Year B
Discover the deeper meaning and connections found in this week's readings, through these great commentaries written by our priests.
Explore this week's readings and hear what God is saying to us through His Word.
Find out more about how we can mark this special day in our liturgy.
See our music recommendations for the liturgy.
The Theme for today’s Mass is the call to be faithful to the Covenant – simply expressed, the Covenant is “I will be your God, if you will be my People, walking in my ways.” A Covenant is an agreement motivated by love, such as a bride and groom make at the time of their marriage.
1st R. Noah emerges from the Ark and sacrifices to God in thanksgiving for his deliverance. God replies with his covenant, guaranteed by there assuring sign of the rainbow, which binds together earth and heaven, in a sort of pathway to heaven and, with its full spectrum of colour symbolises every grade of being, every living creature –reminding us of our responsibility of care.
2nd R. likens our baptism to the flood that purifies the earth and restores us to friendship with God and it looks forward to the Baptismal Promises which we shall be invited to renew at the Easter.
Each generation is charged by God to pass on God’s image and likeness. Adam and Eve failed to beget children in God’s image and likeness. Their successors failed too until Noah arrives. He is obedient and becomes the new hero. He and his wife are enabled to generate a new people. We journey, not as individuals, but as a Community. Noah cooperated with God and God engaged Noah as his agent to build the Ark – a place of safety, during the 40 days of storm and trial. Man must learn to trust God. God is ultimately in charge, not man!
The time comes for God to send his own Son; Jesus arrives. What will he do? Today’s Gospel, very briefly, describes how the spirit of God- God who is love - drives Jesus out into the desert! The Prophet Hosea had prophesised that God would lure his people out into the desert, where he would speak to their hearts. Today, Jesus leads the way.
Jesus goes into the desert; listen to the promptings of the Holy Spirit and challenges Satan- the rest of St Mark’s Gospel describes the cosmic battle in which Satan is defeated. Jesus is the new Noah, who calls into being another Ark - the Church. That Church is the Bride of Christ, given, anew, the task of nurturing God’s image and likeness in us, her Children.
Lent – the word comes from the O.E. for “lengthening” – lengthening of the days, heralding springtime. “Lent/Spring”- is the call sign to Christians to begin a spiritual spring-clean, the time when we clear out the bad and make room for God’s grace to be poured into our lives. Only God can renew our hearts, but we have to show we are willing to receive.
1st Sunday in Lent
Catholicism of the Catholic Church References:
CCC 394,538-540, 2119: the temptation of Jesus
CCC 2846-2849: "Lead us not into temptation"
CCC 56-58, 71: the Covenant with Noah
CCC 845, 1094, 1219: Noah’s Ark prefigures the Church and baptism
CCC 1116, 1129, 1222: Covenant and sacraments(especially baptism)
CCC 1257, 1811: God saves through baptism
The liturgical season of Lent has commenced this past Wednesday. We may think that this is a time for prayer, penance, and almsgiving as we heard from Ash Wednesday’s Gospel. And although these are praiseworthy practices that need to be done with a correct motivation, they are never an end in themselves. So why do we practice these during Lent? The liturgy provides us some insight today from the Preface of the Eucharistic Prayer, which is entitled “The Temptation of the Lord” – By abstaining for forty long days from earthly food, he consecrated through his fast the pattern of our Lenten observance and, by overturning all the snares of the ancient serpent, taught us to cast out the leaven of malice, so that, celebrating worthily the Paschal Mystery, we might pass over at last to the eternal paschal feast. All the Lenten observances that we might practice have the purpose to ‘cast out the leaven of malice’ that we that we find ourselves struggling with. Our struggle with sin, injustice, hatred, egotism, narcissism, greed, and selfishness. Our Lenten observances are a means to pass over from selfishness, egotism and darkness to generosity, freedom, and light. In such a way, we are preparing ourselves to celebrate the Paschal Mystery during the Easter Triduum. Lent is therefore a liturgical period of preparation for the Paschal Mystery of following Christ, suffering with Christ, dying with Christ, and ultimately, rising with Christ. And this involves conversion or a change of heart, in allowing God to turn us to himself. We are invited to listen more intently to the word of God and devote ourselves to prayer, so we may be prepared through a spirit of repentance to renew our baptismal promises at Easter – the celebration of the Paschal Mystery.
Liturgical suggestions during Lent:
Penitential Rite: throughout Lent consider using options II and IV of the third from which is provided in Appendix VI of the Roman Missal (cf. pp.1529-1530)
Creed: throughout Lent make use of the Apostles Creed, which the baptismal Symbol of the Roman Church.
Prayer over the People: the formula for the blessing after the prayer, is “And may the blessing of almighty God, the Father, and the Son + and the Holy Spirit, comedown upon you, and remain with you for ever.”
These hymns have been picked and chosen from different sources.
Forty days and forty nights (CFE185, L206, LHON264, TCH50)
Guide me, O thou great Redeemer (CFE233, L960, LHON307, TCH221)
Lead us, heavenly Father, lead us (CFE351, L315, LHON416, TCH235)
You who dwell in the shelter of the Lord (On Eagle's Wings) (CFE832, L952, LHON759)
Key
CFE - Celebration Hymnal for Everyone
L – Laudate
LHON – Liturgical Hymns Old and New (Mayhew, 1999)
TCH – The Catholic Hymnbook (Gracewing)
Do you have questions about the liturgy and how we are called to participate in it? Explore how the Church councils, saints, and popes have answered this key question and many more.
Every movement of the Mass is rich in meaning but we can become over-familiar with it. Rediscover the Mass and explore how it relates to the Exodus story, where many of its rituals come from, and how it makes Jesus present to us today.
