“Yet even now,” declares the Lord, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; and rend your hearts and not your garments.” Return to the Lord your God, for God is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love …

~ Joel 2: 12-13

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 federal agents terrorize immigrant communities; we’ve watched in horror as US citizens who have stood in solidarity with immigrants have been murdered. Federal agencies dedicated to humanitarian foreign assistance have been dismantled. Civil and human rights are being eliminated. Treaties to encourage nuclear disarmament have expired.

We continue to pray for guidance as we respond in a way 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, in Sudan and South Sudan; for the long-suffering people of Haiti, 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 threat 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.

2026 brings a special blessing: This year, Lent coincides with the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Use this link to read a piece from Pax Christi International’s new bishop president, Bishop Jose Colin Bagaforo from the Philippines, about the significance of this highly unusual convergence.

Novena for peace: March 8-16 Join us for prayer every day until March 16 as we pray for peace around the world, especially in Iran, Lebanon, Palestine, Israel, and throughout the region. Pray at noon in your own time zone — we hope to spread a blanket of prayer.

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 A 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

Special events

  • Use this link to sign up for the Season of Faithful Witness to connect with others in your area for public events.

Holy Week and Good Friday observances, March 29-April 3

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.

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

Below are resources for groups interested in undertaking a Way of the Cross in their community during Holy Week and on Good Friday, April 3.

Ash Wednesday observances and past events

  • Pax Christi USA joined other Catholic groups in Washington DC outside the Cannon House Office Building on Capitol Hill (corner of Independence Avenue and New Jersey Avenue) for a prayer service and distribution of ashes.
  • Pax Christi New Jersey organized several events on Ash Wednesday: A rally thanking Cardinal Tobin for his public witness was held outside St. Patrick’s. (Read more here from Religion News Service.) An interfaith prayer service marking the beginning of Lent and Ramadan was held outside the Elizabeth Detention Center (625 Evans St. Elizabeth, NJ). Pax Christi New Jersey and the Archdiocese of Newark hosted Hope rises from the ashes which calls Catholics to witness to the evil and injustice of ICE detention and mass deportation outside Delaney Hall (451 Doremus Avenue, Newark). Immediately following the prayer service everyone was invited to the basement of St. James Church at 143 Madison Street for a light supper and a teach-in.
  • Join Nuns Against Gun Violence for a simple prayer service to begin the Lenten Fast to End Gun Violence. The service will be livestreamed on YouTube, and the recording will be available immediately afterward at the same link: https://youtube.com/live/EndVbZlDr8Y?feature=share
  • Feb. 18, 8 PM Eastern: A call to Christians: Virtual prayer service: Pax Christi USA Executive Director Charlene Howard will be one of the speakers during this online prayer service convened by Dr. Barbara Williams-Skinner, Jim Wallis, and Adam Russell Taylor. Ash Wednesday invites us to tell the truth: we are dust—and we are responsible for what we do with the breath God gives us. In a moment when cruelty is being normalized, rights are being stripped, and the language of faith is being used to bless domination, Christians cannot treat silence as neutrality. This online gathering will be a time for prayer, lament, and moral clarity, rooted in the sovereignty of God over every system and ruler, and in Jesus’ way of truth, mercy, and neighbor-love without exception. Use this link to register.
  • February 24 –  National virtual gathering to kick off to the Season of Faithful Witness: On Tuesday, February 24, Catholics across the country will gather to launch the Season of Faithful Witness, a national invitation to respond to this moment with prayer, moral clarity, and hope. From Ash Wednesday through the feast of Corpus Christi, we will unite in action and visible, nonviolent public witness rooted in the Gospel and Catholic Social Teaching. In a time when many families are living with fear and uncertainty, we are called to affirm the dignity of every human person and the common good, together. Use this link to register for the online event on Tuesday, Feb. 24, 8 PM Eastern/5 PM Pacific.
  • “Way of the Cross — A lament for racial justice,” March 2, a Lenten prayer service offered by Minkisi, an interracial, contemplative prayer, action and African American heritage ministry of Our Lady Queen of Peace Church in Arlington, VA. You can also share this link with your ministries, friends, and neighbors before that time: https://bit.ly/Minkisi02March2026.

2026 LENTEN REFLECTION BOOKLET

Purchase a downloadable PDF edition of this year’s Lenten reflection booklet, Peace compels us: Reflections for Lent 2026, which includes reflections based on the daily liturgical readings for the entire season of Lent, from Ash Wednesday through Easter.

>>Use this link to order the e-version, now on sale for $2.50.