Year C

March 9, 2025

On this page you will find:

The readings for Mass, the Mass leaflet with the choice of hymns
A sample universal prayer available for download , in PDF and editable Word formats.
A meditation on the Sunday Gospel , a spiritual text and a commentary by Marie-Noëlle Thabut

1st Sunday of Lent

After his baptism,
Jesus, filled with the Holy Spirit,
left the banks of the Jordan;
In the Spirit, he was led through the desert
where, for forty days, he was tempted by the devil.

Luke 4:1-2a

Readings from the Mass

https://www.aelf.org/2025-03-09/romain/messe

Mass leaflet

Universal Prayer

Lectio Divina
Consult this page for a prayerful preparation for the liturgy and then read the meditations below.

Meditation

Today's Gospel reading, for the First Sunday of Lent, takes us to the desert, where Jesus is led by the Holy Spirit for forty days to be tempted by the devil (cf. Lk 4:1-13). Jesus, too, was tempted by the devil, and he accompanies each of us in our temptations. The desert symbolizes the struggle against the allurements of evil, to learn to choose true freedom. Indeed, Jesus experiences the desert just before beginning his public ministry. And it is precisely through this spiritual struggle that he decisively affirms what kind of Messiah he intends to be. Not a Messiah like this, but like that: I would say that this is precisely the declaration of Jesus' messianic identity, of Jesus' messianic path: "I am the Messiah, but on this path." Let us then look closely at the temptations against which he struggles.

The devil addresses him twice, saying, “If you are the Son of God…” (vv. 3, 9). In other words, he is offering him the opportunity to exploit his position: first, to satisfy his material needs (cf. v. 3)—hunger—; then, to increase his power (cf. vv. 6-7); and finally, to obtain a wondrous sign from God (cf. vv. 9-11). Three temptations. It’s as if he were saying, “If you are the Son of God, take advantage of it!” How often this happens to us: “But if you have this position, take advantage of it! Don’t let the opportunity pass you by,” that is, “think of your own gain.” It’s a seductive proposition, but it leads to the enslavement of the heart: it makes you obsessed with the desire to have, it reduces everything to the possession of things, power, and fame. This is the core of temptations: "the poison of passions" in which evil takes root. Let us examine ourselves and we will see that our temptations always follow this pattern, always operate in this way.

But Jesus victoriously opposes the allure of evil. How does he do it? By responding to temptations with the Word of God, which tells us not to "take advantage," not to use God, others, or things for ourselves, not to exploit our position to acquire privileges. Because true happiness and freedom do not reside in possessing, but in sharing; not in taking advantage of others, but in loving them; not in the obsession with power, but in the joy of service.

Brothers and sisters, these temptations also accompany us on life's journey. We must be watchful, not afraid—it happens to everyone—and vigilant, because they often present themselves in the guise of good. Indeed, the devil, who is cunning, always uses deception. He wanted to make Jesus believe that his suggestions were useful in demonstrating that he was truly the Son of God.

And I would like to emphasize one thing. Jesus does not converse with the devil: Jesus never conversed with the devil. Either he cast him out when he healed the possessed, or, in this case, since he must respond, he does so through the Word of God, never through his own words. Brothers and sisters, never enter into dialogue with the devil: he is more cunning than we are. Never! Cling to the Word of God like Jesus and, at most, always respond with the Word of God. And on this path, we will not go astray.

This is what the devil does to us: he often arrives "with gentle eyes," "with an angelic face"; he even knows how to disguise himself with sacred, seemingly religious motifs! If we give in to his flattery, we end up justifying our lies, masking them with good intentions. For example, how many times have we heard: "I did shady things, but I helped the poor"; "I took advantage of my position—as a politician, a leader, a priest, a bishop—but also to do good"; "I gave in to my instincts, but deep down I didn't hurt anyone": these justifications, and so on, one after another. Please: no compromise with evil! No dialogue with the devil! We mustn't converse with temptation; we mustn't fall into that slumber of conscience that makes us say: "But deep down, it's not so bad, everyone does it!" Let us look at Jesus, who does not seek compromises, does not make deals with evil. To the devil, he opposes the Word of God, which is stronger than the devil, and thus, he overcomes temptations.

May this Lenten season also be for us a time of solitude. Let us set aside spaces for silence and prayer—even a little will do us good—; in these spaces, let us pause and examine what stirs within our hearts, our inner truth, the truth we know cannot be justified. Let us bring clarity to ourselves by placing ourselves before the Word of God in prayer, so that a beneficial struggle against the evil that enslaves us, a struggle for freedom, may take place within us.

Let us ask the Blessed Virgin to accompany us in the desert of Lent and to help us on our path of conversion.

POPE FRANCIS

ANGELUS

Saint Peter's Square

Sunday, March 6, 2022

The Gospel for this Sunday

presented to children

(and to those who resemble them)

Interview with Bernadette Dumont

for Magnificat

(I highly recommend subscribing: here )

"Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God."

◗ Today is the first Sunday of Lent…

So, let us listen to this Sunday's Gospel in the context of the Lent we are about to experience. For those who did not celebrate Ash Wednesday, it is important to speak at greater length about what Lent is: changing our lives and believing in the Good News.

Why was Jesus driven to go into the desert?

Precisely because he is about to change his life! He was a carpenter in Nazareth. He has just been baptized in the Jordan River. He has been revealed and invested with his mission, as the Son of God, by the Father and the Holy Spirit. But Jesus is also a real man: for him, as for us, life is a trial, a spiritual battle. To change his life, he needs to take a time of retreat to detach himself from his old life, to verify that he is capable of renouncing everything he is about to abandon, to reflect, to think about how to carry out his mission… In short, he needs to test himself. And he does this in prayer, to always remain connected to his Father who entrusted him with his mission.

◗ And to be tempted by the devil who wants to thwart his mission…

Like all of us, Jesus is driven by the Holy Spirit to give his life for the love of others, and at the same time, he is driven by the devil to put his own interests and the fulfillment of his desires for pleasure, wealth, power, and fame before all else.

◗ What must we do to resist temptations?

Like Jesus: to pray and to test ourselves, especially through fasting. It is about verifying that we are still free to do the good we wish to do. Not only through fasting from food and alcohol, but also through fasting from everything that can make us slaves to our instincts and addictions: entertainment (screens!), sexuality, wealth, fame, and so on. Thus, each year, during Lent, the Church invites us to test ourselves, for forty days like Jesus, that we still have self-control in the face of the devil's temptations.

◗ After fasting, Jesus silences the devil by quoting Holy Scripture…

Yes, if we are free to do what we want, and if what we want is to love as Jesus loved us, with the word of God we will always have the last word in the face of any temptation.

◗ What is this appointed time when the devil will put Jesus to the test?

This is the agony of Jesus in Gethsemane. The devil will try to dissuade him from loving us to the very end, from giving his life to snatch us from the power of the forces of evil and death.

Catechist and author of children's books, Bernadette Dumont is a mother and grandmother.

Better understanding the Gospel
with Marie-Noëlle Thabut

Better understanding the Gospel

with Marie-Noëlle Thabut

UNDER THE SHELTER OF THE MOST HIGH AND OF HIM ALONE

It is very interesting to compare this Gospel passage with the psalm that precedes it in the liturgy of this Sunday: “When I dwell in the shelter of the Most High and rest in the shadow of the Almighty, I say to the Lord, ‘My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.’” This is precisely the attitude of Christ, at the threshold of his public life: he simply remains in the shadow of the Most High.

The temptation would be to leave this shelter, or to doubt its safety, or to seek other shelters, other forms of security. These three temptations were those faced by the people of Israel throughout biblical history. And when the devil (in Greek, the word "diabolos" means "divider") addresses Jesus, it is precisely on this ground that he positions himself: three times, he tries to spread his poison: "If you are the Son of God, you can do whatever you want…" "You are great, you can certainly make yourself happy; tell this stone to become bread to satisfy your immediate hunger…" (first temptation). "Perhaps you would do better to worship me, to accomplish all your plans…" (second temptation). "Throw yourself down, God will have no choice but to help you…" (third temptation). But Jesus knows that God alone can satisfy all of man's hungers, and he chose to trust to the very end, to "stay under the shelter of the Most High" as the psalm says.

Let us examine one by one the three requests of the Tempter and the three responses of Jesus.

The first temptation: when Jesus began to suffer from hunger, the Tempter said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.” And Jesus replied, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone.’” This phrase is well known to the entire Jewish people, as it is found in chapter 8 of the book of Deuteronomy. Let me remind you of the context: it is a meditation on Israel’s experience during the Exodus under the leadership of Moses: “Remember the long journey you made for forty years in the wilderness; the Lord your God imposed it on you to humble you, to test you and to know what was in your heart: would you keep his commandments, yes or no?” He let you experience poverty, he made you feel hunger, and he gave you manna to eat—food that neither you nor your ancestors had known—so that you might know that man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. (Deuteronomy 8:2-3). From then on, the people knew from experience the blessedness of poverty, which could be expressed thus: “Blessed are those who hunger, for they rely on God alone to satisfy their hunger.” And Deuteronomy continues: “Know this in your heart: As a father trains his son, so the Lord your God trains you.” (Deuteronomy 8:5).

The Son of God, who came to lead his people, experienced in his own flesh the experience of Israel in the desert. In other words, when the Tempter challenges Jesus, saying to him, "If you are the Son of God" (implying "prove it"), he receives only this reply: "For me, I have food to eat, food you know nothing about… My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work." (This is the answer Jesus will give his apostles in the episode of the Samaritan woman, John 4:32-34).

WHERE ELSE SHOULD WE LOOK FOR OUR ANSWERS OTHER THAN IN WRITING?

The second temptation, the second response from Jesus: the Tempter promises him all the kingdoms of the earth; and Jesus replies: “You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve.” There he quotes what we call the “Decalogue”: “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them.” (Deuteronomy 5:6-9).

What is important to note is the reversal of perspective between the Tempter's demands and God's free gifts: the Tempter says: begin by prostrating yourself, then I will give to you (and in parentheses, he promises what does not belong to him); God, on the contrary, begins by giving, and only afterwards does he say: do not forget that I have given to you, so trust me for the rest.

Third temptation: “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, for it is written: ‘He will command his angels concerning you to guard you carefully; and again: They will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’” And Jesus replies: “It is said: ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test’” (cf. Deut 6:16), meaning you will not demand proof of God’s presence and protection. The Son of God knows that he is always under the protection of the Most High, whatever happens.

These three responses from Jesus therefore sound strange in the face of the Tempter's challenge, "If you are the Son of God"; clearly, the devil and Christ do not share the same idea about the Son of God! "If you are the Son of God, prove it," the Tempter seems to say, and Jesus does prove it, truly, but by remaining faithful to his Father.

Where does Jesus find the strength to resist the one who wants to separate him from his Father? In the word of God: the strength of this text lies in this astonishing structure; the Tempter addresses Jesus three times; but at no point does Jesus enter into discussion with him; his three responses are exclusively quotations from Scripture.

In this, he is truly the heir of his people: the phrase from Deuteronomy, which Saint Paul quoted in his letter to the Romans (see the second reading), applies wonderfully to him: “The word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart” (Deut 30:14). All three of his answers are taken from the book of Deuteronomy, the very book written so that the children of Israel would never forget that God is their Father; a way of saying that Jesus is reliving for himself the experience his people had in the desert.

From his Baptism, where he was revealed as the Son, to Gethsemane where the Tempter summoned him (this is the meaning of the last sentence of our text: “When the devil had exhausted all his temptations, he left him until an opportune time.”1), Jesus remained under the protection of the Most High. Undoubtedly, Luke here offers us the only example to follow.

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Note

1 — Actually, the Greek text does not use the expression: "until the appointed time"; it only says "until an occasion". This "occasion" is generally located in Gethsemane.

Complement

We will note the perversity of the Tempter who dares to quote Scripture to make it an argument of temptation: "It is written: He will command his angels concerning you to guard you carefully; and again: They will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone." (verses 10 and 11).

This means that there can be perverse ways of reading Scripture.