How the plan works
One reading a day, about five minutes. The 40 numbered days in the table are the 40 days of Lent, Monday to Saturday. The Sundays before Palm Sunday are rest days: use them to catch up on a reading you missed, or simply to rest. From Palm Sunday to Easter there is a reading every day.
The readings come in three stages.
- Mark 1 to 10 (days 1 to 19). Mark starts at full speed. On Ash Wednesday you read how the Spirit drove Jesus into the wilderness for forty days (Mark 1:12-13), and from there you follow Him through Galilee and onto the road up to Jerusalem.
- Luke's road to Jerusalem (days 20 to 34). Mark tells that journey in a single chapter; Luke spends about ten on it, with parables found only in his Gospel, among them the good Samaritan and the prodigal son. So the plan steps back to the start of the road at Luke 9:51 and walks it again with Luke.
- Holy Week in Mark 11 to 16 (Palm Sunday to Easter). Six of Mark's sixteen chapters are about the last week of Jesus' life. The plan goes back to Mark for them, one day at a time.
Any Bible works. Open each day's passage in Faithero to read it or have it read aloud. The first words Jesus speaks in Mark's Gospel make a good prayer for Ash Wednesday, and some churches say their last part as they give the ashes:
“The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.”
Lent reading plan 2027, day by day
| Day | Date | Reading |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wednesday, February 10 (Ash Wednesday) | Mark 1:1-20 (forty days in the wilderness; the first disciples) |
| 2 | Thursday, February 11 | Mark 1:21-45 (healing in Capernaum; prayer before dawn) |
| 3 | Friday, February 12 | Mark 2:1-22 (a man let down through the roof; Levi called) |
| 4 | Saturday, February 13 | Mark 2:23-3:19 (Lord of the sabbath; the twelve chosen) |
| 1st Sunday | Sunday, February 14 | Rest, or catch up |
| 5 | Monday, February 15 | Mark 3:20-35 (Jesus' true family) |
| 6 | Tuesday, February 16 | Mark 4:1-20 (the sower) |
| 7 | Wednesday, February 17 | Mark 4:21-41 (the mustard seed; the storm stilled) |
| 8 | Thursday, February 18 | Mark 5:1-20 (a man set free) |
| 9 | Friday, February 19 | Mark 5:21-43 (Jairus' daughter; a woman healed) |
| 10 | Saturday, February 20 | Mark 6:1-29 (the twelve sent out; John the Baptist killed) |
| 2nd Sunday | Sunday, February 21 | Rest, or catch up |
| 11 | Monday, February 22 | Mark 6:30-56 (five thousand fed; walking on the sea) |
| 12 | Tuesday, February 23 | Mark 7:1-23 (what makes a person unclean) |
| 13 | Wednesday, February 24 | Mark 7:24-37 (a mother's faith; a deaf man hears) |
| 14 | Thursday, February 25 | Mark 8:1-21 (four thousand fed) |
| 15 | Friday, February 26 | Mark 8:22-38 (Peter says who Jesus is; take up your cross) |
| 16 | Saturday, February 27 | Mark 9:1-29 (the transfiguration; a father's prayer) |
| 3rd Sunday | Sunday, February 28 | Rest, or catch up |
| 17 | Monday, March 1 | Mark 9:30-50 (who is the greatest) |
| 18 | Tuesday, March 2 | Mark 10:1-31 (children blessed; a rich man's question) |
| 19 | Wednesday, March 3 | Mark 10:32-52 (going up to Jerusalem; Bartimaeus sees) |
| 20 | Thursday, March 4 | Luke 9:51-10:16 (Jesus sets out for Jerusalem) |
| 21 | Friday, March 5 | Luke 10:17-42 (the good Samaritan; Mary and Martha) |
| 22 | Saturday, March 6 | Luke 11:1-28 (the Lord's Prayer; ask, seek, knock) |
| 4th Sunday | Sunday, March 7 | Rest, or catch up |
| 23 | Monday, March 8 | Luke 11:29-54 (the sign of Jonah) |
| 24 | Tuesday, March 9 | Luke 12:1-34 (the rich fool; consider the lilies) |
| 25 | Wednesday, March 10 | Luke 12:35-59 (be ready) |
| 26 | Thursday, March 11 | Luke 13:1-21 (the fig tree; a woman set free) |
| 27 | Friday, March 12 | Luke 13:22-14:14 (the narrow door; the lowest seat) |
| 28 | Saturday, March 13 | Luke 14:15-35 (the great supper; counting the cost) |
| 5th Sunday | Sunday, March 14 | Rest, or catch up |
| 29 | Monday, March 15 | Luke 15 (the lost sheep, the lost coin, the lost son) |
| 30 | Tuesday, March 16 | Luke 16 (the rich man and Lazarus) |
| 31 | Wednesday, March 17 | Luke 17 (ten lepers healed, one returns) |
| 32 | Thursday, March 18 | Luke 18:1-30 (the widow who kept asking; the Pharisee and the publican) |
| 33 | Friday, March 19 | Luke 18:31-19:10 (a blind man sees; Zacchaeus) |
| 34 | Saturday, March 20 | Luke 19:11-27 (the parable of the pounds) |
| Palm Sunday | Sunday, March 21 | Mark 11:1-11 (Jesus rides into Jerusalem) |
| 35 | Monday, March 22 | Mark 11:12-33 (the fig tree and the temple) |
| 36 | Tuesday, March 23 | Mark 12 (questions in the temple; the widow's two mites) |
| 37 | Wednesday, March 24 | Mark 14:1-11 (anointed at Bethany; Judas agrees to betray Him) |
| 38 | Thursday, March 25 (Holy Thursday) | Mark 14:12-52 (the Last Supper; Gethsemane; the arrest) |
| 39 | Friday, March 26 (Good Friday) | Mark 14:53-15:41 (the trial, Peter's denial, the cross) |
| 40 | Saturday, March 27 (Holy Saturday) | Mark 15:42-47 (laid in the tomb) |
| Easter | Sunday, March 28 (Easter Sunday) | Mark 16 (He is risen) |
Sundays are not numbered, because they are not counted in the forty days. The Holy Week readings are a little longer: Mark slows the story down to follow Jesus day by day.
Holy Week readings
Holy Week has one reading for each day, from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday. Mark keeps careful track of the days in this part of his Gospel, so most readings fall on the day of the week they describe.
- Palm Sunday, March 21: Mark 11:1-11. Jesus rides into Jerusalem on a colt, and the crowds spread their clothes and branches on the road in front of Him.
- Monday, March 22: Mark 11:12-33. He curses a fig tree with no fruit, drives the buyers and sellers out of the temple, and is asked by what authority He does these things.
- Tuesday, March 23: Mark 12. In the temple He answers question after question, names the greatest commandment, and praises a poor widow who gives all she has.
- Wednesday, March 24: Mark 14:1-11. At Bethany a woman pours costly ointment on His head, and Judas goes to the chief priests to betray Him.
- Holy Thursday, March 25: Mark 14:12-52. At the Passover meal Jesus gives His disciples the bread and the cup, then prays in Gethsemane and is arrested. Christians still share this meal: see our lesson on Holy Communion.
- Good Friday, March 26: Mark 14:53-15:41. The trial before the high priest, Peter's denial, Pilate, the cross and the death of Jesus. It is the longest reading in the plan, so give it a little more time.
- Holy Saturday, March 27: Mark 15:42-47. Joseph of Arimathaea lays the body of Jesus in a tomb cut out of the rock, and the women see where He is laid. A short reading for a quiet day.
- Easter Sunday, March 28: Mark 16. Very early on the first day of the week, the women find the stone rolled away and hear the news that He is risen.
Mark 13, where Jesus teaches on the Mount of Olives about the days to come and His return, also belongs to this week. Read it on Tuesday or Wednesday if you want to finish every chapter of Mark.
“Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him.”
Lent prayers for each day
Here is one short prayer for each week of the plan. Pray it every day that week after the reading, then add a sentence of your own about what you read. For longer prayers of confession, see our prayers for forgiveness.
- February 10 to 13, from Ash Wednesday: Lord Jesus, You went into the wilderness for forty days. Go with me into these forty. Show me what to turn away from, and turn my heart back to You. Amen.
- February 15 to 20: Jesus, You calmed the storm with a word and raised a girl everyone had given up on. Make my heart good soil for Your word, and speak peace into the storms I carry. Amen.
- February 22 to 27: Jesus, You fed the hungry crowds and called Your friends to take up their cross. When my faith feels small, I pray with the father in Mark 9: “Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief” (Mark 9:24, KJV). Amen.
- March 1 to 6: Lord Jesus, You came to serve, not to be served, and You set Your face toward Jerusalem. Teach me to follow You: to stop for the hurting person by the road, and to sit at Your feet like Mary. Amen.
- March 8 to 13: Father, You feed the ravens and clothe the lilies. Loosen my grip on what I hoard and what I worry about, and make me ready to meet You. Amen.
- March 15 to 20: Father, You run to meet the child who comes home, and I am coming home again. Like the one leper who came back, I thank You. Like the publican, I pray: “God be merciful to me a sinner” (Luke 18:13, KJV). Amen.
- Holy Week, March 21 to 27: Lord Jesus, You rode into Jerusalem knowing what waited for You, and You did not turn back. Keep me near You this week: at the table, in the garden, at the cross and at the tomb. Amen.
- Easter Sunday, March 28: Risen Lord, the tomb is empty and You are alive. Thank You for walking with me through these forty days. Let the joy of this morning go with me into every ordinary day. Amen.
Fasting during Lent
In the Catholic Church, Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are days of fasting for adults from 18 to 59 (one full meal and two smaller meals that together are not equal to a full meal), and Ash Wednesday and every Friday of Lent are days without meat for everyone 14 and older, with people who are ill, pregnant or nursing excused. Whatever your church's practice, a Lenten fast is meant to make room for God, not to earn His favor: for what the Bible says about fasting, see our lesson on Christian fasting.
Frequently asked
When does Lent start in 2027?
Lent 2027 starts on Ash Wednesday, February 10, 2027, and leads to Easter Sunday on March 28. Palm Sunday is March 21, Holy Thursday March 25 and Good Friday March 26. Orthodox churches set Easter by a different calendar: in 2027 their Great Lent begins on Clean Monday, March 15, and Orthodox Easter (Pascha) is May 2.
Why are there 40 days in Lent?
Forty days is how long Jesus fasted in the wilderness before He began His public ministry (Matthew 4:1-2; Mark 1:12-13; Luke 4:1-2), and Lent follows His example. The number echoes other times of testing and preparation in Scripture: Moses was with God on the mountain forty days and forty nights (Exodus 34:28), and Elijah walked forty days and forty nights to Horeb, the mountain of God (1 Kings 19:8).
Do Sundays count in Lent?
Not in the forty days. In the Western count, the forty days run from Ash Wednesday to Holy Saturday with the six Sundays left out, because every Sunday celebrates the Resurrection, a little Easter. The Sundays still belong to the season: they are called the Sundays of Lent, and the sixth is Palm Sunday. In this plan the Sundays before Palm Sunday are rest or catch-up days.
What if I miss a day?
Skip it and read today's passage, or use the next Sunday to catch up. Each reading stands on its own, so missing one does not spoil the rest. The aim is to walk with Jesus toward Easter, not to keep a perfect record.
The road to Jerusalem
In the ninth chapter of his Gospel, Luke marks a turning point: Jesus “stedfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem” (Luke 9:51, KJV). He knew what waited for Him there, and He went anyway. Mark tells us why: He came “to give his life a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45, KJV).
Lent is forty days of walking that road with Him. You will not do it perfectly. You will miss days, and some readings will feel dry. That is all right. The point is not to finish a checklist but to stay close to Jesus on the way, so that on Easter morning, when you read that the tomb is empty, you know who it is that rose.
Lent 2027 dates: Ash Wednesday to Easter
Ash Wednesday 2027 is Wednesday, February 10. Many churches, Catholic and Protestant, mark the day with ashes. Easter Sunday is March 28, 2027. Holy Week begins on Palm Sunday, March 21, with Holy Thursday on March 25 and Good Friday on March 26. Catholic and Protestant churches keep these dates together.
How the forty days are counted. From Ash Wednesday to Holy Saturday is 46 days. The six Sundays are left out of the count, because every Sunday celebrates the Resurrection, and that leaves forty. In the Catholic calendar the season itself runs until the evening Mass of the Lord's Supper on Holy Thursday, when the three great days of Easter begin, and the Sundays still belong to Lent: they are called the Sundays of Lent.
Orthodox Christians set the date of Easter by a different calendar. In 2027 their Great Lent begins on Clean Monday, March 15, and Orthodox Easter (Pascha) falls on May 2.