Catholic Mass Readings and Reflection March 09, 2025

09th March 2025 (Sunday)

Psalter: Week 1

Reading of the Day

First Reading: Deuteronomy 26:4-10

Moses spoke to the people, saying: “The priest shall receive the basket from you and shall set it in front of the altar of the LORD, your God. Then you shall declare before the Lord, your God, ‘My father was a wandering Aramean who went down to Egypt with a small household and lived there as an alien. But there he became a nation great, strong, and numerous. When the Egyptians maltreated and oppressed us, imposing hard labor upon us, we cried to the LORD, the God of our fathers, and he heard our cry and saw our affliction, our toil, and our oppression. He brought us out of Egypt with his strong hand and outstretched arm, with terrifying power, with signs and wonders; and bringing us into this country, he gave us this land flowing with milk and honey. Therefore, I have now brought you the firstfruits of the products of the soil which you, O LORD, have given me.’ And having set them before the LORD, your God, you shall bow down in his presence.”

Psalm 91:1-2, 10-11, 12-13, 14-15 (R. cf 15b)

R/. Be with me, Lord, when I am in trouble.

Second Reading: Romans 10:8-13

Brothers and sisters: What does Scripture say? The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart —that is, the word of faith that we preach—, for, 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. For one believes with the heart and so is justified, and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved. For the Scripture says, No one who believes in him will be put to shame. For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all, enriching all who call upon him. For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

Gospel Acclamation

V/. Glory and praise to you, O Christ.

R/. Glory and praise to you, O Christ.

V/. One does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.

R/. Glory and praise to you, O Christ.

Gospel : Luke 4:1-13

Filled with the Holy Spirit, Jesus returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the desert for forty days, to be tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and when they were over he was hungry. The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” Jesus answered him, “It is written, One does not live on bread alone.” Then he took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a single instant. The devil said to him, “I shall give to you all this power and glory; for it has been handed over to me, and I may give it to whomever I wish. All this will be yours, if you worship me.” Jesus said to him in reply, “It is written You shall worship the Lord, your God, and him alone shall you serve.” Then he led him to Jerusalem, made him stand on the parapet of the temple, and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, for it is written: He will command his angels concerning you, to guard you, and: With their hands they will support you, lest you dash your foot against a stone.” Jesus said to him in reply, “It also says, You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test.” When the devil had finished every temptation, he departed from him for a time.

Daily Gospel Reflection

First Sunday of Lent

Opener: The greatness of Christian life is not to have temptations at all but to face them, to fight them and overcome them

In today’s gospel, we have the episode of the temptations of Jesus. They are three. They take place in the wilderness. They happen after forty days of fasting and prayer. And soon after them, Jesus begins his public ministry. We can pick up different indicators from this temptations narrative.

One indicator: Temptations are willed or allowed by God. They form part of human life and divine mission. For we are told that Jesus was led by the Spirit to be tempted. Therefore, temptations are quite real in everyone’s life. No one is exempted. One need not feel guilty or ashamed of them. In the light of St Francis de Sales’ teaching, what makes one blameworthy is not having or getting temptations but entertaining, indulging in them and consenting to them.

Second indicator: Jesus is in full solidarity with our human struggle. The fact that even Jesus himself was tempted shows that God partakes in the struggle of human fragility. He became one like us in everything except sin. Jesus is sinless and remains so. Yet this does not exempt him from the struggle to remain sinless. As divine, he is sinless. But as a human, he had to confront the assaults of the tempter. This is what makes him praiseworthy: he remains sinless even amidst a sinful situation. This makes both his divinity and humanity more convincing. His divinity shines amidst humanity and his humanity shines amidst divinity.

Third indicator: the temptations of Jesus are summary temptations. This would mean, they are not necessarily literally happened temptations. We are not sure whether Jesus was factually tempted to change stones into bread, to worship Satan to gain the whole world or to jump down from a height. Rather, they summarize the whole life struggle of Jesus. There were always temptations to use his divine power for self-interest, to test God and to seek worldly riches and powers.

Fourth indicator: the temptations of Jesus are allusive to Israel in the OT (cf. Deut 8.3; 6. 13, 16). The first temptation about food alludes to Israel in the desert, how they grumble and complain about food and drink. The second temptation alludes to how Israel was allured by the world, the material possessions and false gods time and again. The third temptation alludes to how Israel adamantly tests God in spite of all his numerous mighty works.

Fifth indicator: the temptations of Jesus are suggestive and indicative of our own temptations. In a simple way, the temptations of Jesus can be categorized as physical, material and social. The temptation to change stones into bread, eat and thus satisfy the hunger indicates our frequent temptation for the physical things, like food and drink, physical pleasures, and easy and temporary gratifications. The temptation to worship Satan and gain the world, its powers and riches indicates the temptation for the material things and powers, the constant allurement for money, possessions and domination. The temptation to jump down from the height and remain unharmed indicates our temptation for name, fame, and popularity through shortcuts.

Sixth indicator: the crux of temptations is self-seeking and self-glory. In each of the three temptations, there is seeking self-interests and self-glory. It is in terms of physical satisfaction, material accumulation and social recognition and domination. So often we are assaulted by these temptations. Just one glance is enough. We can easily see how these three temptations are ruling high. Flesh, power, money and cheap glory dominate today’s world and the church is no exception.

What then are the remedies? Follow the way of Jesus. Let the spiritual sublimate the physical: “Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord”. Let loyalty to God surpass worldly allurements: “You shall worship the Lord your God alone”. Let the trust in God overpower the tendency to test God: “Do not put God to test”.

Direction: In a life that is constantly attacked and even inflicted by temptations, let us arm ourselves with the weapons of prayer, fasting and charity. They help us to cling to God, to be self-restrained and unselfishly self-giving