1st sunday of lent
Psalter: Week 1
Saint Bernadette Soubirous
Purple
Entrance Antiphon : Cf. Ps 90: 15-16
When he calls on me, I will answer him; I will deliver him and give him glory, I will grant him length of days.
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.
First reading: Genesis 9:8-15
God spoke to Noah and his sons, ‘See, I establish my Covenant with you, and with your descendants after you; also with every living creature to be found with you, birds, cattle and every wild beast with you: everything that came out of the ark, everything that lives on the earth. I establish my Covenant with you: no thing of flesh shall be swept away again by the waters of the flood. There shall be no flood to destroy the earth again.’ God said, ‘Here is the sign of the Covenant I make between myself and you and every living creature with you for all generations: I set my bow in the clouds and it shall be a sign of the Covenant between me and the earth. When I gather the clouds over the earth and the bow appears in the clouds, I will recall the Covenant between myself and you and every living creature of every kind. And so the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all things of flesh.’
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 24(25):4-6,7b-9
R/ Your ways, Lord, are faithfulness and love for those who keep your covenant.
Lord, make me know your ways. Lord, teach me your paths. Make me walk in your truth, and teach me: for you are God my saviour.
Remember your mercy, Lord, and the love you have shown from of old. In your love remember me,because of your goodness, O Lord.
The Lord is good and upright. He shows the path to those who stray, He guides the humble in the right path, He teaches his way to the poor.
Second reading: 1 Peter 3:18-22
Christ himself, innocent though he was, had died once for sins, died for the guilty, to lead us to God. In the body he was put to death, in the spirit he was raised to life, and, in the spirit, he went to preach to the spirits in prison. Now it was long ago, when Noah was still building that ark which saved only a small group of eight people ‘by water’, and when God was still waiting patiently, that these spirits refused to believe. That water is a type of the baptism which saves you now, and which is not the washing off of physical dirt but a pledge made to God from a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has entered heaven and is at God’s right hand, now that he has made the angels and Dominations and Powers his subjects.
Gospel Acclamation:
Mt4:4
Praise to you, O Christ, king of eternal glory! Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God. Praise to you, O Christ, king of eternal glory!
Gospel: Mark 1:12-15
The Spirit drove Jesus out into the wilderness and he remained there for forty days, and was tempted by Satan. He was with the wild beasts, and the angels looked after him. After John had been arrested, Jesus went into Galilee. There he proclaimed the Good News from God. ‘The time has come’ he said ‘and the kingdom of God is close at hand. Repent, and believe the Good News.’
Prayer over the Offerings
Give us the right dispositions, O Lord, we pray, to make these offerings, for with them we celebrate the beginning of this venerable and sacred time. Through Christ our Lord.
Communion Antiphon : Mt 4: 4
One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.
Prayer after Communion
Renewed now with heavenly bread, by which faith is nourished, hope increased, and charity strengthened, we pray, O Lord, that we may learn to hunger for Christ, the true and living Bread, and strive to live by every word which proceeds from your mouth. Through Christ our Lord.
Meditation
The account of the temptation in the Gospel of Mark reads almost like a telegram-it sounds staccato. There are just two verses compared to the lengthier and fuller eleven verses of Matthew and thirteen of Luke. Mark doesn’t bother about the content of the various temptations; he bluntly states that Jesus remained for forty days and was tempted by Satan. Wild beasts are traditional symbols of evil; like Satan, they prowl around looking for any signs of weakness. The Gospel of Mark underlines the theme of 40 days. Just as Jesus was tempted in the desert after 40 days of stay in the wilderness, we, too, are taking 40 days to enable us to resist temptation like Jesus. Therefore, in the face of these Jesus’s temptations, most of us would not have resisted even for one minute. Much more, we would have justified our decision with many excuses so that we would be convinced of having made a good choice. Who can resist the temptation that offers us power, dominion, and wealth?