Skip links

The ‘whole point of Lent’: Bishop Erik Varden on finding God this Lent

Lent has a habit of sneaking up on us. We’ve barely finished the Christmas leftovers and taken down the last strand of tinsel when Ash Wednesday pops up on the calendar.

Often there isn’t much time to prepare for the 40-day season of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, beyond a hasty resolution to give up something — alcohol, fast food, Twitter — that we’d been meaning to ditch anyway.

We sense there’s more to Lent than this. But what, exactly? Who better to ask than someone who follows the Rule of St. Benedict, which says that “the life of a monk ought always to have a Lenten character”?

Bishop Erik Varden belongs to the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance, or Trappists, who are known for their austerity. He is also the bishop-prelate of Trondheim, the leader of a diverse Catholic community in central Norway.

Varden talked to The Pillar shortly before leaving Trondheim for the New York Encounter, an annual cultural and faith event sponsored by Communion and Liberation, where he shared a stage with Archbishop Christophe Pierre, the apostolic nuncio to the U.S.

In a phone interview, Bishop Varden discussed the power of the penitential season, the difference between fasting and dieting, and what to do if you’re having a “bad Lent.”

Read more at The Pillar 

Share with Friends: