Presider: Fr. Brian G. Walker, OP Parish: St. Benedict the African West Choir: Heart of the Nation www.MySundayMass.org TEXT FROM THE GOSPEL & HOMILY: The Lord be with you. And with your spirit. Proclamation of the Holy Gospel according to Saint Luke. Glory to you O Lord. 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 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. The Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus was led by the spirit into the desert so that he could fast and pray. It was there that he was tempted by the evil one. Time and time again he gave answer to this devil and each time he left us a legacy, something that we can live by. The evil one knew that he was hungry and so he offered him a possibility of escape. He beguiles him with “If you are the son of God,” and Jesus gives him a clear message that hunger is passing and that we can go for a little while and be made stronger. For it is not by bread that we live, is not by bread that we have life. The second time the evil one takes him to a place where he is shown riches and lands he tells him that all of this can be his if only he worships him and Jesus tells him quite strongly that only God can be worshipped and the third time the evil one tries to convince him of something that goes to the extreme and invites him to commit suicide because it is written that no harm shall come to the anointed one and Jesus is very strong again in saying that you cannot put the Lord to the test. So, my question is, how are you looking at yourself during this Lenten season? Is fasting too much for you because you spend time thinking about the foods you would like to have? Are you willing to worship only God and not just on Sunday when you remember it? Are you willing to let yourself go down completely because you can't give up that habit that could be leading to your own destruction, such as alcohol or smoking, or whatever it can be? Now is the time. Turn away from sin and believe the good news. Amen. And in our booklets on page 38 we pray together our creed.

• published: 13 Feb 2016
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