First Reading: Genesis 9:8-15

8 Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him: 9 “I now establish my covenant with you and with your descendants after you 10 and with every living creature that was with you—the birds, the livestock and all the wild animals, all those that came out of the ark with you—every living creature on earth. 11 I establish my covenant with you: Never again will all life be cut off by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth.”

12 And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: 13 I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. 14 Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, 15 I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life.

Second Reading: 1 Peter 3:18-22

18 For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit, 19 through whom also he went and preached to the spirits in prison 20 who disobeyed long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water, 21 and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also—not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 22 who has gone into heaven and is at God’s right hand—with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him.

Gospel: Mark 1:12-15

12 At once the Spirit sent him out into the desert, 13 and he was in the desert forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him.

The Calling of the First Disciples

14 After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. 15 “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!”

The message of the homilist Father Paul Gilbert, St. Marie Cathedral, Manchester: When one watches the news, one is presented everyday with a wide variety of images and words of unhappiness and suffering. Yet at the end we can turn off these reports or put down the newspaper and move on with our lives. But if one of the things reported on the news happens to us or one of the people we care about, there is a far deeper and immediate effect on us. This effect illustrates the message of Lent. If in our Lenten season we fail to become deeply involved with the message of the Gospel, we will become on Good Friday and Easter Sunday mere spectators to the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Christ. If we however give ourselves over fully and deeply to the message of the Gospels through repentance, fasting, and the giving of alms, then on Good Friday and Easter Sunday we will be deeply and significantly affected by the death and rising of Jesus. The most important thing Father Paul wants us to take away from today’s gospel are the words “The Kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe the good news!” It is a simple message to hear, but not an easy message to live.

My own interpretation:

For the longest time, I thought of Lent as a season of denial. You are supposed to give up something for Lent as a method of atonement. In a discussion I had with Lisa about this a while ago, she indicated that Lenten observance could move in the direction of addition rather than subtraction – spending more time in devotional activities, reading the Bible, praying the Rosary, reading devotional literature. I think I latched onto this idea vigorously, as self-denial is something I am not exactly stellar at. Father Paul’s homily suggested that there should be a balance between the two, and seeing as how it is a more difficult lesson to learn, I have a gut feeling it is the correct one to consider. So my mission will be to consider what I can do to sacrifice as well as serve. I have hope, as I was able to fast on Ash Wednesday and not eat meat or chicken on Friday (in spite of being in a rush at lunch, fish sandwich from the drive-through.)