1st Sunday of Lent (Cycle C, Year II)
Community Word: We are saved by our faith in Jesus, God’s chosen Son.
Theme: Our faith in Jesus, God’s chosen Son, strengthens us to resist temptation.
Promise: “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Rom 10: 13)
Reflection:
The theme for the 1st Sunday of Lent tells us – Our faith in Jesus, God’s chosen Son, strengthens us to resist temptation. We recall that before Jesus started His mission and ministry, He fasted for 40 days and was tempted in the desert by the devil. But in every instance, Jesus never succumbed to those temptations. Filled with the Holy Spirit and empowered by obedient faith in His Abba Father, He professed God’s word in countering every time lies and deception of the evil one was thrown at Him. Like Jesus, God is indeed our refuge and fortress who we can call to fight the temptations of the world, our flesh and Satan.
Human as we are, we yearn for pleasure, power and fame. Yet God wants us to have more than these things which can only provide fleeting satisfaction. He wants us to trust in Him as our firm foundation, the One whom we can count on especially in times of trouble. But we need to be nourished spiritually by God’s word to fight every deception and tactics of the devil. We must be guided by the truth and focus on God’s moral standard, not on what is socially or popularly accepted even if these go against God’s commandment. Many times, man is tempted to formulate his own laws for self-serving comfort and convenience but are contrary to nature and moral laws. Let us listen to the powerful words of Jesus when He rebuked the devil – “You shall worship the Lord, your God, and Him alone shall you serve,” (Lk 4: 8b). We should openly profess and uphold God’s name and command in all things.
“When the devil has finished every temptation, he departed from him for a time,” (Lk 14:13). Temptations will not go away permanently. They will continue to “bother” us in our lifetime. The world is one major source of temptation. We are always enticed to like material things. It is a world of materialism and consumerism. Our own personal desires and human instincts are also sources of temptation, including our emotional weaknesses. Above all, the devil continues to lurk around and distract us from doing the Lord’s will and work. But our continued relationship with our Abba Father will help us withstand our temptations if we are only faithful to His word.
Just like Jesus in the desert, let the next 40 days of Lent be a time of deep reflection and prayer for us. The more we seek to profess our faith in our mind, heart and with our lips, the more we will be drawn into a closer relationship with Jesus. Let us focus on being spiritually renewed this Lent & prepare to fight temptation as we draw closer to Jesus. But more than the fear of temptation, let this time be an occasion to remember what GOD has done for us through the saving act of Jesus. Let us contemplate and meditate on the life and ministry of Jesus, be willing to profess our faith in words, and more importantly to commit our heart to His Lordship by living a life that proclaims our relationship with Him, our Father in heaven, in the unity of the Holy Spirit.
Every time we are tempted, let us immediately profess the prayer our Lord taught us and say it with full conviction, “…lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.” Because the promise for this week assures us, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved,” (Rom 10:13).
Prayer:
Heavenly Father, during our Lenten journey help us deepen the new life You gave us through Jesus’ passion, death and resurrection. May we spend quality time in prayerful reflection as we profess our faith in You. We seek your pardon for the times we have allowed ourselves to fall into temptation, but strengthen us to deepen our commitment to grow spiritually, by the power of your Holy Spirit. We make this prayer in Jesus’ name, our Saviour who reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, our God forever and ever. Amen!
Reflection Questions:
- What are the temptations that I continue to struggle with? What can I do spiritually to win over them?
- In what ways can I share my faith with others and encourage them to have a time of renewal this Lent?
This Week’s Daily Mass Reading Guide:
March 6, 2022 (Sun) – Dt 26:4-10/ Ps 91:1, 2, 10-15/ Rom 10:8-13/ Lk 4:1-13
March 7, 2022 (Mon) – Lv 19:1-2, 11-18/ Ps 19:8, 9, 10, 15/ Mt 25:31-46
March 8, 2022 (Tue) – Is 55:10-11/ Ps 34:4-7, 16-17, 18-19/ Mt 6:7-15
March 9, 2022 (Wed) – Jon 3:1-10/ Ps 51:3-4, 12-13, 18-19/ Lk 11:29-32
March 10, 2022 (Thu) – Est 4: 12, 14-16, 23-25/ Ps 138:1-3, 7, 8/ Mt 7:7-12
March 11, 2022 (Fri) – Ez 18:21-28/ Ps 130:1-8/ Mt 5:20-26
March 12, 2022 (Sat) – Dt 26:16-19/ Ps 119:1, 2, 4-5, 7-8/ Mt 5:43-48
“Ignorance of the Bible is ignorance of Christ. Read your Bible daily!”
