March 6 - One Bread, One Body

March 6, First Sunday Lent

Cycle C Readings:
1) Deuteronomy 26:4-10
Psalm 91:1-2, 10-15
2) Romans 10:8-13
Luke 4:1-13

Lent In The Spirit

“Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, then returned from the Jordon and was conducted by the Spirit into the desert for forty days.” — Luke 4:1-2

Lent is imitating Jesus’ forty days in the desert. Jesus began His “Lent” filled with and led by the Holy Spirit (see Lk 4:1). He also came out of the Lenten desert “in the power of the Spirit” (Lk 4:14). The Holy Spirit directed Jesus every step of the way through the “first Lent.”

Are we letting the Spirit direct us this Lent? (Gal 5:25) Are we fasting, praying, giving alms, and evangelizing in the Spirit? (Mt 6:3, 5, 16) The Spirit will call us to do things this Lent we’d never thought of before. If these things seem impossible, the Spirit will help us in our weakness (Rm 8:26). By the Spirit, we will be able to fast in some way for each of the forty days of Lent. By praying in the Spirit, we will pray this Lent on a new level, with greater perseverance and depth. With the faith and love of the Spirit, we will give alms so much that we will have to make sacrifices and simplify our lives. Finally, this Lent, we will not only resist temptations but also make a frontal attack on the gates of hell (Mt 16:18-19), as we win the world for Christ through Spirit-filled evangelization.

A Spirit-led Lent is different from the Lents to which many of us have been accustomed. A Spirit-filled Lent is like Jesus’ Lent. Let us follow in His footsteps.

Prayer: Jesus, may this Lent be like the first one.

Promise: “If you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” — Rm 10:9

Praise: Praise to You, Lord Jesus Christ, King of endless glory!

Rescript: In accord with the Code of Canon Law, I hereby grant the Imprimatur ("Permission to Publish") for One Bread, One Body covering the period from February 1, 2022 through March 31, 2022.

†Most Reverend Steve J. Angi, Chancellor, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio June 16, 2021.

The Nihil Obstat ("Permission to Publish") is a declaration that a book or pamphlet is considered to be free of doctrinal or moral error. It is not implied that those who have granted the Nihil Obstat agree with the contents, opinions, or statements expressed.