First Sunday of Lent, Year B
Feb 22, 2015
Gospel Mk 1:12-15
The
Spirit drove Jesus out into the desert, and he remained in the desert for forty
days, tempted (1) by Satan. He
was among wild beasts, and the angels ministered (2) to him.
After John had been arrested, Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the gospel of God: “This is the time of fulfillment (3). The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent (4), and believe in the gospel.”
After John had been arrested, Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the gospel of God: “This is the time of fulfillment (3). The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent (4), and believe in the gospel.”
The difficult words
(1) Tempted
means tested.
(2) To
minister to someone is to serve and care for him.
(3) The time of
fulfillment is the time that God promised would come, the time that he would
send the Messiah.
(4) We repent when we
feel regret or sorrow about something that we have done or have failed to do.
This week spotlight
The covenant
After saving Noah and his family from the flood, God
made a covenant with him: he promised to always love Noah's descendants (the
human race), and they promised in turn to love God and keep his commands. God
created the rainbow so that people would have a reminder of this agreement. But
people found it hard to be faithful to the covenant. Through the life, death,
and Resurrection of Jesus Christ, God creates a new, living, and eternal
covenant with the human family. He places his Spirit within us.
No “Glory to God” or “Alleluia”
During Lent, we remember the forty days that Jesus spent in the desert. In our lives, we also try to live this time in the desert by adopting a more simple life and turning ourselves
toward God. Some parts of the Mass are changed in order to better
reflect our
preparation for the Resurrection of Jesus. We refrain from singing or showing our joy at Mass as we wait for Easter day.The "Glory to God" is not
sung, and the joyful “Alleluia” is replaced by a simple phrase from the
Scriptures.
Reflection
This past week, the Church
marked the beginning of Lent on Ash Wednesday. One of the phrases used in the signing
with ashes is "Repent, and believe in the Gospel." Today's readings
remind us that even though humans continue to turn away from God, God continues
to keep the covenant, the promise that he will always be faithful to us. No
matter what by sending his Son, God lets us know that he will not destroy us.
He is a loving and forgiving God, and when we do lose our way he is ready to
receive us back. God keeps his promises. Lent is a time for us to think about
how we are keeping our baptismal promise to reject sin so as to live in the
freedom of God's children, and to reject Satan and the glamour of evil.
After his baptism, Jesus goes off to the desert. The desert is a vast,
hot, and dry region of sand and stones. The Holy Spirit pushes Jesus to this
place because there he can be alone with God in silence. Jesus begins to pray
to God his Father and does so for forty days. Being alone to pray for such a
long time is not easy, even for Jesus. He faced the same temptations that we
would feel. He was tempted to interrupt his fasting, stop his prayers, and
worship someone other than his Father. However, Jesus resisted these
temptations because he knew, as a son does, that he could trust in his Father.
During the forty days of Lent, the Lord invites each one of us to place our
trust in him. If we listen to him and believe what he says to us in prayer, we
can become workers who help to build his kingdom: a kingdom of peace and love
where we respect one another, help each other, and live according to God’s
rules.
Discussion
questions
1.
Who drove Jesus to
the desert?
2.
How long did Jesus
stay there?
3. What was Jesus tempted by?
4. Where did Jesus proclaim the
Gospel after John had been arrested?
5. What did Jesus call people to do?
6.
Why do you think the Spirit drove Jesus to the desert but not somewhere
else?
Praying after Communion
After receiving Holy Communion,
you can say this prayer silently to yourself. If you
have not yet
received your First Communion, you can still say this prayer because of your desire to
receive Jesus.
Father, through
Jesus Christ, in union with the whole Church, I thank you for coming into my
heart. Thank you for reaching out to your people throughout
history, and for saving us through the Body and Blood of your Son. May this
Communion strengthen me to face my temptations with faith and courage.
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