Daily Gospel Reflection for March 9, 2025: First Sunday of Lent

Join us as we reflect, ponder, and pray together inspired by today's Gospel.

Reflection by Kathryn Mulderink

Today's Gospel: Luke 4:1-13

We have begun our walk into the desert with the Lord for forty days of fasting and prayer. During these days of Lent, the Church encourages us to pray, fast, and give alms, practices that counter our fallen nature’s tendency to indulge ourselves, think only of ourselves, and to rely on ourselves rather than God. 

Due to the effects of original sin, our inheritance from Adam and Eve, even after our Baptism, we still have a tendency toward what we might call the 5 Ps: popularity, prestige/praise, power, prosperity, and pleasure. These are present to some degree in all of us, though they manifest in very different ways. Jesus came to show us that if we trust in God, the values of the world and of our fallen nature are turned upside down; when we trust fully in our loving Father, we understand that all of these things for which we reach are nothing but obstacles to our relationship with Him and with each other.

Jesus underwent these temptations in the desert to win the victory over these tendencies of our fallen human nature. The devil tempts Him with pleasure (food) if Jesus will reveal His divine Sonship; power, prestige, and prosperity in exchange for worshiping Satan; and popularity and instant fame if He will do something spectacular rather than patiently trusting in the Father’s timing.

The devil’s temptations are always to these same tendencies in us because human nature is essentially the same since the fall. As a countermeasure to these attacks, the Church holds out the vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience, and the perennial practices of prayer, fasting, and penance. These keep us from feeding our egoism and self-reliance and open our hearts fully to the One Who is trustworthy.

Ponder:

What are the specific ways the enemy tempts me toward popularity, prestige/praise, power, prosperity, and pleasure that I can act against during this Lent? 

Pray:

Lord, You are enough for me; give me the grace during this Lenten season to see the subtle lies the enemy has planted in me, and to surrender fully to Your loving care of all of me in every circumstance.

Copyright 2025 Kathryn Mulderink

Kathryn Mulderink, MA, is mother of seven, grandmother of 12, and President of the local Secular Discalced Carmelites. She has published five books. Over 30 years, she has worked in school and parish administration, and as a writer and voice talent for Catholic Radio. Currently, she serves the Church as a DRE, writer, and speaker, helping others encounter Christ. www.KathrynTherese.com