DAILY READINGS & REFLECTION

MARCH 9, 2025

FIRST SUNDAY OF LENT

FIRST READING 

DEUTERONOMY 26:4-10

4 Then the priest shall take the basket from your hand, and set it down before the altar of the LORD your God. 5 "And you shall make response before the LORD your God, `A wandering Aramean was my father; and he went down into Egypt and sojourned there, few in number; and there he became a nation, great, mighty, and populous. 6 And the Egyptians treated us harshly, and afflicted us, and laid upon us hard bondage. 7 Then we cried to the LORD the God of our fathers, and the LORD heard our voice, and saw our affliction, our toil, and our oppression; 8 and the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with great terror, with signs and wonders; 9 and he brought us into this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey. 10 And behold, now I bring the first of the fruit of the ground, which thou, O LORD, hast given me.' And you shall set it down before the LORD your God, and worship before the LORD your God.

The Word of the Lord
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RESPONSORIAL PSALM

PSALMS 90(91):1-2, 10-15

Response: Be with me, Lord, when I am in trouble.

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High,
who abides in the shadow of the Almighty,
will say to the LORD, “My refuge and my fortress;
my God, in whom I trust.”

R. Be with me, Lord, when I am in trouble.

No evil shall befall you,
no scourge come near your tent.
For he will give his angels charge of you
to guard you in all your ways.

R. Be with me, Lord, when I am in trouble.

On their hands they will bear you up,
lest you dash your foot against a stone.
You will tread on the lion and the adder,
the young lion and the serpent you will trample under foot.

Because he cleaves to me in love, I will deliver him;
I will protect him, because he knows my name.
When he calls to me, I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble,
I will rescue him and honor him.

R. Be with me, Lord, when I am in trouble.
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SECOND READING

ROMANS 10:8-13

8 But what does it say? The word is near you, on your lips and in your heart (that is, the word of faith which we preach); 9 because, if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For man believes with his heart and so is justified, and he confesses with his lips and so is saved. 11 The scripture says, "No one who believes in him will be put to shame." 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all and bestows his riches upon all who call upon him. 13 For, "every one who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved."

The Word of the Lord
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GOSPEL

Jesus fasted forty days and was tempted by the devil

LUKE 4:1-13

1 And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan, and was led by the Spirit 2 for forty days in the wilderness, tempted by the devil. And he ate nothing in those days; and when they were ended, he was hungry. 3 The devil said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread." 4 And Jesus answered him, "It is written, `Man shall not live by bread alone.'" 5 And the devil took him up, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time, 6 and said to him, "To you I will give all this authority and their glory; for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will. 7 If you, then, will worship me, it shall all be yours." 8 And Jesus answered him, "It is written, `You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve.'" 9 And he took him to Jerusalem, and set him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here; 10 for it is written, `He will give his angels charge of you, to guard you,' 11 and `On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.'" 12 And Jesus answered him, "It is said, `You shall not tempt the Lord your God.'" 13 And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time.

The Gospel of the Lord
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REFLECTION

DAILY QUOTE FROM THE EARLY CHURCH FATHERS

Jesus defeats Satan with the word of God, by Ambrose of Milan (339-397 AD)

"So, look at the arms of Christ with which he conquered for you, not for himself. For he who showed that stones could, through his majesty, be changed into bread by the transformation into a different nature, teaches that you must do nothing at the devils behalf nor for the purpose of manifesting virtue. At the same time, learn from the temptation itself the ingenious cunning of the devil. The devil tempts that he may test. He tests that he may tempt. In contrast, the Lord deceives that he may conquer. He conquers that he may deceive. For if he had changed nature, he would have betrayed its Creator. Thus he responded neutrally, saying, 'It is written, 'That man lives not by bread alone, but by every word of God.' You see what kind of arms he wields, to defend humanity, surrounded and protected against the inducements of appetite, against the assault of spiritual wickedness (Ephesians 6:12). For he does not wield power as God - for what good would that be to me? So, as man, he summons common help for himself, so that eager for the food of the divine Word, he neglects the bodys hunger and obtains the nourishment of the heavenly Word. Eager for this, Moses did not desire bread (Exodus 24:18). Eager for this, Elijah did not feel the hunger of a long fast (1 Kings 19:4.) For he who follows the Word cannot desire earthly bread when he receives the essence of the heavenly Bread (John 6:32,50). There is no doubt that the divine surpasses the human, as the spiritual the physical. Therefore he who desires true life awaits that Bread which through its intangible substance strengthens human hearts (Psalm 103:17). At the same time, when he says, 'Man lives not by bread alone,' he shows that the man is tempted, that is, his acceptance of our flesh, not his divinity."

(excerpt from the EXPOSITION OF THE GOSPEL OF LUKE 4.19.20)
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Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (RSVCE)
The Revised Standard Version of the Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1965, 1966 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.