First Sunday of Lent
Massimo Palombella
In today’s Gospel (Mt 4:1-11) Jesus is led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.
Like Jesus, each of us is tempted, and temptation is a situation into which we are led in order to know ourselves and mature in our personal relationship with the true God.
True temptation insinuates itself into our unresolved issues, destabilises us, clouds our capacity for ‘reality’, orders true things in a false way to move us towards decisions that do not tell the truth about us.
Facing temptation means learning to be with our unresolved issues, with what hurts us. And there is a time to flee from this temptation and, consequently, from all situations that lead us to it (not being able to do anything else), and a time to stop fleeing and start maturing.
The Offertory antiphon for today’s celebration is taken from Psalm 90 (Ps 90:4-5) with the following text:
“Scapulis suis obumbrabit tibi Dominus et sub pennis ejus sperabis,
scuto circumdabit te veritas ejus.”
(The Lord will overshadow you with his pinions, and you will find refuge under his wings.
His faithfulness will encompass you with a shield).
The attached music, in Gregorian Chant, is taken from the Graduale Triplex published in Solesmes in 1979. The interpretation can be found on YouTube where there are no indications.
It is interesting to compare this antiphon with the one sung on the same First Sunday of Lent in the Ambrosian Rite. The longer text keeps the first part the same as in the Roman Rite. As far as the Ambrosian Rite is concerned, the attached music, in Ambrosian chant, is taken from the Antiphonale Missarum Iuxta Ritum Sanctæ Ecclesiæ Mediolanensis, published in Rome in 1935. The interpretation is by the Cappella Musicale del Duomo di Milano at the Celebration on the first Sunday of Lent on 6 March 2022.
A blessed Sunday and heartfelt greetings.
