February 16, 2006

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

“ The Spirit drove Jesus out into the desert, and he remained in the desert for forty days, tempted by Satan” (Mk 1:12 ). At the end of this experience, Jesus emerged strengthened for the beginning of His public ministry. As the Gospel for the First Sunday of Lent states, “…Jesus came to Galilee , proclaiming the gospel of God: ‘… The Kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe in the gospel'” (Mk 1:15 ) .

Like Jesus, we too are being led by the Holy Spirit into the desert of Lent , the Church's annual forty-day retreat which begins on March 1, Ash Wednesday. As a time for spiritual renewal, Lent calls us to more genuine self-discipline, more intense prayer and more gracious charity. These three “works of Lent” stated clearly in the Ash Wednesday Gospel – fasting or penance, prayer, and almsgiving or works of charity – provide us with the means of growing more into the image of Christ Jesus whose very life we began to live at our Baptism.

Through fasting or penance, we become more responsive to God's call to deepening conversion and to ongoing reparation for our past sins. Through prayer, we become more transformed into Christ's image as we reflect on His Word in the Scriptures, relive the mysteries of His life in the Rosary and trace His footsteps to death and resurrection in the Stations of the Cross. In the Sacrament of Reconciliation, we confess our sins sacramentally to Christ and the Church made visible by the ordained priest and receive absolution and a new beginning. In the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist, we are made one with Christ and strengthened for our daily Christian witness. Through almsgiving or works of charity, we reveal to those in need the love of Christ present in our hearts, a love that desires to reach out and strengthen them.

Yes, we are being led by the Holy Spirit into the desert of Lent . Let us respond wholeheartedly to the Holy Spirit's inspiration and guidance as we become more fervent in prayer, more generous in works of charity and more eager in celebrating our sacred mysteries by which we are reborn. If we do so, we shall emerge at the end of Lent more deeply united to Christ and to one another and more strengthened to live the Christian way of life each day as faithful disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ.

One with you in following the Holy Spirit's direction, I remain,

Faithfully in Christ,

The Most Reverend Paul S. Loverde
Bishop of Arlington