Tag: covenant

“Repent, and believe in the gospel.”| First Sunday of Lent

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark (Mk 1:12-15)

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.”

Before Jesus came to Galilee, Mark tells us that he was driven into the desert by the Spirit, where he remained for forty days, among wild beasts and tempted by Satan. Angels ministered to him. The Spirit that impelled Jesus brought him to a place of physical isolation from others but in uninterrupted spiritual contact with his Father and the purpose for which he came. The presence in the desert apart from food and family and friends—every human comfort—meant that Jesus could confront Satan in a way that put that part of his mission behind him, breaking from times past and clearing the way for him—true God and true man—to announce that the time of fulfillment had at last come.

God, help me understand the promptings of the Holy Spirit that drove Jesus out into the desert. As part of the fulfillment of his mission of salvation, he faced temptation to take on himself all human temptation. In order to conquer death, he took on the sins of all humanity. In facing temptation and subjecting himself to the test at the prompting of the Holy Spirit, it is the Son of God, the Messiah, the Lord, who returns from the desert and proclaims your kingdom. Give me the grace, Lord, to grasp the big picture and my part in the covenant relationship you have made with your people.

From the responsorial psalm: “Remember that your compassion, O LORD, and your love are from of old. In your kindness remember me, because of your goodness, O LORD. Your ways, O Lord, are love and truth to those who keep your covenant.”

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Memorial of Saint John Vianney, Priest

Then Peter took Jesus aside and began to rebuke him, “God forbid, Lord! No such thing shall ever happen to you.” He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle to me. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.”

Fully divine and fully human, Jesus said first to Peter, “And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church” and next, “You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.” This is Jesus calling Peter to a higher standard, to be like God through his indwelling in us, as is expressed in the first reading from the book of Jeremiah: “I will place my law within them, and write it upon their hearts; I will be their God, and they shall be my people.” In that short passage, God speaks the word covenant four times. And what is that covenant but God’s commitment to us in his unfathomable mercy, found in its fullest expression in the incarnation? “All, from least to greatest, shall know me, says the LORD, for I will forgive their evildoing and remember their sin no more.” The cost of this to God? The cost was the suffering and death of his Son. For this reason, Jesus said to Peter, “You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.”

God, thank you for the gift of your covenant, your unending mercy. Help me understand what you need from me in order to please you. The responsorial psalm says, “For you are not pleased with sacrifices; should I offer a burnt offering, you would not accept it. My sacrifice, O God, is a contrite spirit; a heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.” I can’t help thinking, God, that just as I try at times to be a people pleaser, I behave in the same way toward you. Give me the grace to avoid hollow sacrifices and instead be ready for you with a clean heart. “A willing spirit sustain in me, Lord.”

Lord, you are with me always. Even as I struggle to see that you are present in the quiet times of the day or amid the bustle of activity. Come, Holy Spirit. Be with me today and let me know you are present, not in ephemeral sensations but through the certainty of faith. Lord, give me the grace to turn to you during the day and acknowledge you in my thoughts, words, and actions. Help me think not as human beings do but as you do, relying on your covenant with me, which you have placed upon my heart.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

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