Lent in 2025

Once a year, midwinter, a question starts percolating in my mind: what should I give up for Lent? These days I also wonder how to steady myself as a citizen witness in a time of chaos and discord when men in power willfully inflict suffering. On Ash Wednesday my answer boiled down to resistance. Instead of fasting from candy or alcohol, I stopped shopping at Amazon and withdrew from Facebook and Instagram.

Will my individual action make a difference? Honestly, no. Boycotting companies owned by oligarchs can’t be effective unless some critical mass of consumers join in and sustain the embargo for as long as it might take – like the bus boycott or the UFW grape boycott. And would scaling up be a fair ask? Lots of people rely on Meta platforms to promote their businesses, and online shopping is a lifeline for the homebound — not to mention all the employees who depend on these companies for an income. Lent has made me realize how lucky I am. Shopping local and taking a break from social media for forty days haven’t turned out to be much of a sacrifice.

The forty days before Easter are not just about giving something up though. Fasting is meant to be joined with prayer and almsgiving, an intertwining of traditional practices that braid action and contemplation. This Lent has brought me new prayers: a friend taught me to chant the Mangala mantra, which includes the plea, May the leaders of the earth protect in every way by keeping to the right path,* and Abbey of the Arts introduced me to earth psalms. Meanwhile, an old prayer has become more heartfelt: deliver us from evil. To whom shall I give alms? I have only to pose the question for answers to come. Last week I got an email from Second Harvest Food Bank asking for help as they try to “overcome the challenges created by recent shifts in U.S. policy, including federal funding freezes that have disrupted our food supply.”

With its threefold practice of fasting, prayer and almsgiving Lent has given me hints for how to be a good citizen. The personal is political, and, as it turns out, the spiritual is too. 

* Translation from Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, Yoga Shala Nashville. I’ve also heard this translated May the citizens, lawmakers, and rulers walk the right path.