March 9, 2025
Father, through our observance of Lent, help us to understand the meaning of Your Son’s death and resurrection, and teach us to reflect it in our lives. Grant this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Commentary
New beginnings can be both exciting and fear-provoking. An expectant mother, a groom standing at the altar, or a high school student getting a college acceptance letter are just some of the many moments in life where people stand on the cusp of new adventures.
This First Reading for Lent is about a new beginning. Moses has helped lead the people to the gateway of the Promised Land. Forty years have passed and now the promise is awaiting those who traveled through the desert.
Moses himself will not be allowed to enter the Promised Land. Instead, Joshua will lead the people through the Jordan and into the Land of Canaan. Those who are to enter will need some reassurance and some direction. Moses takes this opportunity to give them some direction. He reminds them that it is God who had called them out of slavery, through the Red Sea, and across the desert to this point.
His talk was intended to encourage the people to trust in the Lord as they step into a new land with God at their side.
When was the last time you stood at the gateway of something new in your life? Did you trust in God?
Commentary
St. Paul writes in his Letter to the Romans that we must have faith in the Lord.
Like Moses, who gave a pep-talk to those who were about to enter the Promised Land, Paul gives words of encouragement to those who wish to enter the land of salvation — Heaven.
“If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”
Paul, like Moses, encourages his people to follow the Lord’s lead. Only God would lead the Israelites to the Promised Land. Only God, in Christ Jesus, will lead us to Heaven. We can’t get there on our own.
In our 40 days of Lent, we are called to remember that God saves. I can participate in His saving action through faith in the Lord. But God alone is my Savior! I am not!
As we journey through Lent, let us renew our faith in God alone!
At what point in your life did you find true faith in the Lord?
Continued...
Commentary
Like Matthew, Luke tells us the type of temptations that Jesus had to endure in the desert. Mark simply states that he was tempted by Satan.
The First Temptation: “Command this stone to become bread.” Jesus rebukes Satan with the words, “One does not live on bread alone.”
Jesus’ fidelity to God is more important than food for a day. As Catholics, we take time to fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday in solidarity with Jesus who is faithful to His Father in Heaven.
The Second Temptation: “All this will be yours, if you worship me.” Jesus replies, “You shall worship the Lord, your God, and him alone shall you serve.”
Jesus, who is God, will not abandon His fidelity to Father by worshiping Satan. Lent calls us to pray and worship our Lord alone.
The Third Temptation: “Throw yourself down from here.”
Jesus says, “You shall not put your God to the test.”
True fidelity, as Jesus shows, means never having to wonder if God is there for us. More than believing that His Father exists, Jesus’ fidelity is a sign of His communion with the Father. This Lent calls us to a life of total trust, faith, and fidelity.
How have you revealed fidelity to God? In what way do you witness confident faith in the Lord?
Jump forward to Palm Sunday and reflect on the words of Jesus in the Garden: “Father, if you are willing, take this cup away from me; still not my will but yours be done.” Take time to reflect on Jesus’ total abandonment – His trust, faith, and fidelity. If you are struggling with something in your life, find a quiet place and repeat these words of Jesus. True fidelity to God requires abandoning ourselves to Him.
The leader invites the group to say the following prayer of St. Ignatius:
Response. Be with me Lord, when I am in trouble.
R. Be with me Lord, when I am in trouble.
R. Be with me Lord, when I am in trouble.
R. Be with me Lord, when I am in trouble.
R. Be with me Lord, when I am in trouble.
Used with Permission. All rights reserved. Christ in Our Neighborhood © is a Scripture program designed by Bishop John Dolan of the Diocese of Phoenix. Free resources at dphx.org/christ-in-our-neighborhood.
