Discussion Questions

First Reading

Deuteronomy 26:4-10

F1. “We cried to the Lord, the God of our fathers, and he heard our cry.” In your own faith story do you ever cry out to the Lord?  

F2. What good things came out of the Israelites’ desert sojourn? Metaphorically speaking, is the desert a place to fear or do you find its mysteries compelling?

Second Reading

Romans 10:8-13

S1. In the small places in which you live your daily life (in the parish, at work, with family or friends), do you ever proclaim the Lord? Would such a proclamation require words? How can the Church or your parish proclaim itself an “island of mercy” in a sea of indifference?

S2. Are your actions colored by the love you have for a person? The word who is “near you, in your mouth and in your heart” is Christ. How often do you remember this? Always? Sometimes? Not often? Would it impact the way you treat everyone if you remembered it often?

Gospel

Luke 4:1-13

G1. When an athlete starts to get flabby or lethargic, he or she exercises to get back in shape. Is there an analogy here for your spiritual life? How would you use exercise to get in shape spiritually? What would a “flabby” or a lethargic spiritual life look like? How does yours look now?

G2. Pope Francis says going to the desert helps us hear the voice of God whispering words of love to our hearts. What are some of the “risks” we need to be ready to take as we listen?

To the extent that this Lent becomes a time of conversion, an anxious humanity will notice a burst of creativity, a flash of new hope. Allow me to repeat what I told the young people whom I met in Lisbon last summer: “Keep seeking and be ready to take risks. At this moment in time, we face enormous risks; we hear the painful plea of so many people. Indeed, we are experiencing a third world war fought piecemeal.

Yet let us find the courage to see our world, not as being in its death throes but in a process of giving birth, not at the end but at the beginning of a great new chapter of history. … ” For faith and charity take hope, which is a small child, by the hand. They teach her to walk, and at the same time, she leads them forward. I bless all of you and your Lenten journey.

Through the Desert, God Leads Us to Freedom
Pope Francis Feb 1, 2024

Anne Osdieck

**From Saint Louis University