'You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve.' Sunday Reflections, 1st Sunday of Lent, Year C

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Abraham's Journey from Ur to Canaan
József Molnár [Wikipedia; source]

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 (Deuteronomy 16:5; First Reading). 

Readings (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa)

Readings (New American Bible: Philippines, USA)

Gospel Luke 4:1-13 (English Standard Version Anglicised: India)  

Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And 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.” And Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone.’” And the devil took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time, 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. If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.” And Jesus answered him, “It is written,

“‘You shall worship the Lord your God,
    and him only shall you serve.’”

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, for it is written,

“‘He will command his angels concerning you,
    to guard you’,

and

“‘On their hands they will bear you up,
    lest you strike your foot against a stone.’”

And Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’” And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time.

 

Léachtaí i nGaeilge


Filling station, Romania
[Wikipedia; photo]

From 1973 till 1976 I was chaplain in the college department of a school run by religious sisters in Mindanao, Philippines. Part of my job was to teach religion, four semesters of which every student had to take. I remember one student in particular, whom I will call Bernadette (not her real name) who was taking a two-year secretarial course. She came from a large family and her parents earned just enough money to get by. They were both actively involved in the parish.

Continue at Bangor to Bobbio.

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