Witness, a Guided Lent Journal for Prayer and Meditation

This Lent, walk the road to Calvary with those who witnessed the Passion firsthand.

Dominican friar and popular Godsplaining podcaster Fr. Patrick Mary Briscoe, OP, is your guide on that journey in this daily Lenten devotional. Witness brings you face-to-face with the people of the Bible who encountered Christ in his Passion—saints and sinners, friends and enemies, the faithful and the afraid. From the Good Thief to Pontius Pilate, Martha to Barabbas, these figures reveal the depths of the human heart—flawed, fearful, hopeful, and deeply loved.

Each week of Lent, Witness focuses on a key virtue, inviting you into the scripture stories of those present with our Lord:

Week of Ash Wednesday
“Remember you are dust and to dust you shall return.”
Embrace your mortality and Christ’s mercy with Mary Magdalene, Simon Peter, Bartholomew, and the Bad Thief.

Week 1: Repentance
“Return to me with all your heart” (Joel 2:12).
Reflect with the Good Thief, Pilate, Claudia Procula, Barabbas, and Caiaphas.

Week 2: Trust
“Let it be done to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38).
Learn trust from the Virgin Mary, John the Beloved, Martha, Nicodemus, and others.

Week 3: Compassion
“Bear one another’s burdens” (Galatians 6:2).
Walk with Simon of Cyrene, Veronica, the angel in Gethsemane, and more.

Week 4: Humility
“Learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart” (Matthew 11:29).
Discover humility in the voices of children, soldiers, false witnesses, and guards.

Week 5: Courage
“Take heart; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).
Be inspired by Thomas, James, Philip, Matthew, and Simon the Zealot.