The First Sunday of Lent — From Dom Guéranger’s Liturgical Year

Описание: Please Note: In light of increasingly frequent inquiries, I want to assure all listeners that the voice in these recordings is *NOT AI generated*; it is my (InPrincipio Podcast’s) own human voice, unworthy as it is. Thank you.

A meditation for the First Sunday of Lent, from Dom Guéranger’s “The Liturgical Year”.

The First Sunday of Lent, known from its Introit as Invocabit, marks the solemn and true opening of the Lenten fast, taking precedence over all other feasts and gathering the faithful into the Church’s great annual work of purification. In the Office, the Church gives voice to Leo the Great, who proclaims: “Behold, now is the acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation,” urging Christians not to receive God’s grace in vain but to intensify prayer, fasting, and almsgiving as the anniversary of Redemption approaches. The Epistle (2 Corinthians 6) calls the faithful to live as true ministers of God—patient in tribulation, steadfast in watchings and fastings—reminding them that the Christian life is a continual warfare. The Gospel (Matthew 4:1–11) presents Christ’s forty-day fast and His threefold temptation in the desert, corresponding to the concupiscence of the flesh, the pride of life, and the desire for worldly glory; by answering each assault with the words of Scripture, He reveals both the remedy for Adam’s fall and the model for our own combat. The Church surrounds this mystery with Psalm 90, promising angelic protection and divine deliverance to those who trust in God, and in her prayers she asks that outward abstinence may be joined to inward conversion, so that fasting from food may be matched by restraint from sin. Nourished by the Eucharist and overshadowed by God’s providence, the faithful are sent into the desert with Christ—confident that vigilance, humility, and reliance on grace will lead them through temptation to the triumph of Easter.

Dom Prosper Guéranger's The Liturgical Year, a monumental fifteen-volume work, offers a comprehensive exploration of the Catholic Church’s liturgical calendar, guiding readers through the spiritual and historical richness of the Church’s worship. Written in the 19th century, the series provides daily meditations, historical context, and liturgical texts for the Mass and Divine Office, covering the entire cycle of seasons—Advent, Christmas, Lent, Passiontide, Easter, and the Time after Pentecost—as well as feast days of saints. Guéranger’s work, rooted in a deep contemplative spirit, aims to immerse the faithful in the Church’s prayerful life, emphasizing the unity of faith through the axiom lex orandi, lex credendi ("the law of prayer is the law of belief"), and remains a cherished resource for Catholics seeking to deepen their spiritual lives.

Dom Prosper Guéranger (1805–1875) was a French Benedictine monk, liturgical scholar, and founder of the Solesmes Abbey, renowned for his pivotal role in reviving the Benedictine Order in France and restoring the Roman liturgy after the disruptions of the French Revolution. Born in Sablé-sur-Sarthe, he entered the priesthood in 1827 and, inspired by a vision to restore monastic life, reestablished the Benedictine community at Solesmes in 1833, becoming its first abbot. A staunch defender of ultramontanism and traditional Catholic worship, he also championed the revival of Gregorian chant, significantly influencing the liturgical renewal movement.

Link to the Dom Guéranger's Liturgical Year playlist (updated daily):    • Dom Gueranger's Liturgical Year Playlist  


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Music: Ave Maria (Gregorian chant)
From Vesperae de Confessore non Pontifice in honor of Saint Vincent Pallotti
Performed by Schola Gregoriana, Pallottine Seminary (Ołtarzew, Poland)
Conductor: Fr. Dariusz Smolarek
License: CC BY-SA 3.0 — https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...
Changes: none
Except where otherwise noted, original content © InPrincipio Podcast.
Chant audio used under CC BY-SA 3.0.