Today we celebrate the First Sunday of Lent. Just a few days ago we received the blessed ashes and were called to, “Repent, and believe in the Gospel.” This is our annual season of repentance; turning aside from the snares of the devil, and rediscovery of an important covenant that we entered with God in Baptism. Today we hear two references to Noah and the covenant God entered with him. In today’s first reading from Genesis God speaks to Noah after the 40 days of devastating flooding. God makes a covenant never again to destroy all mortal creatures. He gives Noah, and all ages to come, the sign of the rainbow as a sign of His covenant. Likewise, today in Mark’s Gospel, we see Jesus being led into the desert for forty days of fasting and prayer where He is tempted by Satan to compromise His relationship to the Father. Lent is our season to recognize and repent of the compromises we have fallen prey to; to reject these and return to the covenant we have with our Father. On Easter we will renew our baptismal covenant. Lent is our annual opportunity to prepare to do that with minds and hearts made pure.
During Lent we will be praying the traditional Stations of the Cross, twice on Fridays at I.C. At 2:15pm we will pray this devotion with our ICS students. They will participate in the reading of the reflections. We will also offer Stations at 7:00pm. Please join us when you can at either of these.
Fr. Pete
