Mosaic Lent Guide 2026: Show Me the Wayنموونە

Each theme will guide you with:

1. Psalm – at the beginning of each week, there is a Psalm to use in your prayer. Use it to focus your thoughts and prepare your heart for the words you will read that week and the experiences you will share with Jesus.
2. Thought – you are guided daily with a short contemplation and scripture. Guiding questions in each contemplation can help you to make contact with your inner world. Which emotion, thought, image comes to mind when you think about the word of the day and the questions given to you? React to the invitations by participating in the daily exercise given.
3. Grace – a short prayer is given daily. Use this prayer throughout the day to remind you of the words and experience of the day. Repeat the prayer a few times as you go about your daily routine.
4. Reflection - At the end of each week, there is guidance to reflect on the content and experiences of the past week. Use the reflection prayer to deepen your experience of Lent.

Ash Wednesday

Psalm 121

I lift up my eyes to the mountains

where does my help come from?

My help comes from the Lord,

the Maker of heaven and earth.

He will not let your foot slip

he who watches over you will not slumber;

indeed, he who watches over Israel

will neither slumber nor sleep.

The Lord watches over you

the Lord is your shade at your right hand;

the sun will not harm you by day,

nor the moon by night.

The Lord will keep you from all harm

he will watch over your life;

the Lord will watch over your coming and going

both now and forevermore.

“For you were made from dust, and to dust you will return…” Genesis 3:19 (NLT)

For the next 40 days we will embark on a journey. God, our creator, empowers us, protects us and guides all our coming and goings. As we trust Him for this journey, we recognise that He lovingly watches over our lives.

During this journey, we are invited to set aside time and to allow our imagination to be captured by Jesus’ suffering here on earth. We imagine ourselves being there, where He was, and we ask the Holy Spirit to touch our hearts anew, not only through the Gospels, but also through the Psalms as a language of prayer.

We ask for the grace to move closer to the suffering Jesus. We ask for grace to cry with Him as we journey to the cross.

Early in the history of the church, Christians used the 40 days before Easter Sunday to prepare them spiritually for the remembrance of the big events of Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection. Traditionally, it’s a time of sacrifice, to guide us on a journey through which we feel something of Jesus’ suffering for ourselves. Many Christians give up something during this time of preparation. Some give up meat, sugar, caffeine or social media as a symbol of sacrifice.

The first day of Lent is called Ash Wednesday. On this day - at the beginning of our 40 days of preparation for Easter - we think about our own mortality. It is tradition in many churches to receive a mark of ash on your forehead on Ash Wednesday. The ash is usually made from the palm branches of the previous year’s Palm Sunday. So, from “Hosanna!” (palm branches) to “Crucify Him!”

We usually don't like to be reminded of our own mortality, yet we feel and see ourselves growing older. We recognise the effect that confusion, sorrow, challenges, rejection, busyness and illness have on us. We often find ourselves buckling under the pressure of our brokenness and limitations. We are fragile and vulnerable. Yet, in spite of every moment of our “deadness”, we hear the Voice of Love reminding us that we are not only dust, but BELOVED dust.

At some point today, step outside - into your garden, a park, or a quiet patch of earth. Slow your pace. Breathe deeply. Let yourself arrive fully.

Find a place where you can sit or stand close to the earth. Reach down and touch the ground - the soil, the grass, the dust beneath your feet. Feel its texture. Notice the coolness, the weight, the life hidden within it.

Take a moment to look closely. See how small stones, roots, and bits of life are woven together. Imagine God’s hands gently scooping up this very soil - smiling with tenderness - and forming life from it. Imagine Him breathing His breath into that life… into you.

You are made of this earth.

The same breath that moved over the dust in the beginning still fills your lungs today.

Pause here. Be still. Breathe in God’s life. With the Psalmist, recognise that our help, our support, our sustenance, everything comes from the Lord.

Then ask yourself:

What do I feel as I remember that I am part of God’s creation?

What do I notice about my own vulnerability and dependence?

As I hear God’s whisper, “You are dust, and to dust you will return,” what might He be reminding me of today?

Grace: Jesus, help me to accept that I am dust. Help me to know that I am beloved dust. Amen.