Sunday, March 9: The First Sunday of Lent

Read It:
At that time Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert
to be tempted by the devil.
He fasted for forty days and forty nights,
and afterwards he was hungry.
The tempter approached and said to him,
“If you are the Son of God,
command that these stones become loaves of bread.”
He said in reply,
“It is written: One does not live on bread alone,
but on every word that comes forth
from the mouth of God.”

Then the devil took him to the holy city,
and made him stand on the parapet of the temple,
and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down.
For it is written: He will command his angels concerning you
and with their hands they will support you,
lest you dash your foot against a stone.”
Jesus answered him,
“Again it is written,
You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test.”
Then the devil took him up to a very high mountain,
and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in their magnificence,
and he said to him, "All these I shall give to you,
if you will prostrate yourself and worship me.”
At this, Jesus said to him,
“Get away, Satan!
It is written: The Lord, your God, shall you worship
and him alone shall you serve.”

Then the devil left him and, behold,
angels came and ministered to him.

Reflect on It: Even Jesus is tempted. I think sometimes we make Jesus out to be this divine person who in his perfection doesn’t know what it’s really like to be human. Sometimes in my mind it seems hard to picture him experiencing the challenges of daily life just like we do. Today, we see that even Jesus is tempted. The devil tries to tempt Jesus after he spends forty days in the desert. He’s hungry and probably tired. Satan tries to prey on his weakness. Jesus is triumphant and tells Satan to back off. Today’s gospel reveals the perfect example of Christ always winning. It’s not that he wasn’t tempted, it was that his heart and mind were clear and he knew that God had his back. Today, let’s bask in the humanity of Sweet Jesus and trust that we too can triumph over our temptations.

Pray about It: Sweet Jesus, you fought temptation like a boss, Please help me to resist temptation like you did. I love you Lord.

 

Live It! Challenge: Today, do an examination of conscience to see where you were tempted.