READINGS FOR THE FIRST SUNDAY OF LENT, YEAR C, SUNDAY 6TH MARCH, 2022

First Reading: Deuteronomy 26:4-10

Psalm: 90

Second Reading: Romans 10:8-13

Gospel: Luke 4:1-13

REFLECTION BY FR CORNELIUS NWAOGWUGWU, CM

A CALL TO JOIN JESUS IN HIS WILDERNESS EXPERIENCE

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

We are in the Season of Lent. Lent prepares us for the celebration of Jesus’ death and resurrection. Lent reminds us to reflect on our priorities, to repent and where necessary change our values and ideals. We can do this through fasting, prayer, almsgiving and self-control.

In keeping with the spirit of the Lenten Season, Psalm 24 gives us an expression of the sense of human insufficiency and our radical dependence upon God’s mercy and forgiveness. The psalmist urges us to shape our lives with truth, compassion, love, kindness, goodness, uprightness, humility, and justice. (Psalm 24). These values offer us an opportunity to reflect on the mysteries of our faith.

Today is the First Sunday of Lent, Year C. The temptation of Jesus Christ is the theme of the First Sunday of every Lent. Today’s celebration ties the temptation of Jesus to his journey in the wilderness. “Filled with the Holy Spirit, Jesus left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit through the wilderness, being tempted there by the devil for forty days”.

Jesus was tempted in our Gospel Reading today. Christ’s temptation reveals that nobody is above temptation. The Gospel describes how Jesus was tempted after his Baptism. Jesus defeated the tempter by his forty days of prayer and penance in the wilderness. The Gospel of Luke summarises the temptation nicely, “Having exhausted all these ways of tempting him, the devil left him”. Jesus conquered the devil by prayer, penance and by the word of God. (Luke 4:1-13)

As the followers of our Lord Jesus Christ, we are the prime target for the devil. No one will escape temptation. The truth of the matter is that we cannot overcome temptation all by ourselves. We always need the grace of God. We need God’s help to overcome temptation. Alone we cannot overcome it.

We are called to overcome our evil tendencies by talking to God in prayer and by reading the Holy Bible. The scripture says: “The word, that is the faith we proclaim, is very near to you, it is on your lips and in your heart…, those who believe in him will have no cause for shame…, for everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Romans 10: 8-13)

The Lord is our refuge, stronghold and in Him we trust. Jesus invites us to join him on his journey in the wilderness and to share in the joy of his resurrection.

Let us participate actively in the Stations of the Cross on Fridays and in reciting the Family Rosary. We can do some acts of kindness and mercy every day during this period of Lent.

Let us seek the assistance of the Holy Spirit. It is not easy to overcome temptation completely. But God’s grace is enough for us to guide and lead us in the way of victory as we journey through the wilderness of life. So that at Easter, we can proclaim with an undivided heart that Jesus Christ is the Lord and Saviour of our lives now and for ever. Amen.
Fr. Cornelius Nwaogwugwu, CM