The Bible and You - Embarking on Lent 2022

Deacon Steve Greco is a permanent deacon of the Diocese of Orange in California. He is also founder and president of Spirit Filled Heart Ministries, which engages in evangelization and support of the foreign missions. He and MaryAnne have been married for nearly 50 years and have three adult children.  In this episode, they talk about the Holy Season of Lent.

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Transcript:

announcement: 0:00

It's nice to be invited over to a friend's house and Deacon Steve and Marianne Greco, have a fresh pot brewing and comfy chair waiting for you. So kick back, relax, and get ready to soak in God's Word with some good friends. It's the Bible and you with Deacon Steve and Marianne Greco.

Deacon Steve: 0:20

Hi, this is Deacon Steve Greco, and Marianne, and welcome to the Bible and you. I'm beyond excited.

Mary Anne: 0:29

all excited. And

Deacon Steve: 0:31

what's the what? Why is the purple in the background. It's the first Sunday of the first Sunday of Lent. We've already had Ash Wednesday. And now we're right into Lent, and that first Sunday. And the readings are unbelievably powerful. But I just want to share with you after opening prayer a little bit about the history of Lent. So let's pray. Father, Son, Holy Spirit, amen. Heavenly Father, we ask special blessings upon everyone to be filled with the Holy Spirit, to have a land filled with joy. Filled with reverence, filled with fasting and penance and almsgiving. Filled with everything to build up. Each individual family marriage, the body of Christ may be blessed with all the blessings and love of the Father, Son, Holy Spirit, in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, a man I can't say all Alou here anymore. Well, technically, you can't say hallelujah during the mass. But so I'll probably not say it. But you know, I'm thinking that so little bit on the history of land. Let actually was made official in 313, at the Council of Nicea. And the reason for that is that, at that particular time, they were using the 40 days, which of course, we know the significance of that. And Marianne, I'm sure will go into more detail on that. But you know, you hear 40 throughout scripture, and it certainly means a long time. But the preparation for those who are being baptized, and you think of Holy Saturday, right, Easter weekend, as Lent is ending. And we have the baptisms into the church, while at the time of the fourth century. The focus was really on, on that baptism. But and it's also focused on penance. And it's a focus on really renewing where we are in our relationship with the Lord. So three aspects of Lent is prayer, almsgiving and fasting. We know about fasting, it isn't giving up chocolates. It's really what is it that's blocking you from being closer with Christ. And that's really what you need to give up. Alms giving, obviously, is always important, and prayer to be able to be there. And so the Lenten prayers, the Stations of the Cross, the praying the rosary, obviously going to mass as often as you can reconciliation, the Lenten supper services often on Fridays, as at St. Lisbon, and see, all of those are extremely important, as we focus on getting ourselves prepared for Lent. The readings are really powerful, and, and this first reading on the book of Deuteronomy is amazing.

Mary Anne: 3:30

Yeah, this reading is really a ritual prescribed by Moses. It is the Feast of the harvest Thanksgiving. And the people once they were settled in the Promised Land, and freed from Egypt, we