1st Week of Lent: Transformed by Hope

18/02/2026

News

“Transformed by Hope” is proposed as a space of listening and discernment on the Sunday Gospels that will accompany our Lenten journey.

The initiative, promoted by the UISG Women Theologians, is situated within the horizon opened by the Jubilee and seeks to prolong its grace, continuing to live our vocation as pilgrims of hope amid the challenges of the present time.

Each week, in the light of the Word of God, we will contemplate an aspect of the conversion to which we are called, allowing ourselves to be guided by the Spirit on the journey toward Easter. It is an invitation to allow evangelical hope to shape our way of believing, of living communion, and of participating in the mission of the Church.

During the first week, the commentary on the Gospel of Matthew (4:1–11) is prepared by Sr. Paula Noronha Jordão.

“I will lead you into the desert…”

Jesus is led by the Spirit into the desert. He does not go on His own initiative; He is led. The Spirit does not spare us from trial but invites us to pass through it in God’s company. Our life as consecrated women brings us face to face with many difficulties and temptations. But the question is profound: how do we live them? Alone? Or do we allow ourselves to be guided by the Spirit even in the midst of struggle?

Jesus felt hunger after so much time without eating. It is normal to feel need; it is deeply human. Jesus does not hide or justify His hunger. He acknowledges it. And us? What hungers do we feel? Hunger for affection, recognition, rest, meaning. How do we relate to our needs? Do we welcome and discern them? Do we seek to respond to them in an evangelical way? Or do we allow them to become justification for giving in to temptation?

Strengthened by the Spirit and grounded in the certainty of the Father’s love, Jesus accepts to endure need without giving in to the temptation to do things His own way, without seeking luxury or privilege. Nowadays, where so many people live in precarious situations, we are called to be a sign of simple poverty, sobriety, and detachment.

In the first temptation Jesus responds: “One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” Do you believe, with Him, that only prayer nourished by the Word of God can satisfy your deepest desires? Ask Jesus that it may be so.

The second temptation speaks of the many times we are seized by the desire to be right, to be more than others, to command, to exercise power. It is important to become aware when this happens and to acknowledge it truthfully. Even knowing that these are deeply human impulses, as consecrated women we are invited by Jesus to always trust the Father, even when situations unsettle us or do not meet our expectations. Jesus leads us along other paths: those of hidden fruitfulness, of hiding our life in God, learning to wait for the reward that is born in secret.

In a world where the strong impose their power through violence and seek prestige, it is easy to fall into the temptation of wanting God to fill our lives with human recognition, applause, and success. Often, when this does not happen, we even doubt God’s goodness. Yet the Spirit often guides us along other roads.

In the midst of His struggle, Jesus invites us to say with faith, “You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.” This does not mean lowering our hands before injustice, but continuing to seek paths of hope, opening new ways amid the contradictions of our congregations, the Church, and the world.

At the end of the account, we read a discreet phrase: “and suddenly angels appeared and looked after him.” Throughout His life, Jesus was not overwhelmed by temptations, even though they brought solitude, struggle, misunderstanding, and uncertainty. He believed He was the Son of God, the Beloved, even amid ambiguity. Therefore, in every challenge, He waited for the right time and sought God’s way until He experienced that the angels looked after Him.

We too, in the midst of our temptations and those of so many people, are called to be women of hope strengthened by grace. How do you embrace temptations as part of life and allow yourself to be strengthened by God until the angels serve you?