It is deeply frustrating that the church needs to remain closed for public worship at the moment and that it is not possible to mark the journey of Lent together.
There is a huge selection of online and print resources available for all sorts of tastes and interests, and as an example for several I pointed to the Jesuit resources a few weeks ago here.
The downloadable booklet here may be helpful for you (or not). Please be aware of my prayers – I am in church for my Daily Office and the Mass most days and I will continue to stream Sundays and Wednesdays on Facebook.
During the Easter Vigil we insert 5 nails into the Paschal Candle, praying that ‘by his holy and glorious wounds may Christ Our Lord guard us and keep us’, the nails representing the 5 wounds of Christ. The nails are usually made of wax in various designs and grains of incense are embedded inside. This theology in wax symbolises that because of the death and resurrection of Jesus, wounds, failure, disgrace and death itself have a hidden potential for revealing our deepest ground in God. ‘Our wounds bear the perfumed trace of divine presence’ (Martin Laird).
I wish you a Holy Lent and the awareness that in our distress God can be found in surprising ways.
Fr Johannes