February 21
First Sunday of Lent
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Prayer for Spiritual Communion
My Jesus, I believe that you are present in the most Blessed Sacrament. I love You above all things and I desire to receive You into my soul. Since I cannot now receive You sacramentally, come at least spiritually into my heart. I embrace You as if You were already there, and unite myself wholly to You. Never permit me to be separated from You. Amen.
Readings
First Reading
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.”
Responsorial Psalm
Psalms 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. Your ways, O Lord, are love and truth to those who keep your covenant.
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. Your ways, O Lord, are love and truth to those who keep your covenant.
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. Your ways, O Lord, are love and truth to those who keep your covenant.
Second Reading
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.
Gospel Acclamation
Matthew 4:4b
R. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ, King of endless glory!
One does not live on bread alone,
but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.
R. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ, King of endless glory!
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.”
“Your ways, O Lord, are love and truth to those who keep your covenant.”
Reflection
In today’s first reading from the Book of Genesis, God makes the following statement to Noah and 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.”
This proclamation of a covenantal bond establishes the importance that God the Father, the creator of the universe, places on the environment. God chose to save these creatures from the great flood. As His creation, we have a responsibility to show the same care towards our environment and all living things around us. When we think about all that goes into our ecosystem and how wonderfully made the environment is, it is hard to believe how much damage human beings have done and continue to do.
Here at Holy Cross we are blessed to have a Laudato Si’ Circle. The Laudato Si’ Circle is based in Pope Francis’s 2015 encyclical on the environment. We have a small but dedicated group of parishioners, led by Beth Schafer and our seminarian, James Buttner, who meet and discuss ways to “care for and protect our common home and give us hope in these trying times.”
During this Season of Lent, we want to give everyone at Holy Cross the opportunity to participate in the work of Laudato Si’. There will be weekly information provided in the bulletin. Your Lenten journey could include meditation on the weekly theme concerning our environment, or research and reading about environmental issues that affect Central New York. We can also take action, like spending blessed time in God’s creation, appreciating the outdoors, changing our food habits, feeding the hungry, ridding ourselves of excess possessions, exploring our personal impact on the environment, and getting more involved in protection of the world around us.
What a wonderful opportunity to make the environment part of our Lenten journey this year! We all benefit, not just spiritually, but also in tangible ways when we help protect what God has entrusted to us, including our environment.
Peace,
Fr. John Kurgan
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