Point: The Chief Virtue of Lent
Apr 1, 2026 | By Isaac Oberman DC ‘26
The mindset one has towards Lent can drastically change the experience of the season. How we define the purpose of this time in the church calendar shapes the modus operandi of an individual’s disposition, actions, and relations, which in turn strengthens the believer’s spiritual health. It is to this extent that I seek to define the chief virtue of the Lenten season as obedience.
So what actually is a virtue? The root comes from the Latin word for man, vir. Virtus, the word translated as virtue, connotes what epitomizes vir, the qualities that lead to the ultimate, most perfect states of man. In Roman culture, virtus would have been bravery, courage, valor– words associated with strength and martial prowess, which defined the values of ancient society. Virtue describes what man should aspire to, or what epitomizes humanness. Asking what the virtue of Lent is is asking what actions and qualities will lead to the most perfect state of man during the season of Lent.
Obedience is the answer to this question because it directs the sentiment of Lent towards how man relates to others. What is obedience? Again from Latin, we have the word oboedire, combining ob- meaning to or before, and audire to hear. Oboedire became obeissance in Old French, and from there became obedience in English. At its root, then, obedience is the act of listening. It is an awareness of noise, the distinguishing of sound from that noise, and then understanding the sense behind the sound.
Notably, this noise is not created but identified. A created noise teaches us something about ourselves, but it teaches us very little about our surroundings, both natural and personal. Quietness allows external inputs to be identified in the auditory space. Obedience elevates them to contemplation when they might otherwise not be.
The part most individuals might squirm under is the association of obedience to authority, which many individuals bristle against. Authorities on earth are often strict or impersonal. Individuals have strained relationships with the government or church institutions because it seems these groups are “out to get them.” Either the laws are unnecessary and complicated, or the moral teachings of churches are excessively harsh and get in the way of personal freedom. Even when individuals are more connected to the authority, such as parents to children, they find their advice and rules to be controlling rather than loving. It requires one to allow someone else to prescribe a course of action for their life that may or may not be wanted.
However, this is the particular feature of obedience that makes it so essential. Obedience – listening – is the root of Lent because it decenters the self. In conversation, listening requires one to stop talking. Attentiveness is key to a proper practice of Lent. The three pillars of Lent are traditionally found in Matthew 6, a portion of the Sermon on the Mount, which discusses the call to fast, pray, and give alms. Each of these requires humility that obedience fosters. Fasting requires detaching oneself from physical matter, which might define them. Prayer requires an individual to communicate their desires and fears to an external being, God, which is a relation impossible by oneself. Giving alms, service, is particularly suited to humility because to give to other people, you must acknowledge they exist.
So why am I not arguing for humility? Because obedience is a practical prerequisite for attaining humility. If you think I’m being obtuse, consider the last time you had a disagreement. Was the cause a logically consistent fight over some philosophical issue? Or perhaps it was a dialogue that ended with a misalignment on a core value, but both left contented that there was no malice between the two. I’m guessing that neither of these holds true; rather, it was probably over misheard details, misunderstood arguments, or just pure animosity between two individuals that resulted in an unconstructive screaming match. But as obedience is to listening, humility is to understanding. Humility completes the process that obedience fosters by acknowledging the words of another as worthy of following. They complement each other, but obedience comes first in the order of operation. To overcome the anger of disagreement, one must first listen and then understand.
Healthy obedience teaches humility by regulating the lowering of the self in safe environments. Obedience is listening, but it doesn’t solely have to be connected to an authority. Obedience is taking a friend’s advice. Obedience is taking a lesson learned from a teacher. Obedience is accepting parental discipline. Healthy obedience, in safe environments with trusted interpersonal agents, promotes individual humility and stronger relationships by identifying the ability of other persons to be correct. Obedience is the external virtue of openness that leads to humility, the inward virtue of acceptance.