Quadragesima Sunday (also known as Invocabit Sunday) is the first Sunday in Lent, occurring after Ash Wednesday. The term Quadragesima is derived from the Latin word for "fortieth", as there are exactly forty days from Quadragesima Sunday until Good Friday.
First Sunday of Lent
Lectionary: 23
Reading 1
God said to Noah and to his
sons with him:
"See, I am now establishing my covenant with you
and your descendants after you
and with every living creature that was with you:
all the birds, and the various tame and wild animals
that were with you and came out of the ark.
I will establish my covenant with you,
that never again shall all bodily creatures be destroyed
by the waters of a flood;
there shall not be another flood to devastate the earth."
God added:
"This is the sign that I am giving for all ages to come,
of the covenant between me and you
and every living creature with you:
I set my bow in the clouds to serve as a sign
of the covenant between me and the earth.
When I bring clouds over the earth,
and the bow appears in the clouds,
I will recall the covenant I have made
between me and you and all living beings,
so that the waters shall never again become a flood
to destroy all mortal beings."
Responsorial Psalm
R. (cf. 10) Your ways, O
Lord, are love and truth to those who keep your covenant.
Your ways, O LORD, make known to me;
teach me your paths,
Guide me in your truth and teach me,
for you are God my savior.
R. Your ways, O Lord, are love and truth to those who keep your covenant.
Remember that your compassion, O LORD,
and your love are from of old.
In your kindness remember me,
because of your goodness, O LORD.
R. Your ways, O Lord, are love and truth to those who keep your covenant.
Good and upright is the LORD,
thus he shows sinners the way.
He guides the humble to justice,
and he teaches the humble his way.
R. Your ways, O Lord, are love and truth to those who keep your covenant.
Reading 2
Beloved:
Christ suffered for sins once,
the righteous for the sake of the unrighteous,
that he might lead you to God.
Put to death in the flesh,
he was brought to life in the Spirit.
In it he also went to preach to the spirits in prison,
who had once been disobedient
while God patiently waited in the days of Noah
during the building of the ark,
in which a few persons, eight in all,
were saved through water.
This prefigured baptism, which saves you now.
It is not a removal of dirt from the body
but an appeal to God for a clear conscience,
through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,
who has gone into heaven
and is at the right hand of God,
with angels, authorities, and powers subject to him.
Verse Before the Gospel
One does not live on bread
alone,
but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.
Gospel
The Spirit drove Jesus out
into the desert,
and he remained in the desert for forty days,
tempted by Satan.
He was among wild beasts,
and the angels ministered to him.
After John had been arrested,
Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the gospel of God:
"This is the time of fulfillment.
The kingdom of God is at hand.
Repent, and believe in the gospel."
MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS,
Today we celebrate the first Sunday in our Lenten Journey. We have picked up our crosses, our challenges and burdens, and have begun walking with Jesus for these forty days. Not only are we united with Jesus in all His sufferings, but we are also united with all of those who have gone before us. This is evident in the importance of forty days in the Salvation Story of God’s Creation. The entire world suffered for forty days through the rain brought forward through the Great Flood, only to receive a covenant from God that the destruction that it brought forth would never be repeated. It was through this cleansing that a new beginning was achieved. We as Christians are encouraged to view this as a pre-configuration of our baptism and the promises that it brings forth. Through the flood, God’s creation was baptized and we, in our baptism, become sharers in that covenant in a special way as that covenant takes on a deeper meaning through the revelation of Jesus Christ, coming forth to suffer and die for the forgiveness of our sins and for our salvation. The Israelites journeyed for forty years in the desert before entering the promised land. This journey, much like the Great Flood, was entered as a punishment for not listening to God. It was through this suffering that forgiveness was achieved, and the covenant God made with Abraham was fulfilled: “I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you. All the communities of the earth shall find blessing in you.” Jesus then journeys into the desert to experience His own suffering for forty days, coming forth to begin the proclamation of the Gospels. We are now in that desert to experience our own sufferings and to come forth as new creations, experiencing that special grace that can only be found through suffering. Jesus suffered for us and now we suffer for Him and with Him.
What a wonderful opportunity has been afforded us. Our God wants to join with us in our lives. He wants to join us physically, mentally, and spiritually so that we may enter into relationship with Him. This is an invitation that grants us a transformative experience that will change us forever if we allow it to. It is through listening then reacting to what is being said that this is achieved. During Lent, we embrace suffering through fasting and sacrifice, but that is only the first of many other actions that must be initiated before we can fully experience Jesus in a way that He wants us to experience Him. Acts of charity and almsgiving are necessary as a part of this suffering. These can be seen as penance for our sins and an example of thoughtless actions while remaining in a state of suffering. Thinking of others first, even when we are in a state of suffering, is a central tenant of our faith and something that Jesus displayed through His sacrifice. We are then encouraged to enter a deeper prayer life formed by these sufferings and acts of charity. All these things benefit the community, the world, God’s creation, and lastly us.
In the Second Reading today the Apostle Peter said that Christ suffered for sins once, the righteous for the sake of the unrighteous, so that He might lead us to God. He is the Gate to the Father. Suffering, regardless of the circumstances, becomes an opportunity of enlightenment and self-improvement, if Jesus Christ remains in the center of our thoughts and actions. When suffering is experienced, there is always a critical moment that is reached, an intersection where there is a choice of which road to take. The suffering can be avoided with actions that are designed to avoid it while not benefiting from it or it can be embraced while learning from it; and being changed dramatically because of it. Through suffering, wisdom can be attained. The Book of Proverbs tells us that it is through Wisdom that we receive, “ training in wise conduct, in what is right, just and honest.” Wisdom is attained through not only seeking it, but also through knowledge and understanding. These are obtained by listening, experiencing things, making wrong choices, and making necessary corrections through what is learned. Jesus Christ, the source of all wisdom, improved our condition by suffering and we can maintain what was given to us by confronting the sufferings of this world with the knowledge that these sufferings, voluntary and involuntary, will all come to an end. At the conclusion of all of them, we can be with Jesus or choose to be without Him. He has already offered the better way with clear direction for us to achieve all that we can achieve in this life and the next. This Season of Lent affords us an opportunity to fully embrace what was done for us and to use it to effect all aspects of our lives, surrendering ourselves to the will of God and the suffering that is a necessary part of it in order to bring ourselves closer to Him. The Suffering Christ is the key to bring our sufferings to a joyful end through experiencing it with Him and becoming stronger as a result.
Deacon Tom
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