As a boy, I attended a Roman Catholic Franciscan boarding school. I sometimes felt on the margins as an Episcopalian: I couldn’t receive Holy Communion or go to Confession, but I was very much a part of the school’s life. I attended daily religion classes, sang in the church choir and prayed frequently. We prayed before meals, at the start of every class, at the end of evening study hall and just before lights out.

When I transitioned to public school, something felt off. The new school had many of the same outward structures—classrooms, sports, schedules—but something essential was missing. Eventually, I came to understand that I longed for the rhythm of prayer, which gave structure and meaning to everything else. It framed our days, our actions, even our relationships. That daily rhythm of prayer and work, school and recreation, was a blessing I carry with me to this day.

As an adult, I have tried to return to those early practices of daily prayer. Like many, I don’t always succeed. My prayer life sometimes takes a back seat to work and other demands. But I know the difference it makes.

For Sister Monica Clare, the author of these Lenten Meditations, the journey was reversed. She began her adult life in a fast-paced career, surrounded by talented, ambitious and engaging people. By all accounts, she was thriving. But something vital was missing—something she later found in the Community of St. John Baptist, an Episcopal religious order of women. In that sacred community, she discovered the power and peace of the Divine Hours—those regular, intentional pauses throughout the day for prayer, reflection and Scripture. Through these quiet acts, Sister Monica found what so many of us long for: a life rooted in God, given shape, meaning and direction through the holy habit of prayer.

These meditations are an invitation for you to rediscover—or deepen—that same spiritual rhythm. Each day of Lent (excluding Sundays), you’ll find a Gospel reading paired with a thoughtful reflection from Sister Monica Clare and a question for you to consider in response. You’re encouraged to make space around each reading: through prayer, music, silence, or even shared conversation with others. You can journey through these meditations alone, or with fellow travelers in your community or congregation.

Wherever you are in your spiritual life, know that you are not alone. As you read and reflect, you are joining a global community of readers, all seeking to bring their lives into closer alignment with God through this sacred season.

May these meditations help you find the stillness, structure and spiritual depth that Lent so beautifully offers. And may you have a holy Lent.

Sean McConnell
Senior Director, Faith & Community Engagement

Sister Monica Clare is an Episcopal nun, author and unlikely TikTok star whose journey from Hollywood to the Convent has inspired hundreds of thousands. Although she has more than 225,000 followers on her channel, @nunsenseforthepeople, Sister Monica Clare is less interested in being a traditional influencer than in helping others in their journey to become followers of Christ. In her videos and writing, she seeks to demystify religious life and encourage holy habits of prayer, Scripture engagement and care for others. As the Superior of the Community of St. John Baptist in Mendham, New Jersey, and soon to be an ordained priest, Sr. Monica brings both compassion and candor to her role as a spiritual counselor.

Before taking vows in 2012, Sister Monica’s path looked very different: she worked as a photo editor in Los Angeles, performed in an acoustic rock duo and trained with the renowned Groundlings improv comedy group. In June 2021, she launched her TikTok presence not to seek fame, but to share joy, break stereotypes about religious life and offer hope in a world often marked by cynicism.

She is the author of the recently released book, A Change of Habit, a memoir that explores her unlikely vocation and, in her words, “reveals how much we can say yes to when we stop laboring to prove our worth to ourselves and others.”

I live in an Augustinian religious community with eleven other sisters under the vows of Poverty, Chastity and Obedience. Our community is both active and contemplative, meaning that we lead a life of prayer and contemplation alongside a life of active ministry to the world.

In our formation, we are taught that the life of prayer is our primary work, and that everything else comes from that life of prayer. Five times a day, we gather in the convent chapel to pray the Divine Office, also known as the Sanctification of the Hours. This ancient practice, which comes from traditions that predate Christianity, reminds us that time is not our own. It is a gift from God. We give thanks and praise to God by sanctifying the hours of the day through the chanting of Psalms, the reading of Scripture and the singing of hymns.

In the Anglican tradition, the Divine Office was considered so important that it was included in the Book of Common Prayer, even after the dissolution of the monasteries during the English Reformation. The monasteries were gone, but the Offices remained intact in Morning Prayer, Noonday Prayer, Evening Prayer and Compline in the Prayer Book. At the Convent, we refer to Morning Prayer by its ancient name of Lauds and Evening Prayer by the equally ancient name of Vespers.

I have to admit that when I first entered the Convent, the Divine Office was the hardest thing for me to get used to. Chanting the Psalms and listening to Scripture readings at Lauds, Terce and Vespers every day bored me to tears. I didn’t know if I’d ever get used to it. I tried hard to focus, but my restless mind would not be still. After a couple of years, I finally realized that I didn’t need to try so hard. Our daily prayers had begun to change me just as regular exercise changes people at the gym. The words of Scripture, I realized, were not just words. They were a mystical experience that sank into my bones and became part of my DNA. The holy habit of daily prayer is not easy to get used to at first, but if you persevere, it changes you, and you start to feel that you can’t live without it.

For these Lenten meditations, I am providing reflections on the Scripture readings for Vespers during Lent. In doing so, I hope to provide some added appreciation for the Sanctification of the Hours, allowing readers to become familiar with texts that are not typically heard in churches on Sundays, and to encourage holy habits of daily prayer and Scripture engagement. Each day, you’ll see the listing for the full Gospel reading and an excerpt that guides the daily meditation.

Our religious community was founded in England in 1852, and generations of Sisters have faithfully continued the Sanctification of the Hours for 174 years.

“As it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.”