Have you ever struggled to forgive someone who hurt you? Someone who, in your mind, didn’t deserve a second chance? If so, you’re not alone.

Jonah felt the same way about Nineveh. He wanted justice, not mercy. He wanted them to pay, not be redeemed. But God had other plans—plans that pushedJonah beyond his own sense of fairness and into something deeper.

And isn’t that our struggle, too?

We want mercy for ourselves but justice for those who have wronged us. Wewant second chances but hesitate to give them. Join us at Ashes to Alleluia -A Franciscan Lenten Journey Friars.us Jonah 3:1-10

Have you ever felt stuck? Like you’re working, praying, doing all theright things—but nothing seems to change?

Maybe you’ve tried to repair a broken relationship, but healing feelsslow. Maybe you’ve prayed for clarity, but the answers remain just out ofreach. Or maybe, like me, you’ve looked at a project, a goal, even your ownspiritual growth and thought, Is anything actually happening?

Join us today at From Ashes to Alleluia A Franciscan Lenten Journey. Friars.us Isaiah 55:10-11

In your school, at work, on the streets—how often doyou pass by someone struggling and convince yourself it’s not your problem? Notout of hatred. Not out of cruelty. Butbecause it’s easier to look away.

Most of us won’t deliberatelychoose to ignore others, but distraction, busyness, and fear can make us blind to those in need.

Today’s Gospel reminds us that thegreatest danger isn’t always what we do—but what we failto see and the danger inthat.Matthew25:31-46  friars.us

Lent is a season of remembering—a call to step beyond the narrow walls of our own comfort and into the vast landscape of mercy. But one of our greatest temptations is to forget—to forget where we came from, the hands that once lifted us, the grace that made a way when there was none. Moses tells us: Do not forget. And Jesus takes us even deeper—asking us to see him in the face of the stranger, to love past fear, to make space where the world would shut its doors. Join me for Ashes to Alleluia: A Franciscan Lenten Journey, where we remember, and in remembering, are changed. Friars.us Deuteronomy 26:4-10

Lent isn’t just about giving things up—it’s about making space for something better.

Isaiah reminds us:

"If you remove oppression from your midst… Ifyou offer your food to the hungry… Thenyour light shall rise in the darkness."

Francis of Assisi got this.

He didn’t just give to the poor—he stepped into their world. Hedidn’t just offer kindness—he let their struggle change him.

Maybe fasting isn’t about what welose, but about what we make room for. Maybe prayer isn’t just about what rises up—but about what moves us outward.

Where is God calling you not just to do good, but tochange what is unjust? Isaiah 58:9b-14

Join me for Ashes to Alleluia – A Franciscan Lenten Journey. friars.us

"Fasting is easy when we’re in control. We decide what we give up, how much it costs us, and when it ends. But what if true fasting isn’t about sacrifice, but about surrender? What if it isn’t about proving our strength, but about breaking something open? Today, Isaiah and Francis invite us into a fast that doesn’t just change us—but transforms a piece of the world. Will we dare to step in?" Isaiah 58:1-9a

Ash Wednesday is in the rear view mirror, and Lent truly begins today. In today's podcast, we will face a simple, powerful question: Are we settling for safe, or do we really want to live? Yesterday’s renewal promises might already be challenged by old fears, but Lent isn’t about perfection—it's about stepping forward despite uncertainty and intentionally listening for God's voice amid the noise.

Reflection Questions:

• Where am I playing it safe rather than choosing what truly brings me alive?
• Could letting go of comfort now lead to something deeper and richer?

⁠Deuteronomy 30:15-20

"You step forward, and the minister smudges a cross of ashes onto your forehead. 'Remember, you are dust…' The words hang in the air. Maybe you nod solemnly, maybe you shuffle back to your seat, but deep down, something stirs. A whisper of fear. Not just fear of death, but fear of something more immediate—the fear of stepping fully into the life God is calling you to. What if this Lent isn’t just about giving something up, but about letting something go? Something that’s been holding you back for far too long.

This episode explores how fear—of failure, of uncertainty, of not being enough—can keep us from the transformation God desires for us. But Ash Wednesday reminds us that we are dust, yes, but dust breathed into life by a God who calls us beyond fear and into freedom.”

And that is what Lent is calling us into.

Lent is not about pretending we are fearless.
It is about choosing transformation anyway.

So what about us?

Where are we afraid of stepping into something new?
Where are we holding back because we are afraid of failing?
Where are we clinging to control because we don’t trust what will happen if we let go?
Where are we still chasing the next thing, instead of sitting with the present moment?
Where have we made ourselves small, when God is calling us into something bigger?
And where do we still hold onto fear—when we are meant to be free?

This is the invitation of Lent.

Not just to give something up,
but to become someone new.Joel 2:12-18