Cycle C - Year II:

14 February 2016: First Sunday of Lent

(Liturgical color: Violet)

Gospel: Please read Luke 4:1-13

Strengthen us against temptations....

This Sunday is unique because the universal Feast of Hearts coincides with First Sunday of Lent. Well, there is a common reality in these celebrations. We celebrate the beauty of human love on Valentine's Day, and we proclaim God's unconditional love during the Lenten Season. "For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son" to redeem us from our sins. (Jn 3:16)

We interrupt our liturgical journey in Ordinary Time to begin the Season of Lent. As we know, Lent is a time of preparation for the big event of Easter Sunday. Our preparation actually began on Ash Wednesday, February 10 this year, with the imposition of blessed ashes on our forehead, and will continue until the Mass of the Lord's Supper exclusive on Holy Thursday.

Notice that the liturgical color of the priest's vestments and the altar cloth change to violet (normally, the lighter shade of violet to distinguish it from the violet used during the Season of Advent).

St. Luke gives us the Gospel reading for the First Sunday of Lent on the temptation of Jesus.

Recall that during His baptism at the River Jordan, Jesus was filled with the Holy Spirit, as the Father has anointed and confirmed Him as the Messiah and Savior. Immediately after His baptism the Spirit led Him out into the wilderness of Judaea, a lonely place of solitude and silence. (Bible scholars describe Judean wilderness as a vast wasteland of sand, rocks, hills, and deep ravines that stretch for miles and miles. It is one of the most barren, bleak, and inhospitable places on the earth.)

Jesus was alone in the wilderness for forty days, with no contact with friends and family. He was there to prepare Himself for the mission entrusted to Him, spending forty days and nights in solitude and prayers to His Father in heaven.

Luke tells us that at the end of Jesus' forty days in the wilderness, the evil one tempted Him. The evil one saw an opportunity to strike while Jesus appeared more vulnerable in His physical and emotional weakened condition due to His prolonged fasting and inner struggle over His important call and mission. But Jesus rejected the empty promises of the evil one and chose the path of His Father -- a path that required self-renunciation, humility, and obedience to His Father's will.

What is the lesson that this Sunday's Gospel is teaching us, for our practical life?

As human like us, Jesus did not rely on His own human strength and will-power for overcoming temptations. He relied on the Holy Spirit for strength, wisdom, courage, and self-control.

Thus, our Lord Jesus has shown us that we cannot fight temptation just on our own, because the enemy is far more powerful over humans. We need help, we need the strength and guidance of the Holy Spirit to overcome temptations. So Jesus Himself gives us His Holy Spirit to help us in our weaknesses, and to be our guide and strength in time of testing. And the Lord Jesus gives grace to those who humbly acknowledge their dependence on Him to be able to reject the lies and deceits of the evil one.

Our professor in moral theology years back gave us one possible practical tip to ward off temptation: at the very first sign of temptation, better to run away immediately. Never rely on our "moral capacity" to resist temptation.

In the Eucharist at Mass, let us pray that the Lord Jesus gives us His Holy Spirit in our journey on earth to strengthen us against temptations and deliver us from all dangers and evil.

National Migrants' Day: The First Sunday of Lent is also National Migrants' Day. Let us include in our prayers the millions of overseas contract workers, especially our overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), and their families that they remain faithful to our Lord and use their material blessings to be instrument of the Good News of God's kingdom here on earth.

A blessed Sunday to us all. And thank you for a moment with God.

Ad Jesum per Mariam!