A bit of desert

First Sunday of Lent 

L-Ewwel Ħadd tar-Randan '

Messalin B pp 143

Reading 1                                         GeNesis 9:8-15

God said to Noah and to his sons with him:  “See, I am now establishing my covenant with you  and your descendants after you  and with every living creature that was with you:  all the birds, and the various tame and wild animals  that were with you and came out of the ark. I will establish my covenant with you,  that never again shall all bodily creatures be destroyed by the waters of a flood;  there shall not be another flood to devastate the earth.” God added: “This is the sign that I am giving for all ages to come,  of the covenant between me and you  and every living creature with you:  I set my bow in the clouds to serve as a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. When I bring clouds over the earth,  and the bow appears in the clouds,  I will recall the covenant I have made between me and you and all living beings,  so that the waters shall never again become a flood  to destroy all mortal beings.” This is the Word of the Lord.

L-Ewwel Lezzjoni  - mill-Ktieb tal-Ġenesi  9, 8-15

Alla kellem lil Noe' u lil uliedu miegħu u qalilhom: "Arawni, hawn jien se nagħmel patt tiegħii magħkom  u ma' nisilkom warajkom; ma kull ħliqa ħajja li hemm magħkom, mat-tjur u mal-bhejjem, ma' kull bhima selvaġġa  li hemm magħkom, u mal-bhejjem kollha li ħarġu magħkom mill-arka.   Jien nagħmel il-patt tiegħi magħkom, li qatt iżjed ma jinqered, ebda laħam ħaj, bl-ilmijiet tad- dulluvju; u qatt iżjed ma jkun hemm dulluvju biex iħarbtu l-art. U żied jgħid Alla:   "Dan ikun is-sinjal tal-patt li jien  qiegħed nagħmel bejni u bejnkom, u bejn kull ħliqa ħajja li hemm magħkom, għall-ġenerazzjonijiet  kollha għal dejjem.   Inqiegħed il-qaws tiegħi fis-sħab, u jkun sinjal tal-att bejn u bejn l-art.  Meta niġma'  s-sħab  fuq l-art u tfeġġ il-qawsalla fis-sħab, jien  niftakar fil-patt bejni u bejnkom u bejn kull ruħ ħajja f'kull laħam; u ma jkun hemm iżjed l-ilma tad-dulluvju biex jeqred kull laħam ħaj. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej

Responsorial Psalm                 PSalm  25:4-5, 6-7, 8-9.

R. (cf. 10) Your ways, O Lord, are love and truth to those who keep your covenant.

Your ways, O LORD, make known to me;
teach me your paths,
Guide me in your truth and teach me,
for you are God my savior.                                          R.

Remember that your compassion, O LORD,
and your love are from of old.
In your kindness remember me,
because of your goodness, O LORD.                       R.

Good and upright is the LORD,
thus he shows sinners the way.
He guides the humble to justice,
and he teaches the humble his way.                      R.

Salm Responsorjali    -     Salm 24 (25)

                R/   Il-mogħdijiet tal-Mulej kollhom tjieba u fedelta'.

Triqatek, Mulej, għarrafni,

il-mogħdijet tiegħek għallimni.

Mexxini fis-sewwa tiegħu u għallimni,

għax int Alla tas-salvazzjoni tiegħi.                         R/

Ftakar fil-ħniena u t-tjieba tiegħek,

għax huma minn dejjem, Mulej.

Inti tajjeb, Mulej;

ftakar fija skont it-tjieba tiegħek.                             R/

Tajjeb u sewwa l-Mulej;

għalhekk juri triqtu lill-ħatja.

Imexxi l-imsejkna fis-sewwa,

jgħallem lill-fqajrin it-triq tiegħu.                           R/

Reading 2                                         1 PeTer 3:18-22

Beloved: Christ suffered for sins once,  the righteous for the sake of the unrighteous,  that he might lead you to God. Put to death in the flesh,  he was brought to life in the Spirit. In it he also went to preach to the spirits in prison,  who had once been disobedient  while God patiently waited in the days of Noah  during the building of the ark,  in which a few persons, eight in all, were saved through water. This prefigured baptism, which saves you now. It is not a removal of dirt from the body  but an appeal to God for a clear conscience,  through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God,  with angels, authorities, and powers subject to him.  This is the Word of the Lord.

It-Tieni Lezzjoni    -     mill-Ewwel Ittra ta' San Pietru  3m 18-22

Għeżież, Kristu wkoll miet darba għal dejjem minħabba d-dnubiet;  hu li kien ġust miet għall- inġusti biex iressaqkom lejn Alla; kien mogħti l-mewt fil-ġisem, imma ħa l-ħajja fl-ispirtu, li bih mar ixandar is-salvazzjoni  lill-erwieħ li kienu magħluqa fil-ħabs.   Dawn kienu  l-erwieħ ta' dawk li darba ma ridux jisimgħu,  meta Alla qagħad jistenna bis-sabar fiż-żmien li Noe' kien jibni l-arka.   Ftit, jiġifieri tmienja biss, salvaw bis-saħħa tal-ilma.  Dan l-ilma  huwa tixbiħa tal-magħmudija, li issa ssalva lilkom ukoll.    Mhux għax tnaddaf il-ħmieġ tal-ġisem tal-ġisem, imma għax hi talba lil Alla ħierġa minn kuxjenza safja bis-saħħa tal-qawmien ta' Ġesu' Kristu, li tela'  s-sema u qiegħed fuq il-lemin ta' Alla u għandu taħtu s-Setgħat u l-Qawwiet tal-anġli.   Il-Kelma tal-Mulej

Gospel                               MarK 1:12-15

The Spirit drove Jesus out into the desert, and he remained in the desert for forty days, tempted by Satan. He was among wild beasts, and the angels ministered to him. 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.”  This is the Word of the Lord.

L-Evanġelju   -   skond San Mark 1, 12-15

F'dak iż-żmien, l-Ispirtu ħareġ lil Ġesu' fid-deżert. U baqa' fid-deżert erbgħin jum, jiġġarrab mix-Xitan. Kien jgħix mal-bhejjem selvaġġi, u kien jaqduh l-anġli. Wara li arrestaw lil Ġwanni, Ġesu' mar il-Galilija jxandar l-Evanġelju ta' Alla u jgħid:   "Iż-żmien huwa mitmum, u s-Saltna ta' Alla waslet; indmu u emmnu fl-Evanġelju. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej

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Father Cantalamessa on Creating "a Bit of Desert"

Lenten Commentary on This Sunday's Gospel Passage

With Jesus in the Desert 

Let us concentrate on the first phrase of the Gospel: "The Spirit drove Jesus to the desert." It contains an important appeal at the beginning of Lent. Jesus had just received the messianic investiture in the Jordan, to take the Good News to the poor, heal afflicted hearts, preach the Kingdom. But he is not in haste to do any of these things. On the contrary, obeying an impulse of the Holy Spirit, he withdraws to the desert where he remains for 40 days, fasting, praying, meditating and struggling. All this in profound solitude and silence.

There have been in history legions of men and women who have chosen to imitate Jesus in his withdrawal to the desert. In the East, beginning with St. Anthony Abbot, they withdrew to the deserts of Egypt or Palestine; in the West, where there was no deserts of sand, they withdrew to solitary places, remote mountains and valleys.

But the invitation to follow Jesus in the desert is addressed to all. Monks and hermits chose a site in the desert; we must at least choose a time in the desert. To spend some time in the desert means to empty ourselves and be immersed in silence, rediscover the way of our heart, remove ourselves from the exterior racket and pressures to come into contact with the most profound sources of our being.

Well lived, Lent is a kind of cure of the poisoning of the soul. In fact, there is not only the contamination of carbon monoxide; there is also acoustic and luminous contamination. We are all somewhat inebriated with noise and externals. Man sends his waves to the periphery of the solar system, but in the majority of cases ignores what is in his own heart. To escape, to relax, to amuse oneself -- are words that mean to come out of oneself, to remove oneself from reality.

There are "escape" shows (the TV provides them in avalanche), "escape" literature. They are called, significantly, fiction. We prefer to live in fiction than in reality. Today there is much talk of "aliens," but aliens or alienated we already are by our own doing in our own planet, without the need of others coming from outside.

Young people are the most exposed to this inebriation with noise. "Let heavier work be laid upon the men that they may labor at it," Pharaoh said to his taskmasters, "and not listen to the words of Moses and not think of breaking out of slavery" (Exodus 5:9). Today's "Pharaohs" say, in a more tacit but no less peremptory way: "Increase the racket over these young people, so that they will be reckless and not think, not decide on their own, but follow the fashion, buy what we want them to buy, and consume the products we tell them to."
What can we do? Being unable to go to the desert, we must create a bit of desert within ourselves. In this regard, St. Francis of Assisi gives us a practical suggestion. "We have," he said, "a hermitage always with us; wherever we go and whenever we wish it we can enclose ourselves in it as hermits. The hermitage is our body and the soul is the hermit within!" We can go into this "portable" hermitage without being seen by anyone, even while we are traveling on a very crowded bus. It all consists in knowing how to "go into ourselves" every now and then.
    

May the Spirit that "drove Jesus to the desert" lead us also, help us in the struggle against evil and prepare us to celebrate Easter renewed in the spirit!
[Translation by ZENIT]  © Innovative Media Inc.