Cycle A - Year 1:

5 March 2017: First Sunday of Lent

(Liturgical Color: Violet)

Gospel:Please Read Matthew 4:1-11

Our Lenten journey begins!

We enter a new liturgical journey this Sunday in the Season of Lent. It actually began last Ash Wednesday, with the imposition of the blessed ashes on our forehead, and will continue until the Mass of the Lord's Supper exclusive on Holy Thursday. Violet is the new color for the season (the lighter shade of violet to distinguish it from violet used for the Season of Advent.)

The Gospel on the first Sunday of Lent is about the 40 days and 40 nights of fasting and praying of our Lord Jesus Christ in the desert before the start of His public ministry. At the end of this fasting and praying, Jesus was tempted by the devil who tried to convince Him to set aside His humanity and disobey God's plan of our redemption. But Jesus overcame Satan by declaring thus, "The Lord, your God, shall you worship and him alone shall you serve."

In a way, temptations are a necessary part of our spiritual life. But it can also be an opportunity to stand up for our faith and show God that we are fit to be used by Him to proclaim God's kingdom here on earth. In the Old Testament, God tested Abraham to prove his faith. The Israelites were also tested in Egypt before God delivered them from their enemies.

Of course we know that God Himself tempts no one (see James 1:13) but sometimes He allows us to be tempted to remind us that we are weak, sinfure creatures living under the sting of original sin.

The temptation of Jesus in the desert reminds us that Satan is real and very much active in our world, tempting us with power, wealth and fame to deceive and win our souls. When we are so much focused on building our material strength and treasures on earth, we often neglect to charge our spiritual power. There are warnings that in our generation the Devil will become very active to win our souls through corrupt political leaders who greed for power and wealth.

In daily living, how can we overcome sin and temptation? Well, our Lord Jesus Christ gives us His Holy Spirit to be our strength, guide and consoler in times of temptation and testing by the Evil One. And Jesus is ever ready to pour out His Spirit upon us so that we may have the spiritual strength and courage to resist sin and to reject the lies and deceits of the enemy, Satan.

A helpful tip given by my professor-priest in Moral Theology is very practical: Never trust our moral capacity to resist sin and temptation. Thus, at the first sign of temptation, the best defense is always to run away immediately. Because we are up against Satan, who was a fallen angel and thus more powerful than us ordinary humans.

In sum, the Lenten Season invites us to journey with the Lord for forty days in the desert, to renew our lives through repentance and conversion. It is our fitting preparation to welcome Easter in our lives, and share in our Lord's Resurrection as well, with its promise of hope and new life with our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

National Migrants' Sunday is also celebrated today. Let us pray that our migrant Filipinos resist the temptation of materialism and become instead the instrument to spread the Good News through their love and support of their families.

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