'You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve.' Sunday Reflections, 1st Sunday of Lent, Year C

 

Abraham's Journey from Ur to Canaan

József Molnár [Wikipedia; source]

A wandering Aramean was my father. And he went down into Egypt and sojourned there, few in number, and there he became a nation, great, mighty, and populous (Deuteronomy 16:5; First Reading). 

Readings (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa)

Readings (New American Bible: Philippines, USA)

Gospel Luke 4:1-13 (English Standard Version Anglicised: India)  

Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And he ate nothing during those days. And when they were over, he was hungry. The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” And Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone.’” And the devil took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time, and said to him, “To you I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will. If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.” And Jesus answered him, “It is written,

“‘You shall worship the Lord your God,
    and him only shall you serve.’”

And he took him to Jerusalem and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, for it is written,

“‘He will command his angels concerning you,
    to guard you’,

and

“‘On their hands they will bear you up,
    lest you strike your foot against a stone.’”

And Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’” And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time.

 

Léachtaí i nGaeilge

Filling station, Romania

[Wikipedia; photo]

From 1973 till 1976 I was chaplain in the college department of a school run by religious sisters in Mindanao, Philippines. Part of my job was to teach religion, four semesters of which every student had to take. I remember one student in particular, whom I will call Bernadette (not her real name) who was taking a two-year secretarial course. She came from a large family and her parents earned just enough money to get by. They were both actively involved in the parish.

When Bernadette graduated she got a job as a bookkeeper in a filling station. Her salary, though small, was a great help to the family. She was asked by her employer to keep two different sets of books. She realised after some time that this was a way of avoiding paying taxes. Her conscience bothered her and she spoke to her parents about it. The three of them saw that Bernadette was being asked to take part in a sinful activity. So she, still in her late teens, resigned from her job. She had the full support of her parents who knew that the loss of Bernadette's salary was a sacrifice for the whole family. Man shall not live by bread alone.

I am preparing this on the Thursday after Ash Wednesday where the First Reading of the Mass (Deuteronomy 30: 15-20) says, I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live, loving the Lord your God, obeying his voice and holding fast to him, for he is your life and length of days . . .

Jesus, the Word [who] became flesh and dwelt among us, suffered temptation on our behalf in the desert and it is in his strength that we can find the grace to resist temptation in whatever way it may come. We can take to heart the words of Deuteronomy 6:13 that Jesus quotes to Satan in today's gospel: You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve. That is what enables us to do what Bernadette and her parents did: choose life, that you and your offspring may live, loving the Lord your God, obeying his voice and holding fast to him . . .

Kyrie eleison

Sung by Kyiv Chamber Choir

Kyrie eleison - Christe eleison - Kyrie eleison

Lord, have mercy - Christ, have mercy - Lord, have mercy

Lent is a time of prayer, fasting and almsgiving. Many people try to attend Mass each day during Lent where that is possible. When I was growing up in Dublin our parish church was full every weekday morning at the seven o'clock Mass, with workers and with students at primary and secondary level. Each was there by choice, making a sacrifice by getting up earlier. At Mass we hear the word of God and can receive the Lord Jesus Himself, Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity, in Holy Communion

Lent is a time for repentance. The Lord Jesus left us a beautiful way to experience that: the Sacrament of Reconciliation (Confession Penance). The Church requires us to go to confession at least once a year and to receive Holy Communion at least once during the Easter period. In some countries the latter may be done between the First Sunday of Lent and Trinity Sunday. However, this is a bare minimum and not a level of commitment to be recommended no more than joining a family meal only once a year when one is living at home would seem to be recommended.

It is up to us priests to make it possible for people to confess their sins so that they can receive absolution with the words I absolve you from your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. The priest is not forgiving us in his own name but in the Name of the Holy Trinity. The priest, through the sacrament of Holy Orders, is acting in persona Christi, to use the Church's traditional Latin expression, 'In the Person of Christ'.

Fasting can take many forms: eating less, reducing our time on the internet, abstaining from alcoholic drinks. etc. None of this is for show but to share in the forty days of fasting of the Lord Jesus in the desert before he began his public ministry. And it does bring life to others.

There are endless needs to be met by almsgiving. As I write this I'm conscious of how the authorities and ordinary people in Poland and in other countries are welcoming refugees from Ukraine. More than a million Ukrainians, mostly women and children, have fled their country in one week. Most of these have made their way to Poland. Some have relatives there while others are heading for other countries. The local authorities and volunteers in Ukraine's neighbouring countries have been welcoming these refugees. And the same is happening in far too many other parts of the world.

Queen of Peace, pray for us.

Traditional Latin Mass

First Sunday in Lent

The Complete Mass in Latin and English is here. (Adjust the date at the top of that page to 03-06-2022 if necessary).

Epistle: 2 Corinthians 6:1-10.  Gospel: Matthew 4:1-11.

The Temptation of  Christ,

Juan de Flandes [Web Gallery of Art]