LENT IN THE SPIRIT
"Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, then returned from
the Jordan and was conducted by the Spirit into the desert for forty days."
-Luke 4:1-2
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Lent is imitating Jesus' forty days in the desert. Jesus
began His "Lent" filled with and led by the Holy Spirit. 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? Are we fasting, praying, giving alms, and
evangelizing in the Spirit? 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.
"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 Jesus, eternal, risen, victorious High Priest,
tempted and sinless! (Heb 4:15)
2/17/13
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