March 13, 2011
1st Sunday in Lent
Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. Could God let his Beloved Son be seduced by the Deceiver to sin? Would a parent purposely place a daughter or son in harm's way to fail? "Tempt" comes from the Greek (and earlier from the Hebrew) meaning "test." In the Bible God does allow testing of Adam and Eve in the Garden (creation story); the testing of Abraham and the testing of the people of Israel in the desert for forty years. In this light, the testing of Jesus in the desert (after 40 days of fasting) is occasion for the Beloved Son to be faithful to God, the Father. Lent is a time of testing for us to use our freedom to listen to God's Word, to trust in Divine providence and to worship the true God. Among us today are a catechumen and three candidates whom we will send to Bishop Kmiec at St. Amelia's Church. They are entering into a special season of testing to discern God's call, to expose the duplicity of the devil and to decide to follow Christ within the Catholic community. We promise to pray for them as we acknowledge that their being here with us renews our Catholic faith. Today sadly we are also in solidarity with the people of Japan who are being severely tested by an earthquake and ensuing tsunami. Borders that divide dissolve in face of crisis and consciousness that we are all children of God.
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9th Sunday in Ordinary Time
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2nd Sunday of Lent
