First Sunday of Lent

Readings of the Day
RB: Ch 32 The Tools and Property of the Monastery
Mass: Dt 26:4-10; Resp Ps 92; Rm 10:8-13; Lk 4:1-13

Be with me, Lord, when I am in trouble.

In today's Angelus Address, the Holy Father related the three temptations Jesus faced in the desert to 'three paths the world proposes, promising great success.' First, the 'path of the greed of possession'. Second, the 'path of human glory'. Third, the path of 'instrumentalizing God, wanting to bring God down to our own side by asking for graces that only serve to satisfy our pride'. In response, I went to the Prologue of the Holy Rule (vs. 23-32) where St Benedict encourages us to ask the Lord with the Prophet: 'Who will dwell in your tent, Lord; who will find rest upon your holy mountain?' (Ps 14[15]:1). Those who wish to dwell in the Lord's tent and find rest should then listen to the Lord who shows the way. 'One who walks without blemish, he says, and is just in all his dealings; who speaks truth from his heart and has not practiced deceit with his tongue; who has not wronged his brother or sister in any way, nor listened to slanders against his neighbor (Ps 14[15]:2-3). He has foiled the evil one, the devil, at every turn, flinging both him and his promptings far from the sight of his heart. While these temptations were still young, he caught hold of them and dashed them against Christ (Ps 14[15]:4; 136[137]:9). These people fear the Lord, and do not become elated over their good deeds; they judge it the Lord's power, not their own, that brings about the good in them. They praise (Ps 14[15]:4) the Lord working in them, and say with the Prophet: Not to us, Lord, not to us give the glory, but to your name alone (Ps 113[115:1]:9). In just this way Paul the Apostle refused to take credit for the power of his preaching. He declared: By God's grace I am what I am (1 Co 15:10). And again he said: He who boasts should make his boast in the Lord (2 Co 10:17).

Let us pray to God, who protects us from evil by the power of the Word:

DELIVER US, O LORD!

From every temptation to mistrust.
From every temptation to think ourselves gods.
From every temptation to material satisfactions.
From every temptation to power and privilege.

DELIVER US, O LORD!
(Magnificat, Prayer for the Morning, Intercessions, March 10, 2019)

O God, come to my assistance, O Lord, make haste to help me. 

EVERYONE WHO CALLS ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.

(Rm 10:13)