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Top 10 Ways to Celebrate All Brackets' Day!

It's the moment you've all been waiting for: the unveiling of the 2024 Lent Madness bracket! Stay tuned for the SEC's color commentary on the bracket, highlighting some of the epic contests that will take place over the course of Lent Madness 2024. Right now you should read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest the bracket. Then brag to all your friends about how you've memorized all the match-ups and can't wait for Lent to begin.

Lent Madness bracket

Click the image to see a larger version. Or you can download a PDF for printing your very own copy.

Once you have the bracket in your hot little hand, don't stop by simply posting it on your refrigerator. The Supreme Executive Committee offers a few suggestions for helping spread the Lent Madness word.

  1. Post a copy of the bracket on the front door of your church. In fact, why stop at your church? Channel your inner Martin Luther and nail the bracket to the doors of every church in your neighborhood. With giant Lenten nails!
  2. Get the bracket tattooed to your back. You'll be a big hit when you go swimming at the Y.
  3. Mail them out with all your Christmas cards this year. "Lent Madness: It's the Reason for the Season."
  4. Go to the mall and put them under the windshields of every car in the parking lot. For Jesus.
  5. Get front row seats at televised sporting events and hold up the bracket. Consider it the new John 3:16 sign. Rainbow wig optional.
  6. Turn the bracket into a sandwich board and wander through Times Square. Bonus points if you simultaneously hand out copies of the bracket as if you work for a discount electronics store.
  7. Staple a copy of the bracket to your dog's collar and let her roam around the neighborhood sans leash.
  8. Rent a helicopter (or “borrow” one) and make brackets rain down upon the local populace.
  9. Now that those Halloween pop-up stores have closed for the season, convert one into a Bracket pop-up store.
  10. Memorize all 16 matchups and yell them out to everyone on the village green like some kind of penitential town crier.

Feel free to share other ideas (with photo documentation) of course. They may just end up on the Lent Madness Facebook page.

Don't forget to order your very own 2024 Lent Madness Bracket Poster! They're just $15 each, or pay only ten bucks if you order five or more. Get one for home, one for the car, one for work, and one for everyone on your street. Your parish priest will be delighted when she or he sees you've added a bit of Lent Madness spirit by attaching a bracket to the altar frontal or pulpit. Pre-order now, and be among the first to enjoy the poster!

Remember, Advent is coming. Especially if you use purple vestments at your church, think of this as a dress rehearsal for Lent. You can keep your perspective by buying Lent-themed gifts for everyone on your shopping list this Christmas.

Happy Lent!

Happy Nominationtide!

For one full week, the Supreme Executive Committee will be accepting nominations for Lent Madness 2024. The nominating period will remain open through Saturday, May 27, at which point this brief exercise in Lenten democracy will cease and the SEC will return to their regularly scheduled benevolently authoritarian ways.

Nominationtide, the most underrated of liturgical seasons, never begins at the same time other than the vague "sometime after Easter Day." This is partly because Tim and Scott have day jobs and partly because "whim" is one of their ecclesiastical charisms. But it's here! And the world rejoices!

To insure your SUCCESSFUL nomination, please note the Nominationtide Rules & Regulations, which reside in an ancient illuminated manuscript tended to by aged monks who have been set aside by saints and angels for this holy calling.

  1. The nominee must, in fact, be dead.
  2. The nominee must be on the official calendar of saintly commemorations of some church.
  3. We will accept only one nominee per person.
  4. You must tell us WHY you are nominating your saint.
  5. The ONLY way to nominate a saint will be to leave a comment on this post.
  6. That means comments left on Facebook, Twitter, attached to a brick and thrown through the window at Forward Movement headquarters, or placed on giant placards outside the residences of Tim or Scott don’t count.

As you discern saints to nominate, please keep in mind that a number of saints are ineligible for next year’s Saintly Smackdown. Based on longstanding tradition, this includes the entire field of Lent Madness 2023, those saints who made it to the Round of the Elate Eight in 2022 and 2021, and those from the 2020 Faithful Four.

Needless to say Jesus, Mary, Tim, Scott, past or present Celebrity Bloggers, and previous Golden Halo Winners are also ineligible. Below is a comprehensive list of ineligible saints. Please keep this in mind as you submit your nominations. Do not waste your precious nomination on an ineligible saint! (it happens more than you'd think)

For the sake of "transparency," the rest of the process unfolds thusly: Tim and Scott will gather for the annual Spring SEC Retreat at a secure, undisclosed location/coffee shop to consider the nominations and create a full, fun, faithful, and balanced bracket of 32 saints. Then all will be revealed on All Brackets' Day, November 3rd.

Time to nominate your favorite saint! But first, look over this list. Don't throw away your shot.

The Saints of Lent Madness 2023 (ineligible)

Augustine of Hippo
Hippolytus of Rome
Monica
Joanna the Myrrh Bearer
Simeon Bachos
Blandina
Brendan of Clonfert
David of Wales
Rutilio Grande
Josephine Bakhita
Eric Liddell
Dorothy Sayers
Enmegabowh
Florence Li Tim-Oi
Nicolaus von Zinzendorf
Martin de Porres
Maximus the Confessor
Cuthmann of Steyning
Leoba
J.S. Bach
Harriet Monsell
Scholastica
Richard Hooker
Olga of Kiev
Bertha of Kent
Stanislaus the Martyr
Edmund
Chief Seattle
Botulph
John Donne
Juan Diego

Past Golden Halo Winners (ineligible)

George Herbert, C.S. Lewis, Mary Magdalene, Frances Perkins, Charles Wesley, Francis of Assisi, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Florence Nightingale, Anna Alexander, Martha of Bethany, Harriet Tubman, Absalom Jones, José Hernandez, Jonathan Daniels

From 2020 to 2022 (ineligible)

Teresa of Avila
Juliana of Liege
Origen
Madeleine Barat
Thomas of Villanova
Thomas Aquinas
James Holly
Camillus de Lellis
Benedict of Nursia
Ives of Kermartin
Arnulf of Metz
Albert the Great
Catherine of Genoa
Catherine Booth
Hildegard of Bingen
Elizabeth Fry
Joseph

And remember, nominations are like voting: just one per person. Let the Nominations for Lent Madness 2024 start rolling in!

 

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Jonathan Daniels Wins Lent Madness 2023!

The Golden Halo

April 5, 2023: Jonathan Daniels (56%) defeats Joanna the Myrrhbearer (44%)

Faithful Four

April 4, 2023: Jonathan Daniels (60%) defeats Chief Seattle (40%)
April 3, 2023: Joanna the Myrrhbearer (58%) defeats Martin de Porres (42%)

Elate Eight

March 31, 2023: Martin de Porres (50.5%) defeats Johann Sebastian Bach (49.5%)
March 30, 2023: Chief Seattle (55%) defeats Bertha of Kent (45%)
March 29, 2023: Jonathan Daniels (68%) defeats Florence Li Tim-Oi (32%)
March 28, 2023: Joanna the Myrrhbearer (78%) defeats Blandina (22%)

Saintly Sixteen

March 27, 2023: Martin de Porres (64%) defeats Leoba (36%)
March 24, 2023: Chief Seattle (60%) defeats John Donne (40%)
March 23, 2023: Jonathan Daniels (72%) defeats Josephine Bakhita (28%)
March 22, 2023: Blandina (60%) defeats Brendan of Clonfert (40%)
March 21, 2023: Johann Sebastian Bach (64%) defeats Richard Hooker (36%)
March 20, 2023: Bertha of Kent (82%) defeats Edmund (18%)
March 17, 2023: Florence Li Tim-Oi (64%) defeats Enmegahbowh (36%)
March 16, 2023: Joanna the Myrrhbearer (65%) defeats Augustine of Hippo (35%)

Round of 32

March 15, 2023: Martin de Porres (78%) defeats Maximus the Confessor (22%)
March 14, 2023: John Donne (53%) defeats Juan Diego (47%)
March 13, 2023: Jonathan Daniels (79%) defeats Rutilio Grande (21%)
March 10, 2023: Brendan of Clonfert (58%) defeats David of Wales (42%)
March 9, 2023: Leoba (58%) defeats Cuthmann of Steyning (42%)
March 8: 2023: Chief Seattle (80%) defeats Botulph (20%)
March 7, 2023: Josephine Bakhita (57%) defeats Eric Lidell (43%)
March 6, 2023: Blandina (50.5%) defeats Simeon Bachos (49.5%)
March 3, 2023: Johann Sebastian Bach (58%) defeats Harriet Monsell (42%)
March 2, 2023: Edmund (60%) defeats Stanislaus the Martyr (40%)
March 1, 2023: Enmegahbowh (58%) defeats Dorothy Sayers (42%)
February 28, 2023: Joanna the Myrrhbearer (81%) defeats Monica (19%)
February 27, 2023: Richard Hooker (61%) defeats Scholastica (39%)
February 25, 2023: Bertha of Kent (76%) defeats Olga of Kiev (24%)
February 24, 2023: Florence Li Tim-Oi (79%) defeats Nicolaus von Zinzendorf (21%)
February 23, 2023: Augustine of Hippo (80%) defeats Hippolytus of Rome (20%)


Review the 2023 bracket in advance, make your selections, and then come here every day of Lent to keep up with your favorite saint.

Clicking on the bracket will bring up a larger, up-to-date, printable one (get a blank bracket to print at home HERE).

You also can buy your very own Bracket Poster from Forward Movement! These posters are excellent for churches, families, and business to keep up with Lent Madness each day of Lent!

2023 Calendar

Download a printable matchup calendar HERE.

Round
of 
32

February 23
Augustine
vs
Hippolytus
24
Florence
vs
Nicolaus
25
Olga
vs
Bertha
26
FIRST
SUNDAY
IN
LENT
27
Scholastica
vs
R. Hooker
28
Monica
vs
Joanna
March 1
Dorothy
vs
Enmegahbowh
2
Stanislaus
vs
Edmund
3
Bach
vs
Harriet Monsell
4
5
SECOND
SUNDAY
IN
LENT
6
Simeon B.
vs
Blandina
7
Josephine B.
vs
Eric L.
8
Chief Seattle
vs
Botulph
9
Cuthman
vs
Leoba
10
Brendan
vs
David
11
12
THIRD
SUNDAY
IN
LENT
13
Jonathan D.
vs
Rutilio Grande
14
Juan Diego
vs
John Donne
15
Martin
vs
Maximus
16
Augustine or
Hippolytus
vs
Monica or Joanna
17
Dorothy or
Enmegahbowh
vs
Florence or
Nicolaus
18
Saintly
16
19
FOURTH
SUNDAY
IN
LENT
20
Olga or Bertha
vs
Stanislaus or Edmund
21
Bach or
Harriet M.
vs
Scholastica or
R. Hooker
22
Simeon B. or
Blandina
vs
Brendan or
David
23
Jonathan D. or
Rutilio G.
vs
Josephine B. or
Eric L.
24
Chief Seattle or
Botulph
vs
Juan Diego or
John Donne
25
26
FIFTH
SUNDAY
IN
LENT
27
Martin or
Maximus
vs

Cuthman or
Leoba
28
Upper
Left
Quadrant
29
Bottom
Right
Quadrant
30
Bottom
Left
Quadrant
31
Upper
Right
Quadrant
April 1
Elate
8
2
PALM
SUNDAY
3
Faithful
4
4
Faithful
4
5
Golden
Halo
6
Maundy
Thursday
7
Good
Friday
8
Holy
Saturday
Icon style image of various saints.

About

Lent Madness is an offering of Forward Movement. Best known as the publishers of Forward Day by Day, a daily devotional published since 1935, we offer many print and digital resources to support spiritual growth and vitality in your church, home, and heart. Follow us on Facebook and sign up for email updates from Forward Movement to find out more about how we can support your faith journey.

Also, follow @ForwardDaybyDay on Twitter and Facebook for daily inspiration, or sign up for our daily email in English or Spanish.

Oh, and since you are in the mood for Lent, why not check out Forward Movement's excellent array of Lenten material?