Scarred by Struggle, Transformed by Hope

Lenten Book for 2026

March 4, 2026

There is no one quite like Joan Chittister as a reliable guide to the engaged spiritual life.  My City & Spire Lenten Book selection for 2026 is her slim volume, Scarred by Struggle, Transformed by Hope. While it was written in 2003, in the shadows of 9/11, it addresses timeless human themes that also carry a special urgency in these troubled times. She writes:

“Life is a series of lessons some of them obvious, some of them not . . . We learn that life is a balancing act lived between the poles of unreasonable hope on one hand and disheartening disquiet on the other.”

She writes out of her own life experience, giving us a surgical look at the paired dynamics of struggle and hope. To explore all of this, Chittister uses as a Biblical spine the story of Jacob wrestling with the angel. She sees that the elements of struggle in the story of Jacob are in our story as well. These include change, isolation, darkness, fear, powerlessness, vulnerability, exhaustion, and scarring.

 And our defining struggles are costly:

“We diminish the notion of struggle when we talk about ‘struggle’ but mean ‘difficulties.’ Struggle is never done without cost. Real struggle marks us for life.”

She speaks about hope with equal candor and insight:

 “Hope is not a denial of reality. But it is also not some kind of spiritual elixir. It is not a placebo infused out of nowhere. Hope is a series of small actions that transform darkness into light.”

 She goes on to observe:

 “The only difference between hope and despair is that despair shapes an attitude of mind. Hope creates a quality of soul.’

 While I have followed Joan Chittister’s work over many years, even enjoying a lunch conversation some years ago, I am grateful to All Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena, California for calling my attention to this particular volume. It can serve as a valuable resource for responding to the Lenten invitation to embrace these days as a time for self-examination, offering practical insights into the nature of our deepest struggles and as well as a pathway that leads to hope.