First Sunday of Lent
Reading I: Deuteronomy 26:4-10
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 91:1-2, 10-11, 12-13, 14-15
Reading II: Romans 10:8-13
Gospel: Luke 4:1-13
What does this season of Lent mean to us? Does it mean only fasting on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, and abstaining from meat on Fridays? Fasting may really be a discomfort, for it allows us only one full meal, makes us skip snacks and limits food during the other meals. We can, however, be excused from fasting if we need enough nourishment to be able to do our work or have reached the age of 60. As for abstinence, it is quite possible we enjoy a fish dish much more than a meat dish. We may replace abstinence from meat with a meaningful sacrifice. The church is clearly not giving the same prominence to fasting and abstinence as it once did. The choice is left more to us now, like what will we deny to ourselves to become better members of the Kingdom of God? There are many choices that we can do like set aside a few minutes every day to reflect on a bible text, make sure the family prays together every day in the right spirit, or spend the proper amount of time on our work.
Lent is a time for us also to be led by the Spirit into the desert to examine our options. The Scripture associates the ‘desert’ with temptation or as the place of test. “Desert” is the place where Israel failed the test to be faithful to God. There, they doubted God’s providence and put God to the test. They abandoned God and worshipped idols. It is again in the desert that Jesus the new Israel, wins the battle. Let the example of Jesus inspire us to overcome the temptation in our daily life.
Efren Tomas
In 2004, Father Efren arrived on Maui, Hawaii to be the Pastor of Christ The King Catholic Church in Kahului, Maui until 2012. He calls Christ The King his home because this was his first parish in Hawaii.
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