A spiritual father takes his spiritual sons into the desert.
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JESUS
In Born of Fire, we will enter into the desert with Jesus for forty days. He is waiting for you and has prepared a place for you.
BAPTISM
He is going to help you remember your baptism and to activate the truth of when the heavens opened and you became an adopted son of the Father.
DESERT
The desert will be your identity experience. Here you are tried by fire, to be born of fire, and become fire.
Are you in?
Jesus is your guide.
This desert journey is for you. This new life is for you. The next forty days are going to be intense, and if we do it right, it will hurt.
Begin your journey
Born of Fire
We pray that as you join us in the desert this Lent, the Consuming Fire of God may purify you, renew you, and set you a flame with love.
This yes will open key truths to your identity.
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How it All Works
- We will walk through seven identities: son, brother, man, spouse, father, mystic, and the ‘new man.’
- These identities resonate deeply within the masculine heart and are essential to being fully alive in Christ, but we can struggle to tap into that power.
- Your baptismal identity is like a ‘caged giant’ that, once released, will give meaning and fulfillment to your life in a radically new way.
As men and as Christians, we need the desert.
Once we let go of ourselves and die to our former selves, then we can receive new life as sons of God.
About the Author
Father Innocent Montgomery, CFR
grew up in Lincoln, Nebraska as one of a triplet, and his triplet brother is also a CFR priest. He attended Saint Gregory the Great Seminary for his undergrad in philosophy. He entered the Friars in 2007 and spent many joyful years serving the homeless and drug addicts at Saint Anthony’s Shelter in the Bronx. He made his final vows in 2012. He went on to Saint Joseph Seminary and was ordained to the priesthood in 2016. His master’s thesis work in seminary was in Christological anthropology. He completed the Institute of Priestly Formation (IPF) three-year Priest Spiritual Direction Program, where he encountered in a new and deeper way the gift of prayer and the blessing of his identity as a son of the Father. After starting and serving at the missionary program for young men discerning priesthood and religious life in the Bronx, he now serves as the Postulant Director for the CFRs, accompanying the young brothers in early formation as they learn how to pray, live in fraternity, and love and serve the poor. One of his greatest joys is to bless people in their identity as sons and daughters of the Father.
Born of Fire
The desert is the place where Jesus invites us to go, fortified by His presence, to pray, fast, and face the temptations of the world and once again receive the gift of who we are as sons of God.
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Leader Guide
Men do not go into the desert alone. Likewise, Lent is not a solo journey.
Of course Born of Fire can be read on your own, but there is a brotherhood to be shared among these pages and journeys.
Consider asking one person to do it with you, even just to text about your takeaways. Ask the Holy Spirit to guide you in this invitation.