Dear TLI family,
Today is Ash Wednesday. With the simple and sobering sign of ashes, the Church marks the beginning of Lent and invites us into a season of repentance, renewal, and deeper communion with Our Lord. We hear the words, “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” It is not a message of despair. It is a call to clarity. A call to live deliberately.
Lent does not drift into our lives. It must be chosen. If we are not intentional, these forty days will pass like any other stretch of the calendar. The Church, in her wisdom, gives us this season so that we might examine our lives honestly, repent sincerely, and reorder our hearts toward Christ.
This year, Pope Leo XIV, has proposed something strikingly practical for Lent: a fast from hurtful words. How often do careless comments, criticism, sarcasm, or impatience wound others? Words can build up or tear down. To fast from hurtful speech is to discipline the tongue and purify the heart. It is a powerful and very concrete way to live charity. I suggest The Forgotten Way by Matthew Kelly. The book is a complement to the Pope’s suggestion for us.
For the men in our community, Exodus 90 is also a demanding and fruitful path. Structured prayer, ascetic discipline, fraternity, and accountability. It is not easy. That is precisely the point. Lent is not meant to be comfortable. It is meant to stretch us. Get a small group of friends and start today! I did Exodus 90 a few years back and found it very fruitful.
For the ladies, there are several 90-day spiritual and ascetic programs designed that serve as equivalents to Exodus 90. The most prominent programs are Magnify 90, Fiat 90, and Revelation90. These programs focus on prayer, fasting, and sacrificing, aiming to help women grow in holiness, virtue, and detachment from worldly distractions.
I would like to propose another fast for our TLI family: a fast from digital media. We live immersed in noise. News cycles, social media feeds, endless commentary. Much of it distracts, agitates, and consumes time that could be given to prayer, study, family, or silence. Imagine what forty days of only the necessary and bare minimum digital consumption could do for your clarity, your interior life, and your leadership.
What does the Church ask of us during Lent?
First, fasting and abstinence. On Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, Catholics fast and abstain from meat. On the Fridays of Lent, we abstain from meat. The Church also calls us to prayer, fasting, and almsgiving throughout the season. These are not optional spiritual accessories. They are the pillars of Lenten conversion.
Prayer might mean daily Mass, when possible, Eucharistic adoration, praying the Rosary, meditating on Sacred Scripture, or making a holy hour each week. Consider praying the Stations of the Cross on Fridays.
Fasting can extend beyond food. Fasting from comfort, from unnecessary purchases, from entertainment, from complaining. The point is not self-punishment. The point is freedom.
Almsgiving can take many forms: financial generosity, volunteering your time, serving someone quietly without recognition, forgiving a debt, or simply giving patient attention to a person who needs to be heard.
Lent is a school of love. It trains us to put God first and others before ourselves. It reminds us that leadership begins with self-mastery and flows from interior conversion.
It is no coincidence this week we launched the TLI 2026 cohort, the ninth generation of TLI. Nine generations of men and women who are striving to bring Christ into the public square with competence, courage, and conviction. Let us pray that this new cohort bears abundant fruit. Pleas pray for their perseverance. Pray that the Lord shapes them into leaders who serve with integrity and sacrifice. The fruit of this cohort will not only bless them personally. It will bless families, businesses, institutions, and communities.
As we begin Lent, let us not settle for minimal effort. Let us enter fully. Let us fast with purpose, pray with attention, give with generosity, and speak with charity. May these forty days prepare us not only for Easter, but for deeper holiness in our lives.
In Christ and Our Lady of Guadalupe,
P.S. The countdown is on for the 2nd Tepeyac Leadership Gala, on March 28. Secure your tickets today by clicking below!
