During this year’s Pray40 Lenten prayer challenge by the popular Catholic prayer app Hallow, biblical scholar and author Jeff Cavins is helping participants explore the spiritual journey of “returning home” through the lens of The Brothers Karamazov.
Cavins spoke to EWTN News about how the classic novel—rich with themes of faith, doubt, suffering, and redemption—offers profound spiritual insights that align naturally with Lent’s pillars of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.
Dostoevsky’s novel as a mirror for the soul
Dostoevsky’s masterpiece, centered on the troubled Karamazov family, tackles timeless human questions through its three sons—Dmitri, Ivan, and Alyosha—and their deeply flawed father.
Cavins says believers can find themselves within these characters:
“It visits a number of topics we’re familiar with — suffering, redemption, guilt, confession. One major theme we’re focusing on is the relationship between active love, which is God-like love, and the fleeting, convenient love many people settle for.”
This tension between real, sacrificial love and superficial affection becomes a spiritual tool for Lent, inviting participants to confront their motives, habits, and relationships.
The significance of “40” — a biblical season of testing
Cavins highlighted the biblical meaning behind the number 40, which appears repeatedly in Scripture:
- Israel’s 40 years in the wilderness
- Jesus’ 40 days of temptation
- Elijah’s 40-day journey to Horeb
Lent mirrors these periods:
“During the 40 days of Lent, we’re tested. We search our hearts—our struggles, our addictions, the things attached to us. God begins to work on our heart and shows us what we need to do to become more like Jesus.”
He describes these forty days as “a temple in time”—a sacred stretch carved out for interior transformation.
Seeing ourselves in the parable of the prodigal son
Alongside the novel, Pray40 will also reflect on the parable of the prodigal son, a foundational theme of return and restoration.
Cavins noted that both the younger and older sons misjudged their father’s love:
“Most of the time we talk about giving up something, but the greatest thing you can give up is yourself.”
For Cavins, Lent is a chance to recognize which son we resemble:
- The younger son who ran away and needed forgiveness
- Or the older son who stayed home but misunderstood his father’s generosity
Either way, he says, the journey is the same: to return to the Father.
He cites St. John Paul II, who taught that life itself is “a pilgrimage to our Father’s house.”
A spiritual journey toward deeper prayer
Cavins hopes this year’s Pray40 challenge encourages Catholics to enter Lent not as a burden, but as an opportunity for spiritual awakening:
“Forty days becomes a temple in time — a place to wrestle with God, go inward, discover what God is doing in your life, and come out different.”
He believes the experience will deepen participants’ prayer lives and open their hearts to Scripture in new and transformative ways:
“The goal is to grow much closer to Jesus. You balance what you discover in your heart with prayer. Bring them together, and your life changes.”