First Sunday of Lent

26 February 2023

 

First Reading: Gn 2:7-9; 3:1-7

Responsorial Psalm: PS 51:3-4, 5-6, 12-13, 17

Second Reading: Rom 5:12, 17-19

Gospel: Mt 4:1-11

 

Reflection

By: Benj Santiago

 

At that time Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil...One does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God."

Today is the first Sunday of Lent. The first reading reminds me of the "original sin" the sin committed by Adam and Eve at the garden in Eden. Eve was tricked by the serpent to eat the fruit of the tree of knowledge. In the Gospel reading, Jesus went through three temptations. First one was again about satisfying hunger. But unlike Adam and Eve, Jesus did not fail into the temptation of the devil. Jesus was able to rebuke the devil by the power of "what was written" or the WORD OF GOD.

Every day of our lives is filled with temptations to be tricked by the devil to do something that is not according to HIS Words. Temptations to be concerned with material possession, wealth, power, and prestige for selfish motives. We are surrounded by people who are obsessed with wealth, position, and power that influences and tempts us to do the same. As we begin our Lenten Season this year, I pray that like Jesus who possesses all the power and glory as the Son of God; we won't be tempted to love money or material wealth, to usurp our position and power for personal gains. But instead we use our wealth and power for service of others and to worship the Lord!

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we praise and glorify You. We give You thanks for all the provisions You have given us. We pray that as we enter the Lenten Season that we fast, abstain, and pray like Jesus. Amen.

God Has a Plan

The Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary   8 December 2017

First reading

Genesis 3:9-15, 20

But the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, “Where are you?” He said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.” He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate.”

Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent tricked me, and I ate.” The Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, cursed are you among all animals and among all wild creatures; upon your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life. I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.”

The man named his wife Eve, because she was the mother of all living.                

Second reading

Ephesians 1:3-6, 11-12

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, just as he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love.

He destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace that he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace that he lavished on us.

With all wisdom and insight he has made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth in Christ, as a plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.

In Christ we have also obtained an inheritance, having been destined according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to his counsel and will, so that we, who were the first to set our hope on Christ, might live for the praise of his glory.

Gospel

Luke 1:26-38

In the sixth month the angel Gabriel as sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, favoured one! The Lord is with you.” But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favour with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” The angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God. And now, you relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.”

Then Mary said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her.

Reflection

by Jessa Janelle Padilla

How obedient are we? How do we handle temptations?

Temptations are all around us and they test our obedience. Sometimes we fall into temptations just like Adam and Eve in our first reading from the Book of Genesis. They have fallen into the temptation of the serpent and ate the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge. They have disobeyed God and have been punished.  And because of what happened, Eve became the mother of all the living.

Today, we celebrate the Solemnity of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, our Principal Patroness here in the Philippines. The mother of our Savior and Son of God, Jesus Christ. Eve and Mary differ from each other. Eve disobeyed God and committed sin but Mary obeyed God’s will and conceived Jesus in her womb. She is free from sin.

In the letter of Saint Paul to the Ephesians it states that “In him we were also chosen, destined in accord with the purpose of the One who accomplishes all things according to the intentions of his will, so that we might exist for the praise of his glory, we who first hoped in Christ’. The verse confirms that we are not born for nothing but we are born to fulfill and accomplish what God destined us to become. We all have our purpose and mission in this world. Let us be obedient to fulfill it and pray to overcome temptations.

Mary was prepared by God from the moment she was conceived in her mother’s womb, Anne. She was conceived immaculately and born free from any sin, worthy to be the mother of Jesus.

We may not have been immaculately conceived like Mary, but God has plan for us and His plan is better than our plan. We should trust Him and never lose hope. Hope will light a fire in our hearts to continue persevering and keep moving forward to achieve a better version of ourselves. We should also be like Mary who said Yes to God’s plan for her. In today’s situation, I admit that it is not easy to answer Yes to any call but let us discern, pray, and put our trust to God so that answering Yes to a call will become easy for us. Let us imitate Mary’s example as an obedient servant of God, with full of grace, and a good mother.  Let us make her our role model. Let us follow the will of God, leading us to holiness, leading us to Jesus who will come to save us!

Prayer

Oh most blessed Lady of the Immaculate Conception, you are full of grace. In you we lift up all our desires. You are the best example of being an obedient servant of God, may we become more like you. Shower us, your children, with your grace.  Light our way towards the crib of Bethlehem.

O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to you. Amen.

Leave it with God!

The Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary
December 8, 2014
At the time of her conception Mary received a blessing from the Lord and loving mercy from God her saviour.

First Reading: Genesis 3:9-15,20

After Adam had eaten of the tree the Lord God called to him. ‘Where are you?’ he asked. ‘I heard the sound of you in the garden;’ he replied ‘I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid.’ ‘Who told you that you were naked?’ he asked ‘Have you been eating of the tree I forbade you to eat?’ The man replied, ‘It was the woman you put with me; she gave me the fruit, and I ate it.’ Then the Lord God asked the woman, ‘What is this you have done?’ The woman replied, ‘The serpent tempted me and I ate.’

  Then the Lord God said to the serpent, ‘Because you have done this,

‘Be accursed beyond all cattle,

all wild beasts.

You shall crawl on your belly and eat dust

every day of your life.

I will make you enemies of each other:

you and the woman,

your offspring and her offspring.

It will crush your head

and you will strike its heel.’

The man named his wife ‘Eve’ because she was the mother of all those who live.

Psalm: Psalm 97:1-4

Second Reading: Ephesians 1:3-6,11-12

Blessed be God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,

who has blessed us with all the spiritual blessings of heaven in Christ.

Before the world was made, he chose us, chose us in Christ,

to be holy and spotless, and to live through love in his presence,

determining that we should become his adopted sons, through Jesus Christ

for his own kind purposes,

to make us praise the glory of his grace,

his free gift to us in the Beloved,

And it is in him that we were claimed as God’s own,

chosen from the beginning,

under the predetermined plan of the one who guides all things

as he decides by his own will;

chosen to be,

for his greater glory,

the people who would put their hopes in Christ before he came.

Gospel: Luke 1:26-38

The angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the House of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. He went in and said to her, ‘Rejoice, so highly favoured! The Lord is with you.’ She was deeply disturbed by these words and asked herself what this greeting could mean, but the angel said to her, ‘Mary, do not be afraid; you have won God’s favour. Listen! You are to conceive and bear a son, and you must name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David; he will rule over the House of Jacob for ever and his reign will have no end.’ Mary said to the angel, ‘But how can this come about, since I am a virgin?’ ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you’ the angel answered ‘and the power of the Most High will cover you with its shadow. And so the child will be holy and will be called Son of God. Know this too: your kinswoman Elizabeth has, in her old age, herself conceived a son, and she whom people called barren is now in her sixth month, for nothing is impossible to God’ ‘I am the handmaid of the Lord,’ said Mary ‘let what you have said be done to me.’ And the angel left her.

Reflection

By  Pietro S. Albano

These past few days I have been worried about the Philippines, especially those areas to be hit by typhoon Ruby.  I kept on telling my wife about this. At first she was just agreeing with my view, but last night, she told me "Daddy, it is beyond your control. All you can do now is to pray. Leave it with God!". 

Being in control has always been a temptation for man. Our first parents fell from that trap.  Then comes worrying. See how Adam and Eve reacted when God searched for them in the garden?

By God's grace, Mary's immaculate conception in the womb of her mother exempted her from falling into the same trap and from its ill effects.  Which is why she willingly accepted God's invite to be His mother. No ifs or buts. No craving for control. She represents "the people who would put their hopes in Christ before he came" (Ephesians 1:12).

Prayer

God our Father, cleanse our hearts from all that prevents us from trusting You.  Through the example and prayers of Mary Immaculate, may we always remember that nothing is impossible to You.  On her feast day today, we renew our trust in You! Amen.