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Daily Readings for:March 09, 2014
(Readings on USCCB website)

Collect: Grant, almighty God, through the yearly observances of holy Lent, that we may grow in understanding of the riches hidden in Christ and by worthy conduct pursue their effects. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

RECIPES

o    Pease Porridge

ACTIVITIES

o    The Kaleidoscope of Lent

PRAYERS

o    Prayer for the First Week of Lent

o    Lent Table Blessing 1

o    Book of Blessings: Blessing Before and After Meals: Lent (1st Plan)

LIBRARY

o    None

·         Lent: March 9th

·         First Sunday of Lent

Old Calendar: First Sunday of Lent

The scene of the temptation, which opens the public life of Jesus, declares in the Gospels in a very forceful manner the great change in our lives that He introduces into the world by His work of redemption. Where Adam fell, Christ, the new Head of humanity, triumphs over the power of Satan: at the time of His passion "the prince of this world" will be cast out. The Gospel of the temptation heralds Christ's victory in advance.

By appointing this Gospel for the beginning of Lent the Church proclaims that this victory should be ours also. In us, as all around us, it is Christ's temptation, Christ's struggle, Christ's victory which is prolonged; our effort is His and so is our strength; His will be our victory at Easter.

The Feast of St. Francis of Rome which is ordinarily celebrated today is superseded by the Sunday Liturgy.

Click here for commentary on the readings in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite.

Stational Church


Sunday Readings
The first reading is from the Book of Genesis 2:7-9; 3:1-7 and is about the creation and fall of man.

The second reading is from St. Paul to the Romans 5:12-19. He is speaking of some of the immediate effects of Christian salvation, as brought to mankind by Christ. St. Paul stresses the fact that Christ through his death not only conquered sin but poured out divine grace so abundantly and lavishly on mankind, making them his brothers and therefore sons of God, that there is no comparison between the world redeemed by Christ's death and the world of sin which prevailed up to then.

The Gospel is from St. Matthew 4:1-11. This incident in our Lord's life, his forty days and nights of fasting followed by temptations, has been chosen as a reading for this first Sunday of Lent for our edification and encouragement. Lent is a period of preparation for the central Christian events of Good Friday and Easter Sunday. Christ, the Son of God in human nature, died the excruciating death of crucifixion on Good Friday, because of the sins of the human race. By this supreme act of obedience to his heavenly Father he made atonement for all our disobediences, and set us free from the slavery of Satan and of sin. In his resurrection his human nature was glorified by God the Father, and in that glorification we are all offered a share and given the right to an eternal life of glory, if we follow Christ faithfully in this life.

For every sincere Christian therefore, who appreciates what Good Friday and Easter Sunday mean for her or him, this period of preparation should be a welcome opportunity. The Church no longer imposes on us any obligatory daily fasting from food, but it urges us to find other means of mortifying ourselves, so as to show that we realize what Christ has done for us and what he has earned for us through his passion, death and resurrection. The example of Christ fasting from food for forty days, should move even the coldest Christian heart to try to do something to make reparation for past negligence and sins. Christ had no sin to atone for; it was for our sins that he mortified himself. We all have much to atone for. If, because of the demands of our present way of life, we cannot fast rigorously as our grandparents did, we can find many other less noticeable, but maybe nonetheless difficult, ways of subduing our human worldly inclinations. Where there is a will there is a way; the willing Christian will find ready substitutes for fasting.

The temptations, to which our Lord allowed himself to be submitted, are for us a source of encouragement and consolation. If our Lord and master under went temptation, we cannot and must not expect to live a Christian life without experiencing similar tests and trials. The three temptations Satan put to our Lord were suggestions to forget his purpose in life--his messianic mission of redemption. He was urged to get all the bodily comforts of life, all the self-glory which men could give him, and all the possessions and power this world has to offer.

Our basic temptations in life are the same: bodily comforts and pleasure, the empty esteem of our fellowman, wealth and power. There are millions of men and women on earth today—many of them nominal Christians—who have given in to these temptations and, are wasting their lives chasing after these unattainable shadows. But even should they manage to catch up with some of them, they soon find out that they are empty baubles. They will have to leave them so very soon.

Today, let each one of us look into his heart and honestly examine his reaction to these temptations. Do we imitate our Savior and leader, and say "begone Satan"? Our purpose in life is not to collect its treasures, its honors or its pleasures. We are here for a few short years, to merit the unending life which Christ has won for us. Would we be so foolish as to swap our inheritance for a mere mess of pottage (see Gen. 25:29-34)?

Lent is a golden opportunity to review our past and make sensible resolutions for our future.

Excerpted from The Sunday Readings by Fr. Kevin O'Sullivan, O.F.M.

Things to Do:


The Station today is at St. John Lateran. The Lateran is comprised of the Basilica, the Pontifical Palace and the Baptistry. The church is dedicated to the Christ the Savior. In the fifth century the titles of St. John Baptist and St. John the Evangelist were added. The Papal altar contains the wooden altar on which St. Peter is said to have celebrated Mass. This basilica is the mother of all churches and is the only church which has the title of Archbasilica.


42 posted on 03/09/2014 3:41:15 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: All
The Word Among Us

Meditation: Matthew 4:1-11

1st Sunday of Lent

If you are the Son of God … (Matthew 4:3)

Imagine if Jesus came up to you today, embraced you, and said, “You are my greatest treasure!” Wouldn’t you be shocked and speechless? Well, during this Lenten season, you will have numerous opportunities for this to happen. Day after day, in prayer and in the Scriptures, you will have the chance to let Jesus show you your true dignity and identity as his beloved brother or sister.

In today’s Gospel, we read how Satan tried to get Jesus to question his identity. He prefaced his temptations by saying, “If you are the Son of God …” He knew that if Jesus became unsure of his Father’s love and wisdom, it was much more likely that he would walk away from the plan God had laid out for him. But Satan’s plan didn’t work. Jesus knew who he was, and he clung to the word of God so that he could stay focused on his Father.

God wants you to stand firm on the truth just as Jesus did. He wants to convince you that you belong to him. He wants to make it clear that he is completely committed to you. It sounds easy, doesn’t it? But we all can point to ways that the devil tries to knock us off our foundation in Christ. There seems to be no end to his attempts to discourage us and trap us in our fears and weaknesses so that we won’t bother to pray.

When these temptations come, follow Jesus’ example, and hold on to Scripture. You are God’s child, born of the incorruptible seed of his own word (1 Peter 1:23). You are part of a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation (2:9). You have been made alive with Jesus (Ephesians 2:5) and set free from the law of sin and death (Romans 8:2). Your heavenly Father will supply all your needs out of the riches of his own glory (Philippians 4:19).

There are so many promises. Hold on to them! Believe them—and watch the devil flee!

“Thank you, Lord, for claiming me as your own!”

Genesis 2:7-9; 3:1-7; Psalm 51:3-6, 12-13, 17; Romans 5:12-19

Questions for Reflection or Group Discussion

(Genesis 2:7-9; 3:1-7; Psalm 51:3-6, 12-13,17; Romans 5:12-19; Matthew 4:1-11)

1. As we begin Lent this year the Church, in its first reading, takes us back to the origin of sin in the world, and the temptation we are still part of today: to “be like gods.” In what ways are there still areas in your life where you believe you really know what’s best and, thus, struggle to entrust these areas to God’s providential care?

2. In the responsorial psalm, David’s great prayer of repentance, he cries out, “A clean heart create for me, O God, and a steadfast spirit renew within me” (Psalm 51:12). What do you think this means? Where in your relationship with God could you use a more “steadfast spirit”?

3. In the letter to the Romans, St. Paul tells us that through Jesus Christ “acquittal and life came to all.” All of us have been reconciled to God through “the gracious gift of the one man Jesus Christ.” And what is this gift we have received? It is “the abundance of grace and of the gift of justification.” What steps can you take this Lent to receive more fully these wonderful gifts?

4. In the Gospel, Christ uses the power of the “word of God” - the Scriptures - to defeat Satan’s temptations. During this Lent, what commitment are you prepared to make regarding your prayer time and Scripture reading? Are you willing to be accountable to someone for this commitment? If not, why not?

5. The meditation reminds us that when temptations come, we need to remember who we are in Christ and to use Scriptures “to stand firm on the truth just as Jesus did” and: “follow Jesus’ example and hold on to Scripture.” It goes on to provide some examples from Scripture of the “truths” of who we are in Christ. How would you describe these truths? How often do you turn to the Lord and to the truths of Scripture when you are tempted to sin? During the upcoming weeks of Lent, make a greater effort to turn to the Lord during times of temptation and ask for the power of his “Word” and the power of the Cross to overcome them.

6. Take some time to pray and ask the Lord for the grace and the strength to say no to the temptations that come at you during the day. Use the prayer at the end of the meditation as the starting point.


43 posted on 03/09/2014 5:04:41 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 42 | View Replies ]

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