Trappist Bishop Varden’s Lenten guide for the pope and us

Eclectic yet edifying, the Lenten spiritual exercises shared at the Vatican by the Cistercian prelate, Erik Varden, summon spiritual insight from the lives and writings of a startling range of classic and contemporary individuals. Preached in the Pauline Chapel of the Apostolic Palace across the final week of February, the sermons were guided by a central theme of ‘Illuminated by a Hidden Glory’. The cycle of 11 sermons explores the hopes and fears of our Lenten struggle, grounded in our human need for the merciful grace of God’s love, which can transform our lives and transfigure our reality.