Newsletter —First Sunday of Lent B—18th February 2024

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Our First Reading this week is from Genesis 9:8-15: God establishes a covenant with Noah, giving a rainbow as its sign.
The Responsorial Psalm is from Psalm 25: A prayer praising God for his covenant.
The Second Reading today is 1 Peter 3:18-22: In our baptism, we are saved through Christ’s death and Resurrection.
This Sunday’s Gospel Reading is Mark 1:12-15: Jesus is tempted in the desert by Satan.

On the first Sunday of Lent, the Gospel reading is about Jesus’ temptation in the desert. In each of the Synoptic Gospels, the temptation of Jesus follows his baptism by John the Baptist. In Mark’s Gospel, we are told that Jesus went into the desert immediately after his baptism, led by the Spirit. Jesus’ public ministry in Galilee begins after his temptation in the desert.
The fact that Jesus spent 40 days in the desert is significant. This recalls the 40 years that the Israelites wandered in the desert after being led from slavery in Egypt. The prophet Elijah also journeyed in the desert for 40 days and nights, making his way to Horeb, the mountain of God, where he was also attended to by an angel of the Lord. Remembering the significance of these events, we also set aside 40 days for the season of Lent.
In Mark’s Gospel, the desert marks beginning of Jesus’ battle with Satan; the ultimate test will be in Jesus’ final hours on the cross. In a similar way, our Lenten observances are only a beginning, a preparation for and a reinforcement of our ongoing struggle to resist the temptations we face in our lives. During Lent, we are led by the Holy Spirit to remember the vows of Baptism in which we promised to reject sin and to follow Jesus. Just as Jesus was ministered to by the angels, God also supports us in our struggle against sin and temptation. We succeed because Jesus conquered sin once and for all in his saving death on the cross.

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