Gospel: March 9, 2025
March 9, 2025 (Sunday)
1st Sunday of Lent
Psalter: Week 1 / (Violet)
Ps 91:1-2, 10-11, 12-13, 14-15
Be with me, Lord, when I am in trouble.
1st Reading: Deuteronomy 26:4-10
2nd Reading: Romans 10:8-13
Gospel: Luke 4:1-13
Jesus was now full of the Holy Spirit. As he returned from the Jordan, the Spirit led him into the desert, where he was tempted by the devil for 40 days. He did not eat anything during that time, and at the end he was hungry. The devil then said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to turn into bread.” But Jesus answered, “Scripture says: People cannot live on bread alone.” Then the devil took him up to a high place, and showed him, in a flash, all the nations of the world. And he said to Jesus, “I can give you power over all the nations; and their wealth will be yours; for power and wealth have been delivered to me; and I give them to whom I wish.
All this will be yours, provided you worship me.” But Jesus replied, “Scripture says: You shall worship the Lord your God and serve him alone.” Then the devil took him up to Jerusalem, and set him on the highest wall of the temple; and he said, “If you are God’s Son, throw yourself down from here; for it is written: God will order his angels to take care of you; and again: They will hold you in their hands, lest you hurt your foot on the stones.” But Jesus replied, “It is written: You shall not challenge the Lord your God.” When the devil had exhausted every way of tempting Jesus, he left him, to return another time.
Lectio Divina:
“He remains faithful.”
Read: Jesus is led by the Spirit into the desert, where he is tempted by the devil. The mention of the Holy Spirit links together Christ’s Baptism with his temptation. At his Baptism, the Father declares that he is his beloved Son. Now the devil tempts him to prove his Sonship by doing things that would deny his union with his Father.
Reflect: As God led the People of Israel out of Egypt on a wandering, 40-year journey through the desert, so now, the Holy Spirit leads Jesus on a 40-day journey through the desert. In the emptiness, both the People of Israel and Jesus are tempted to reject God and to replace him with idols or with self. The Israelites fashion a golden calf, putting their trust in a piece of metal, but Christ resists the temptation to reject God his Father or to break his relationship with him as Son, and he remains faithful.
Pray: We are adopted sons and daughters of God through our Baptism, and yet we are often tempted to deny that identity and our God-given relationship. Pray about the identity you have through Jesus and give thanks for it.
Act: Create some “desert” time in your daily schedule this Lent, so that your sense of identity and mission and God’s son or daughter can grow stronger.
