We Are Blessed by a Sovereign God Who Is With Us in Times of Trouble or When the Devil is Tempting Us! Give Thanks! Alleluia!
We are blessed by a sovereign God who is always with us in times of troubles and helps us when the devil is tempting us, like he did to Jesus in the desert. We need to learn to give thanks for all God does for us in times of trouble. He is always with us and we need to give thanks, pray, and even fast sometimes. God hears our afflictions, He is with us, He will protect you. He is doing this now with all the Ukrainians. Lent started this week, it is the season of fasting and penitence that precedes Easter in some branches of Christianity like in the Catholic Church. It is commonly observed by abstaining from things that may give us pleasure or we use regularly. There are 40 weekdays from Ash Wednesday to Easter observed by the Roman Catholic that we observe Lent. This in the Christian liturgical calendar commemorating the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert, according to the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke, before beginning his public ministry, during which he endured temptation by Satan. In the Gospel today, you can see how the devil works and temps people, even Jesus, promising so much for something in return, but Jesus knows it is not worth it. He is not tempted by satan. We as humans need to learn from this and not give in either. Unfortunately, we see our own elected and so called leaders always caving for more money, power, favors, they cave to satan and take money over their own countries and our sovereignty. It is sad today to see so many elected and so called leaders become slaves to the devil and sell out their souls for money, greed, power, fraud, mediocrity, corruption, they even put their country and citizens they represent at risk, because of such power, like what is happening now, and no one is even coming to the rescue of the poor Ukrainians. It is sad. God is with them, the devil/satan is tempting them doing so much harm, we need to pray for their strength and courage to overcome all this upset and evil. All our elected have become corrupted, sold their souls to satan, and have become slaves of the devil himself. How sad! This week's readings in church are welcoming and remind us to to stay on track, don't let the devil/satan sidetrack you, God will be with you in times of troubles as stated in the Psalms this week, satan will tempt you, but you do not need to give in to his evil. God is the God of all people, Jews, Greeks, Latinos, Blacks, Yellows, Reds, Gays, Old, Young, even of the unbelievers. God is there for all of us! I saw part of a movie this morning before mass on TV started, we go to the 4pm Vigil mass at our church, but I like watching it on TV on Sunday and then Joel Osteen too, three masses on my weekends! The movie, Satan Never Sleeps, is about the Communist People's Party makes life difficult for mission priests Rev. O'Banion (William Holden) and Rev. Bovard (Clifton Webb) in 1940s China. The cook for their mission, young local Siu Lan (France Nuyen), is in love with O'Banion, but her innocence is lost when the communist forces of leader Ho San (Weaver Lee) raid and decimate the mission. Ho San continues to persecute the priests, but struggles with his communist ideology when he receives disturbing orders from his leaders. it is very sad how the priests are treated or even the people trying to help them, it shows, like its title, that the devil never sleeps. We all need to be careful not to give into the temptation of the devil, sell our souls to satan, or do bad things. We need to be on the side of God always, know He is a sovereign God and will always protect us and His plan for us is all we need to get through this Earth School. God gets us through so many difficult times, like he did with the Jews in Egypt He is still working always for the betterment of all of us today too. Our sovereign God will always save us! Don't be tempted to abandon your Fathers mission in life for you, your family, country, world, and faith! What a blessing!
Lectionary: 24
Reading I
Dt 26:4-10
Moses spoke to the people, saying:
“The priest shall receive the basket from you
and shall set it in front of the altar of the LORD, your God.
Then you shall declare before the Lord, your God,
‘My father was a wandering Aramean
who went down to Egypt with a small household
and lived there as an alien.
But there he became a nation
great, strong, and numerous.
When the Egyptians maltreated and oppressed us,
imposing hard labor upon us,
we cried to the LORD, the God of our fathers,
and he heard our cry
and saw our affliction, our toil, and our oppression.
He brought us out of Egypt
with his strong hand and outstretched arm,
with terrifying power, with signs and wonders;
and bringing us into this country,
he gave us this land flowing with milk and honey.
Therefore, I have now brought you the firstfruits
of the products of the soil
which you, O LORD, have given me.’
And having set them before the LORD, your God,
you shall bow down in his presence.”
Ps 91:1-2, 10-11, 12-13, 14-15.
Ps 91:1-2, 10-11, 12-13, 14-15.
R. (cf. 15b) Be with me, Lord, when I am in trouble.
You who dwell in the shelter of the Most High,
who abide in the shadow of the Almighty,
say to the LORD, “My refuge and fortress,
my God in whom I trust.”
R. Be with me, Lord, when I am in trouble.
No evil shall befall you,
nor shall affliction come near your tent,
For to his angels he has given command about you,
that they guard you in all your ways.
R. Be with me, Lord, when I am in trouble.
Upon their hands they shall bear you up,
lest you dash your foot against a stone.
You shall tread upon the asp and the viper;
you shall trample down the lion and the dragon.
R. Be with me, Lord, when I am in trouble.
Because he clings to me, I will deliver him;
I will set him on high because he acknowledges my name.
He shall call upon me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in distress;
I will deliver him and glorify him.
R. Be with me, Lord, when I am in trouble.
Romans 10:8-13
Brothers and sisters:
What does Scripture say?
The word is near you,
in your mouth and in your heart
—that is, the word of faith that we preach—,
for, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord
and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead,
you will be saved.
For one believes with the heart and so is justified,
and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved.
For the Scripture says,
No one who believes in him will be put to shame.
For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek;
the same Lord is Lord of all,
enriching all who call upon him.
For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
Verse Before the Gospel
Mt 4:4b
One does not live on bread alone,
but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.
Luke 4:1-13
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 from 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.
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