Praying with Sunday's Scriptures

Focus: Fulfilling our baptismal commitment by living the Gospel

	March 5, 2006, 1st Sunday of Lent Reading I: Genesis 9:8-15 Reading II: 1 Peter 3:18-22 Gospel: Mark 1:12-15

Opening Prayer: Psalm 25:4-9

Group One: Make known to me your ways, Lord; teach me your paths.

Group Two: Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my savior. For you I wait all the long day, because of your goodness, Lord.

Group One: Remember your compassion and love, O Lord; for they are ages old. Remember no more the sins of my youth; remember me only in light of your love.

Group Two: Good and upright is the Lord, who shows sinners the way, Guides the humble rightly, and teaches the humble the way.

	A Compass Lenten series

Scripture Sharing: Read the scriptures aloud. Pause for a moment between the readings. Each group member is invited to share a line from one of the readings, which had an impact on him or her.

	L e n t
	• Other Everyday People, Everyday Faith articles
	• Other Lent articles

Reflection: Through the timeless story of God's covenant with Noah in the book of Genesis, we are reminded that our God is One who is full of life and salvation, not death and destruction. God makes a covenant with Noah, just as God makes a covenant with us through our baptism. In the First Letter of Peter, through the adaptation of an early Christian hymn, we hear a summary of all that we will celebrate throughout the forty days of Lent. Just as Jesus died and rose to new life, so do we die to our old selves and rise to new life when we emerge from the waters of Baptism. In Mark's gospel, Jesus' forty days in the wilderness parallel Israel's forty years in the desert. Moses and the chosen people were fed manna from heaven, and Jesus is ministered to by angels. Those who rely on God are protected from wild beasts, and so is Jesus. All of these experiences happen to Jesus immediately after his baptism. Jesus announces the kingdom and invites us to live the Gospel as an expression of our baptismal commitment.

Faith Sharing
1. The covenant between God and Noah, which is a sort of "starting over" for humanity, reminds us of our baptism, when we were brought into the People of God and given new life. Which aspect of this new life do you want to reclaim through the Lenten Season?

2. The opening line of the gospel states: "The Spirit drove Jesus out into the desert." Describe a time in your life when you have felt driven into a desert period, a barren time for you or your family. Were there "angels" ministering to you during that experience?

3. Jesus proclaims the news that the kingdom of God is at hand. If we describe the kingdom as the reign of God over the hearts of people, which creates a new social order based on unconditional love for one another, what signs of the kingdom have you seen recently?

Suggested Action Response:
1. Find your baptism date and the baptismal dates of family members and note them on the calendar. Celebrate your new life in Christ on those special days.

2. Comfort someone who is living through a desert time.

3. Decide on one concrete action you can do to further the reign of God in our world. Carry it out sometime during the next month.

Closing Prayer: Individuals offer their prayer intentions.

Lord Jesus, reveal to us the transforming power of our baptism and help us to live out our baptismal call by furthering the reign of God in our world today. Empower us to live the gospel where it is needed most. We ask you this in union with your Father and the Holy Spirit, now and forever. Amen.

(Sr. Diane Bauman, Diocesan Writing Team for Faith Sharing Sessions, 2006)