Discipleship in Lent: crossing over through love

Q: Archbishop J, how do we enter Lent?

In our last reflection, we stood in the boat as Jesus said, “Let us cross over to the other side.” Obedience led the disciples into a storm. Fear exposed their fragility. Power revealed His identity. Discipleship always involves movement. It is never static.

Now the Church, in her wisdom, gives us a season—not to abandon the journey—but to deepen it. That season is Lent. It is not a pause in discipleship, but its intensification. It is the deliberate crossing over from surface living to depth, from habit to love, from noise to intimacy.

In Trinidad and Tobago, Lent arrives immediately after Carnival—after colour, sound, costume, and display. The contrast is not accidental. After weeks of outward celebration, the Church invites inward conversion. After spectacle, silence; after indulgence, introspection. This is not a condemnation of joy. It is an invitation to depth.

Lent is the serene courage to go deeper, to allow the Spirit to lead us into the desert as he led Jesus to be tested (Mt 4:1). The desert is not punishment but formation. It is where illusions fall away, and desire is purified. It is where identity is clarified, where you choose for God.

St James tells us that trials test faith, so we may become “fully developed, complete, lacking in nothing” (Jas 1:2–4). Gold is refined in fire; so are we in the fire of God’s love. If you want to grow in discipleship, enter this season of testing not with dread but with trust. The fire is not meant to destroy you, but to reveal what is real.

The logic of love

The Church proposes three practices: prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. These are not disconnected obligations, but one movement of love expressed in three directions.

Prayer draws us into intimacy with God. Fasting purifies desire. Almsgiving expands the heart toward others. While fasting loosens our grip on comfort, almsgiving loosens our grip on possession. And prayer loosens our grip on self-sufficiency. Together, these practices reorder love.

If we approach Lent as deprivation, we will endure it reluctantly. If we approach it through love, we will desire it. Ultimately, what matters is not what we give up but whom we choose to draw near.

Lent prepares us for Easter, the revelation that love is stronger than death. But before resurrection comes surrender; before glory, purification. The disciple who crossed the lake must also walk toward Jerusalem.

The single question

This Lent, ask one question: How do I deepen my discipleship with the grace the Church now offers me?

Every true movement of discipleship begins with desire, and even that desire is grace. The longing you feel for a deeper relationship with Christ is not self-generated. It is God already moving toward you. If you take one step toward Him, you will discover He has already taken many steps toward you.

Begin simply: “Lord, what do You want of me this Lent?” “How do You want me to make this time sacred?” Lent is not about heroic performance. It is about honest return.

“Come back to me”

Ash Wednesday opens with the cry of the prophet Joel: “Come back to me with all your heart…” (2:12). There is no spectacle here. No spiritual theatrics. This is Christ, the lover calling the beloved back to covenantal love. “Let your hearts be broken, not your garments torn” (2:13). God is not waiting to punish. He is waiting to receive.

If your prayer has cooled…

If Sunday Mass has become optional…

If your conscience has dulled…

If your fidelity to vocation has weakened…

This is the time to return, not with excuses or spiritual cosmetics, but with truth. Find a quiet place. Speak plainly. Trust the Lord. Go to the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Return fully. The Father does not negotiate repentance. He embraces it.

The social conversion

Lent is never solely a private matter. On the Friday after Ash Wednesday, the Church proclaims the words of Isaiah: “Is not this the fast that I choose…?” (Isa 58:1–9) True fasting involves addressing injustice. It nourishes the hungry and shelters the vulnerable.

In Matthew 25, Jesus removes all ambiguity: what we do for the least, we do for Him. The disciple cannot claim intimacy with Christ while ignoring Christ in the suffering.

In a ‘guava season’ economy, when many families are stretched thin, almsgiving might not involve large sums of money. It could be sharing food. It might be advocacy. It may be setting aside time for another. It could be listening. It may involve protecting a young person quietly drowning in digital isolation. Lent purifies not only private devotion but also public compassion.

A honeymoon for the disciple

Think of Lent as a honeymoon. When two people go on honeymoon, they set aside schedules, distractions, and routines—not because they are forced to, but because they desire to be with the beloved. They clear space. They focus. They attend.

Lent reflects the same logic of love. You are not merely giving up chocolate; you are making space for Christ. You are not abandoning social media but reclaiming attention for communion. You are not fasting to prove strength, but to awaken hunger for God. The deepest hunger of the human heart is not for applause or comfort but for love.

And we do not understand love fully until we allow ourselves to be held by the love of God—a love that touches shame without shattering us, that meets regret without condemning us, that heals wounds more deeply than memory can reach. Like a frightened child whose fear dissolves in an embrace, the soul finds courage in divine tenderness.

St Paul assures us that God can do “infinitely more than we can ask or imagine” (Eph 3:20). Lent is where we dare to believe that promise.

The concrete journey

Love requires structure. Desire needs discipline. To stay focused this Lent:

• Reduce screen time—especially late-night scrolling.
• Visit Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament regularly.
• Attend weekday Mass when possible.
• Choose one day of fasting, if health permits.
• Practice intentional generosity.

The Sunday readings are especially powerful. Read the Gospel for Sunday, beginning on Monday. Pray with it daily. Enter the scene imaginatively:

What do you see?

What do you hear?

Where are you in the story?

Sit patiently. Allow silence. Expect encounter. After Sunday Mass, revisit the text in gratitude. Keep a simple journal. Record what stirs your heart. Discipleship matures through attention.

From storm to serenity

In the boat, the disciples panicked because they did not yet know who was with them. Lent reminds us who is in the boat. It recalibrates the interior life. It reorders desire. It renews mission.

A disciple who neglects the interior life may remain busy—even effective—but not truly fruitful. Lent prevents that drift; it restores first love. Or perhaps, for some, it awakens love for the first time.

Key Message:

Let this be the Lent when love deepened, when the crossing over became real, and when serenity returned, because you truly knew who was with you in the boat.

Action Step:

Walk this Lent intentionally. Follow the weekly reflections in The Catholic News booklet.

Use the resources on Formed.org to enhance your Lenten journey (go to formed.org choose parish account, select Trinidad, select your parish and register with your email). You will find content there. Engage your children and teens with age-appropriate Lenten content.

Scripture for Reflection:

Luke 5:1–11