For the Catholic Herald

Bishop Donald J. Hying of Madison invites the faithful to join him this Lent for “Conquered by Christ,” a five-part study program inspired by the Sunday Gospel readings during the season of Lent.

Each week, “Conquered by Christ” reflects on all that Jesus has conquered — Satan, sin, division, sickness, and death — leading up to Easter and Christ’s ultimate victory on the Cross.

“Sometimes we get so busy that we don’t take time to think about what we’re going to do for Lent,” Bishop Hying said.

“What are our resolutions? The Gospel . . . always lays out fasting, prayer, and almsgiving as the tried-and-true scriptural ways of really drawing closer to the Lord and allowing Him to deepen His conversion of our lives. A beautiful way to do that this year is ‘Conquered by Christ.’”

The program is comprised of weekly study guides containing prayers and reflection/discussion questions, accompanied by weekly videos from Bishop Hying.

Each week will also feature a saint and a virtue related to the Gospel reading and Bishop Hying’s reflection.

“Conquered by Christ” is available in English and Spanish and intended for individuals, couples, families, and small groups.

Study materials and videos are available in English at madisondiocese.org/lent2026 and in Spanish at madisondiocese.org/cuaresma2026

Below is a summary of the themes for each week of the “Conquered by Christ” study: 

Week one: Temptation in the Desert

The Gospel for the First Sunday of Lent is Matthew 4:1-11, where Jesus fasts in the desert for 40 days and is tempted by Satan.

Bishop Hying recalls how Jesus is preparing for His public ministry through fasting, prayer, silence, and solitude, and how the devil attempts to derail God’s plan of salvation by tempting Him to use His divine powers for His own glory, comfort, and exaltation.

“Jesus wants to conquer in us evil and sin and death,” said Bishop Hying.

“He wants to conquer the power of the evil one who, at times, is tempting us to pull us away from the Lord and from the Gospel.”

Week two: Transfiguration

The Gospel for the Second Sunday of Lent comes from Matthew 17:1-9, where Jesus is transfigured before Peter, James, and John.

This moment, when the Apostles glimpse Jesus in His full glory, gives them hope in the face of the scandal of the Cross that is to come.

“The Transfiguration is really that midpoint in the Gospel, that midpoint in life that allows us to have this hope to know where we’re going — we’re going to glory, we’re going to Heaven,” Bishop Hying said.

Week three: Woman at the Well

The Gospel for the Third Sunday of Lent is John 4:5-42, where Jesus encounters the Samaritan woman at the well.

Bishop Hying describes this moment as an example of evangelization, where Jesus gently but firmly leads the woman to conversion by breaking through barriers.

“We see in this beautiful encounter what it means to go from living in sin and hiding to essentially being lovingly confronted by the Lord to being loved and then to be led to bring others to the Lord,” Bishop Hying said.

Week four: Man Born Blind

The Gospel for the Fourth Sunday of Lent is John 9:1-41, where Jesus heals a man who has been blind since birth.

Bishop Hying explains that Jesus healing the blind in the Gospels is about more than restoring physical sight.

It’s about receiving the vision of faith to see our lives, the world, and everything around us through Christ’s eyes and from His perspective.

“What we see all depends on where we stand,” Bishop Hying said. “And so, the Lord wants to take away our blindness, take away our sin which makes us blind to goodness, and to help us to see things as He sees them.”

Week five: Raising of Lazarus

Finally, the Gospel for the Fifth Sunday of Lent is John 11:1-45, where Jesus raises His friend Lazarus from the dead.

Bishop Hying explains that this miracle becomes a foreshadowing of Jesus’s own Resurrection and ours, reminding us that the Lord wants to conquer death and call us forth from the tombs we’re locked in, even in seemingly impossible situations.

“As we come towards the end of Lent, we are getting ever closer to the mystery of Jesus’ Resurrection, which is the cornerstone of our faith,” Bishop Hying said.

“In rising from the dead, Jesus conquers sin, He conquers death, He opens the gates of eternal life, He promises Heaven to us.”