After Jesus was baptized by His cousin, Saint John the Baptist, Scripture tells us that the Holy Spirit immediately drove Him into the desert. Here, Jesus spent 40 days praying and fasting before beginning His public ministry. He faced hunger and temptation. He was prepared. He was sent.
This experience of the Word Incarnate is what inspires the Catholic Church's practice of a 40-day Lent. We accompany Christ into the desert to pray and fast. We face our weaknesses. We prepare for the greatest Feast in the liturgical year: Easter.
This Lent, we will begin our journey to Easter by being led by the Holy Spirit, just as Jesus was. We'd love to pray with you.
Set a Fire // Be Transformed by the Holy Spirit
The theme of this year's Catholic Lent devotional, Set a Fire, is purification and transformation in the Holy Spirit. This Lent and always, we want the Lord to purify our hearts. We want Him to rid us of anything that's not of Him. We want to be more fully His, and more like Him. As John the Baptizer proclaimed, we want Him to increase, and ourselves to decrease.
It's with this desire on our minds and hearts that we set about to write this devotional. During Lent, we will explore themes of suffering, sacrifice, turning away from sin, and being made new by the Holy Spirit.
The Weekly Flow
Each week, we will read an essay on the week’s theme, two personal stories, and meditate over two Scripture selections with questions.
On the weekend, we turn our prayer to traditional prayers from the holy women and men of the Church. We invite you to sit in the quiet on Sundays to open your heart to docility to the Holy Spirit.
The themes for the week are:
- The revelation of God in our lives
- Making an offering of our lives
- Receiving the Holy Spirit into our lives
- Embracing suffering in all of life’s circumstances
- Experiencing transformation through His love
- Jesus’ sacrifice changes everything for our lives
This book is well-suited for personal use and group sharing, and also a great gift for a sister or family member hoping to be enlightened by the Holy Spirit.
Wherever you are on the journey of your relationship with Our Lord, this devotional will assist you going further and deeper accompanied by the beauty of our Catholic Faith and Holy Scripture.
Go Even Deeper
If you're looking to go all-in on your Lenten experience, I have two suggestions for you.
The Lent Bundle
Our Lent bundle includes:
- Set a Fire
- A custom soy candle
- A gorgeous Holy Spirit necklace
A part of my morning prayer time is lighting a candle. It might sound silly or trite, but it really helps my just-waking-up brain to prepare for an encounter with Jesus. I cannot wait to use this gorgeous candle to direct the first thoughts of my day. (I've also trained my children to understand that, when the candle is lit, it means that mommy is praying and they aren't to interrupt at that time.)
And as you open your heart to transformation in the Holy Spirit, keep a reminder of Him close to your heart with the necklace!
These always sell out fast, so be sure to grab yours soon!
Lent for Kids
This Advent was a game-changer for my family's Advent prayer thanks to Maranatha for Kids that accompanied the Advent devotional. I have tried many, many Advent tools for kids over the years, and nothing has been more doable and produced more conversation about Jesus with my kids than that Advent devotional.
Many of you said the exact same thing, so we created a kids' companion to this year's Lent devotional. Set a Fire for kids reflects on the same Scripture passages and themes, but with questions and in a way that's suitable for kids (roughly ages 6-12).
If you'd like to dive into prayer alongside your kids this Lent, you can grab that bundle here.
Into Easter
Did you know we have a book dedicated entirely to the Easter season! Risen contains reflections for every day of the Easter season and includes simple but significant ways to celebrate each day.
You can get Set a Fire and Risen in a bundle here.
Time for Renewal, Time to Fan the Flame
As we encounter Jesus in the desert this Lent, may we all fix our gaze on Him Who came to set us free, to set a fire in our souls. Come, Lord Jesus, purify our hearts and set them aflame with love for You.
Will you be praying through Set a Fire with us?!
Set a Fire: Praying through Lent with the BIS Sisterhood #BISblog #bislent //Click to tweet
Olivia Spears lives in Kentucky, where sweet tea and bourbon flow like milk and honey. She holds degrees in Theology and Catechetics from the Franciscan University of Steubenville and works from home while enjoying her children and husband. She curates relevant and inspiring content for Catholic women as Blog Manager. She is the narrator of Set a Fire, And Hay Became Holy, and All She Had as well as a contributing author for Rise Up. Find out more about her here.
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