First Sunday of Lent

February 17 , 2002
Homily, Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception

Most Reverend José H. Gomez
Auxiliary Bishop of Denver

En Español

My sisters and brothers in Christ:

The Alternative Opening Prayer of today’s Mass says:

“In this time of repentance we call out for your mercy. Bring us back to you and to the life your Son won for us by his death on the cross…”

At the beginning of this Lenten season we are asking God to help us, to give us His Grace that we can take advantage of this special season to make progress in our life.

Lent is a time of conversion. Conversion requires a real disposition of change. “Change of heart is one of the best ways of finding the Kingdom of God, which, as He Himself tells us, is within us (This Tremendous lover, p. 151).

“It is a question of moving from a superficial life to the deep interiority, from selfishness to love, of striving to live according to the model of Christ himself” Pope John Paul II.

The readings of Today’s Mass point out to us the fact that there are going to be difficulties. In both readings from the Book of Genesis and from St. Matthew’s Gospel, we are presented with temptations stories.

The 1^st reading is about our First Parents, Adam and Eve, the temptation from the devil and their sin of Pride and disobedience.

“The serpent said to the woman, No! You will not die! God knows in fact that on the day you eat it your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods, knowing good and evil … The woman saw that the tree was good for food, pleasing to the eyes, and desirable for gaining wisdom. So she took some of its fruit and ate it; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it”

Jesus was also asked to choose between God and Satan; his decision was to remain faithful to God’s law and revelation:

“At this, Jesus said to him, ‘Get away, Satan! It is written: ‘The Lord, your God, shall you worship and him alone shall you serve…”

It seems to me that the first thing that we can learn from Today’s readings is the existence of temptations and the reality of sin.

Sin is real, it exists: “it is a word, deed or desire in opposition to the eternal law"
(St. Augustine)

Through sin we lose our friendship with God...our whole life becomes senseless....we lose sight of the end...then we -human beings- are capable of terrible things...as we see in our society: abortion, euthanasia, racism, and so forth...

Sin is the real obstacle in our life: there is no possibility of improvement in our spiritual life when there is sin, especially if we are in a permanent state of sin.

Then we don't need God. We don't need the sacraments. The human person becomes the center of the Universe. He or She can say what is right and what is wrong as sometimes we see that people try to do in our western society. It is exactly the same temptation presented to Adam and Eve:

“…God knows well that the moment you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods who know what is good and what is evil…”

Temptation gives us a choice, requires a decision, and ends with either a separation or a more intimate relationship with God.

Adam and Eve were given a choice between God and the serpent; they made the decision to sin, which resulted in Original Sin: a radical separation from God. They were expelled from Paradise and lost their happiness and their friendship with God.

Jesus was also asked to choose and he decided to be faithful to God the Father and after that he started his public life that will end in his Redemptive Sacrifice, which gives us the possibility of a personal and intimate relationship with God, and in His Glorious Resurrection on Easter Sunday.

This is what St. Paul refers to in the 2^nd reading of today’s Mass:

“For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so, through the obedience of the one, the many will be made righteous”

“Any temptation is always a miserable deception… We need to keep a constant watch… And this is what we want and what we ask for: to be able to serve God and be faithful”
Cf. In Conversation with God, 2.5.2

Lent invites and challenges us to live more faithfully, to examine our own lives, and to face those temptations that separate us from God. God allows us to be tempted so that we may grow in virtue. Jesus teaches through his example –no one is exempt from trials and tribulations.

But, God is always at our side. We have Jesus’ example, strength and support to meet those challenges in our daily lives. On our part we have to be more generous in our dedication to God and this Lenten season is a great opportunity to do that.

What can we do? As Jesus said to the Apostles: “Watch and pray, that you may not enter into temptation” St. Mt. 26, 41

Let’s intensify our prayer, our spirit of penance and the reception of the Sacraments, especially daily Communion and frequent Confession.

As a spiritual writer says: “Don’t forget, my friend, that you need weapons in this spiritual battle. And your weapons have to be these: continuous prayer, sincerity and frankness with your spiritual director; the Holy Eucharist and the Sacrament of Penance; a generous spirit of Christian mortification which will bring you to flee from the occasions of sin and to avoid idleness; humility of heart, and a tender and filial devotion to Our Lady…” S. Canals in In Conversation with God, 2.5.3

This Lent can be just one more liturgical time or it can be a very special one. It is up to us to make it a very special time.

We should also keep in mind the theme of the Holy Father’s message for Lent: ‘You received without paying, give without pay’.

As he says in his message:

“Since we have received this life freely, we must in turn offer it freely to our brothers and sisters. This is what Jesus asked of the disciples when he sent them out as his witnesses in the world: ‘You received without paying, give without pay’. And the first gift to be given is the gift of a holy life, bearing witness to the freely given love of God…”  JPII, Lenten message 2002, 3

Today’s passage of the Gospel ends in this way:
“Then the devil left him and, behold, angels came and ministered to him”

With the help of the Guardian Angels and the intercession of  Mary, our Blessed Mother, may we grow in the love for God during this Lenten season. May we also be able to show God that we love him with our daily effort to be in his presence and especially, by the way in which we practice charity with others: ‘You receive without paying, give without pay’.

Amen.