Lenten Reflection #1
February 18, 2026
Today is Ash Wednesday and since February 2018, I have written my Lenten Reflections for 40 days each year.
320 posts.
320 Stories of my family, my fears, my fallacies, and my favorite moments.
This is my Lenten practice.
My Holy habit.
According to Charles Duhigg, author of The Power of Habit, there is a three-step loop to building habits: cue, routine, and reward. For example, my cue (Lent) triggers my brain to go into automatic mode and start the routine. The routine (Writing) is the behavior itself. And the reward (Sharing and Showing up) is what my brain likes and helps it remember the habit loop in the future.
Duhigg goes on to say, “…there’s nothing you can’t do if you get the habits right.” So here I am again, trying to get the habits right. One day at a time.
TODAY’S FACTS:
For the first time since 1863, three significant traditions intersect this week: Lent, the Lunar New Year, and Ramadan all begin within less than 24 hours of each other. This rare overlap will not happen again until 2189.
As billions of people across the globe begin their spiritual seasons, it might just be what the world needs…a little more faith in ourselves and our neighbors.
- The Lenten Season consists of 40 days of spiritual preparation for Easter, with the three pillars of prayer, fasting, and acts of charity bolstering it up.
- Across Asia, the Lunar New Year (the year of the Fire Horse) begins a new cycle with family reunions, food, and traditions.
- Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar, when Muslims fast from dawn until sunset. Ramadan is supposed to be a month of mercy, goodness, and light that extends to everyone around them, in the hope that everyone receives the ripples of that light.
When interviewed on NPR, Saad Omar, an imam with the Islamic Society of McLean, Virginia, said that the convergence of these religious holidays carries a reminder of our shared humanity. There is a spiritual dimension where two people can have very different ideas and world views and politics, but when they both feel love, the love probably has a similar flavor.
What I learned:
If there is one thing I’ve learned in life, so far, is that we are more alike than we are different. No matter why we pray or fast or give alms, we are all doing it for a reason that is greater than all of us. This is why we are here. To help each other through the murky moments, to feel the hunger for spiritual strength, and to pray that peace will once again be restored.
Thanks for joining me.
I am so grateful you are here,
Lucretia
runonmom.com 