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THE FIRST SUNDAY OF LENT

THE FIRST SUNDAY OF LENT 

The Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 4,1-11.

At that time Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil.
He fasted for forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was hungry.
The tempter approached and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become loaves of bread.”
He said in reply, “It is written: ‘One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.'”
Then the devil took him to the holy city, and made him stand on the parapet of the temple,
and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down. For it is written: ‘He will command his angels concerning you and ‘with their hands they will support you, lest you dash your foot against a stone.'”
Jesus answered him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test.'”
Then the devil took him up to a very high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in their magnificence,
and he said to him, “All these I shall give to you, if you will prostrate yourself and worship me.”
At this, Jesus said to him, “Get away, Satan! It is written: ‘The Lord, your God, shall you worship and him alone shall you serve.'”
Then the devil left him and, behold, angels came and ministered to him.《The Gospel of the Lord 》

This Sunday, Saint Matthew shares in his Gospel (Mt 4:1-11) the Temptation done by the Devil to Jesus. While in the wilderness for forty days, the Devil tempted Jesus three times. Jesus had the inner strength and wisdom to refuse the earthly temptations. He was not interested in power nor wealth and told the Devil: “One does not live on bread alone, but by every Word that comes forth from the mouth of God… You shall not put the Lord, your God to the Test… Get away, Satan! The Lord, your God shall you worship and Him alone shall you serve.”

Today, we often encounter the same earthly temptations: to have extraordinary abilities, influence/power and wealth. Jesus blocks the Devil’s attempts by resorting to the Word of God. We are called to discern and ask Jesus to keep us strong in the face of temptations by putting our trust in the Heavenly Father. In the midst of challenges, Jesus always chose God’s Word, Will and Ways. This Lent, let us pray, fast and give alms to conquer temptations.

God bless us with wisdom to find strength and light in Jesus through the Holy Spirit.

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