First Sunday of Lent
February 26, 2023 •
Lent is not a preparation for Easter.
It's a preparation for Good Friday, the death of our Lord.
When our Lord fasted forty days and forty nights in the desert, He was preparing for his inevitable death. And we - rightly following His example - we prepare for our own deaths by fasting forty days and forty nights each year. But since we don't know when our death will come, it's not enough to do that just once a year and then we don't have to think about death till next Lent.
No. Every day. Memento mori. Remember death.
Another Latin phrase: Carpe diem. Seize the day. Take advantage of today.
Often, in a secular word, that phrase is used to mean "Live it up!" "Get what you want." "Do whatever you want."
That's not the reason for the phrase. The reason to carpe diem is because today is the only day you know you have. Take advantage of today, and from our perspective, that means: Get ready for death! I may die tomorrow morning before I wake up. Am I ready for death before I go to sleep this night?
Father explains how memento mori can help us maintain our Lenten sacrifices.
Gn 2:7-9; 3:1-7; Ps 51:3-4, 5-6, 12-13, 17; Rom 5:12-19; Mt 4:1-11
Homily begins at 19:35