Electric Prayer

Lent has been going for two weeks now, so we really ought to have settled into it. By a pleasing coincidence, March this year ends on the Tuesday of Holy Week, which makes it easier to get an idea of how far through Lent we are.

Doing more for Lent

One good spiritual exercise for Lent is to do a little more for ourselves spiritually than we have been: to make an incremental change rather than a revolutionary one, because small changes have a better chance of being permanent. If we do just a little more for Lent each year, as the years pass, it all adds up.

Universalis, as a spiritual resource, is always with you. This makes it a good place to start. Here are a couple of ideas.

If you use the app

Try another page: Quite a lot of people only ever look at one page in Universalis. Look at another one as well! On iPhone/iPad and Android, here is what you do:

1. Tap on the text in the middle of the screen, to make the toolbar appear at the top.
2. In the toolbar, tap on the “Hours” button in the middle.
3. Pick the page you want to see.

For instance, if you have always been looking at the day’s Mass readings, that is a good habit. Make it better, by reading Lauds (Morning Prayer) too.

A Lenten prayer: During Lent, at the end of Mass there is a short “Prayer over the People” just before the final dismissal. These prayers are rather lovely and they deserve to be better known. Last week we sent out new versions of the Universalis apps and programs in which we have added this prayer to the very beginning of the About Today page for every day in Lent. Try it, and see what it says to you.

If you use the website

On the website it is easy to jump from one page to another, so you should certainly do that. Better still, get the app. The app has better translations, more flexible layout, and it doesn’t need the Internet. Some of the most praised pages in Universalis (such as “Spiritual Reading”) are only available in the app.

The weekly podcasts

Here are the episodes which have come out since the last newsletter. You can listen by clicking on the link. Each episode is around 20 minutes long.

8 February 2026: Saint Scholastica; the thrilling drama of the Shipwreck of St Paul; Our Lady of Lourdes; Saints Cyril and Methodius, and the Basilica of San Clemente.

15 February 2026: The liturgy of the Vietnamese New Year and its lessons for us all. Ash Wednesday. Prayer, almsgiving and fasting as forms of agency.

22 February 2026: Lent: the virtue of self-love, and self-discipline. From passive to active. Learning to do. Julian of Norwich and ‘Revelations of Divine Love’.

1 March 2026:
The Transfiguration and Duccio’s Maestà: a Lenten puzzle for art history and for theology. The command not to pass judgement, and the duty to judge.

Many thousands of people listen to the podcast, from all over the world. Sometimes by themselves in the car, sometimes sitting at home with the whole family. If you haven’t listened yet, do. If you have, and you like it, tell all your friends.

• Here is a link to the Podcasts page. You will find all the weekly episodes listed there, right from the very beginning almost two years ago. There are also
• If you use podcast apps, there are links to Spotify, Apple Podcasts and YouTube at the bottom of this newsletter.
• If you don’t want to have to send your friends a link, tell them to go to the home page at universalis.com and they’ll find a Podcasts button at the top right.
• All the Universalis apps and programs will show an alert in the About Today page whenever a new podcast is ready.

New podcast episodes come out on Friday or Saturday each week.

Lenten donations

People sometimes ask us how to donate to Universalis: especially during this season of Lent. We don’t depend on donations for our continued existence, but I have to say that if you do decide to make a donation, it will be very very gratefully received. The page to visit is universalis.com/donate.

Thank you all for using Universalis. If you have trouble or questions, or suggestions, do write to us at universalis@universalis.com or use the Contact Us button in one of the apps. Let us all keep one another in our prayers, as always.