Happy Fat Tuesday!

Two cans of cinnamon rolls unrolled and braided into a king cake.

Wordless Wednesday

Filled with the Holy Spirit

Filled with the Holy Spirit, Jesus returned from the Jordan
and was led by the Spirit into the desert for forty days,
to be tempted by the devil.
He ate nothing during those days,
and when they were over he was hungry.
The devil said to him,
“If you are the Son of God,
command this stone to become bread.”
Jesus answered him,
“It is written, One does not live on bread alone.”
Then he took him up and showed him
all the kingdoms of the world in a single instant.
The devil said to him,
“I shall give to you all this power and glory;
for it has been handed over to me,
and I may give it to whomever I wish.
All this will be yours, if you worship me.”
Jesus said to him in reply, “It is written:
You shall worship the Lord, your God,
and him alone shall you serve.”
Then he led him to Jerusalem,
made him stand on the parapet of the temple, and said to him,
“If you are the Son of God,
throw yourself down from here, for it is written:
He will command his angels concerning you, to guard you,
and:
With their hands they will support you,
lest you dash your foot against a stone.”
Jesus said to him in reply, “It also says,
You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test.”
When the devil had finished every temptation, he departed from him for a time. 

                              Luke 4:1-13

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During meditation, I noticed in today's gospel reading that Jesus was filled with the Holy Spirit before being tempted.  I was reflecting on my life and the times that I was tempted and overcame and the times that I was tempted and fell.

I need God's grace to overcome temptation.  Like Jesus, I need to call upon the word of God in the midst of temptation.  I need to deny myself physical pleasures and be thankful for what I have.  I need to ask God to sustain and guide me, because I can not do it alone.  I need to left go of my "self" and keep God in the center of my daily activities.

How can I be filled with the Holy Spirit this Lent?  Daily Mass, Confession, Morning and Evening Prayer; the Catholic faith has many great opportunities for us to be filled with God's grace.  Will I take advantage of them?  I pray I do.  Pray for me.

Tomorrow is the beginning of Lent

Each year, I struggle with what I should give up for Lent.

To me, Lent is like a good cleaning; a time to spiritually clean ourselves.  My Lenten reading will be The Kiss From the Cross by Ronda de Sola Chervin and Finding God's Will For You by St. Francis de Sales.

Along the lines of cleaning, I will focus on cleaning and organizing our home.  Each day of Lent, I will find something to donate to St. Vincent de Paul's.  I think Easter would be very enjoyable with a better organized and less cluttered home.

I am giving up desserts; but to be honest it's also to help in my weight loss journey.

After reading this post, I've decided to give up my computer time during the week (Mon-Fri).  I enjoy reading blogs ... homeschooling, Catholic, running, and all combined.  I find myself checking my email frequently throughout the day.  Therefore during Lent, I will blog, read a few blogs, update my running log, pay bills, enter school grades, and read emails only on the weekends.

Have a Blessed Lent!