Bishop Peter: A Lenten call to listen to the Holy Spirit who leads us home

By Bishop Peter F. Christensen

For the Idaho Catholic Register

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

On Ash Wednesday the Church marks our foreheads with ashes and gently invites us to begin again.

These ashes remind us that our lives are fragile and finite, yet they also speak a deeper truth: we are beloved by God, and he never grows tired of calling us back to himself.

Lent is not first a season of our effort or self-improvement. It is, above all, a season of God’s mercy and action in our lives through the gift of the Holy Spirit. At the same time, this gift is never forced upon us. The Holy Spirit is freely given, but he must also be freely received. During these forty days, the Lord invites us to open our hearts more fully, to listen more attentively, and to cooperate more generously with the Spirit’s gentle promptings. We are not passive spectators in Lent; we are beloved sons and daughters who are called to walk willingly with the Spirit who leads us.

Bishop Peter F. Christensen

For forty days we accompany Jesus into the desert. Yet we do not walk there alone or by our own strength. St. Luke tells us that Jesus himself was “filled with the Holy Spirit” and “led by the Spirit in the desert” (Lk 4:1). This is the pattern for our own Lenten journey: like Christ, we allow the Spirit to guide us, shape us, and draw us closer to the Father.

In a reflection I shared with you during Lent last year, I spoke from my heart about the temptation we all face to rely only on ourselves. I encouraged you — and I continue to encourage you — to hear the Lord’s invitation to trust him more deeply: “Fast from your self-sufficiency, fast from your self-reliance. Rely on me for your true identity and for all that you need… I will lead you if you just hold on to my hand. I will be with you.” (Idaho Catholic Register, March 20, 2025).

This remains at the heart of Lent. The Holy Spirit does not simply correct our behavior from the outside; he works within us, healing our hearts, reordering our loves, and reminding us that our true identity is found in being God’s children. Lent is like a family retreat for the whole Church — a time of quieter prayer, deeper listening, and renewed trust in our heavenly Father.

Sacred Scripture consistently presents the Holy Spirit not merely as a force or agent, but as the divine Person; a consoler who walks alongside us purifying and sanctifying the people of God. His work is gentle and yet, powerful. He comes close to our hearts, meets us in our weakness, and patiently shapes us into the image of Christ. Lent is the season when we give him more room to do this saving work within us.

The prophet Ezekiel speaks tenderly of God’s promise: “I will sprinkle clean water upon you… I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you” (Ez 36:25–27). Each day in Lent, the Church places on our lips the prayer of Psalm 51: “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me” (Ps 51:12).

St. Paul then invites us to understand what life in the Holy Spirit truly looks like. The following passage so clearly reveals the drama of conversion and the beauty of a Spirit-filled life. I invite you to read it often, take it to prayer and examine your life to more fully be filled by the Holy Spirit.

But I say, walk by the Spirit, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh. Now the works of the flesh are plain: immorality, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger, selfishness, dissension, party spirit, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and the like; I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit; let us have no self-conceit, no provoking of one another, no envy of one another. (Ga 5:16, 19-26).

This passage is not meant to frighten us, but to convict our hearts and move us toward the light of truth. Lent is the time when we allow the Holy Spirit to gently uncover what needs healing, so that his beautiful fruits — love, joy, and peace — can flourish more fully in our lives.

When we fast, pray, and give alms, we are not trying to earn God’s love. We are making space for his Spirit to work more freely within us.

Fasting quiets our appetites so that our hearts can listen. Prayer opens us to God’s voice and presence. Almsgiving loosens our grip on possessions and teaches us generosity. When these practices are rooted in faith, they become cooperation with the Holy Spirit — our humble “yes” to his transforming grace.

Many of you tell me that you want to be more aware of the Holy Spirit in your daily life. Lent gives us a simple and practical path. Begin each morning with a quiet prayer: “Come, Holy Spirit. Purify my heart. Lead me today in truth and charity.” If possible, kneel before a crucifix or holy image. Then pause for a moment in silence — this is often where the Spirit speaks most clearly.

Choose one interior fast this Lent. Ask the Spirit to reveal what most needs healing — perhaps impatience, harsh speech, resentment, gossip, or too much time online — and gently commit to fasting from it. This may open the door of time for a personal visit to a Church to sit in front of the Divine Physician in the Blessed Sacrament.

Make Confession a central part of your Lent. The Holy Spirit convicts us of sin not to condemn us, but to free us. In Reconciliation, we experience the joy of mercy and the renewal of grace.

My hope for all of us this Lent is not simply that we “do better,” but that we become freer — freer from sin, freer from fear, and freer to love God and one another.

If we allow the Holy Spirit to work, we will notice his fruits slowly growing in our lives: more patience in our families, more peace in our hearts, more generosity toward the poor, and deeper joy in our faith.

As we begin this sacred season together, let us ask for one grace above all: the grace to be led by the Holy Spirit — led into repentance, led into truth, and led into the radiant joy of Easter.

May the Holy Spirit purify every heart in our Diocese of Boise, strengthen relationship we hold dear, and renew our Church in holiness and love.

With my prayers and God’s blessings,

Bishop Peter F. Christensen