of Lent, from Ash Wednesday through Easter.

The print version is sold out. Thank you to everyone who purchased a copy!

>>Use this link to order the e-version

Ash Wednesday observances, March 5

  • Pax Christi Metro New York leafletted a Lenten reflection at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, 5th Avenue between 50th and 52nd Streets in Manhattan.
  • Pax Christi USA and others prayed and blessed each other with ashes on the grounds of the US Capitol. Use this link to access the prayer service script.
  • Nuns Against Gun Violence held an online prayer service on Ash Wednesday.