The First Sunday of Lent marks the official and solemn entry of the Church into the desert of fasting and penance, in preparation for the Paschal festivities, constituting one of the moments of greatest gravity and importance in the ancient ecclesiastical year. Historically, in the Roman rite, this day marked the exact beginning of the Lenten period, reflecting the primeval practice prior to the institution of Ash Wednesday, which was later added only to ensure the strict count of forty effective days of fasting, since Sundays are exempt from this rigorous obligation. The stational liturgy of this day takes place in the Basilica of the Most Holy Savior, today universally known as the Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran, the cathedral of the Roman Pontiff and the mother and head of all the churches of the City and of the World. The choice of this sacrosanct place for the inaugural station is not by chance; in it, the entire Christian community of Rome would congregate, accompanied by the catechumens who were beginning their final scrutinies towards Baptism at the Easter Vigil, as well as the public penitents who were beginning their arduous journey of expiation and reconciliation. This monumental tradition underscores the collective character of the call to conversion: the entire Church, united around her supreme pastor, mobilizes for the great annual spiritual campaign, divesting itself of vanities to restore the integrity of the life of grace that will reach its fullness in the light of the Resurrection.
🎵 Introit (Ps 90:15-16; 1) (Audio)
Invocábit me, et ego exáudiam eum: erípiam eum, et glorificábo eum: longitúdine diérum adimplébo eum. Ps. Qui hábitat in adjutório Altíssimi, in protectióne Dei cœli commorábitur.
He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will deliver him, and I will glorify him: I will fill him with length of days. Ps. He that dwelleth in the help of the Most High, shall abide under the protection of the God of heaven.
📜 Epistle (II Cor 6:1-10)
Fratres: Exhortámur vos, ne in vácuum grátiam Dei recipiátis. Ait enim: Témpore accépto exaudívi te, et in die salútis adjúvi te. Ecce, nunc tempus acceptábile, ecce, nunc dies salútis. Némini dantes ullam offensiónem, ut non vituperétur ministérium nostrum: sed in ómnibus exhibeámus nosmetípsos sicut Dei minístros, in multa patiéntia, in tribulatiónibus, in necessitátibus, in angústiis, in plagis, in carcéribus, in seditiónibus, in labóribus, in vigíliis, in jejúniis, in castitáte, in sciéntia, in longanimitáte, in suavitáte, in Spíritu Sancto, in caritáte non ficta, in verbo veritátis, in virtúte Dei, per arma justítiæ a dextris et a sinístris: per glóriam et ignobilitátem: per infámiam et bonam famam: ut seductóres et veráces: sicut qui ignóti et cógniti: quasi moriéntes et ecce, vívimus: ut castigáti et non mortificáti: quasi tristes, semper autem gaudéntes: sicut egéntes, multos autem locupletántes: tamquam nihil habéntes et ómnia possidéntes.
Brethren: We exhort you not to receive the grace of God in vain. For He saith: In an accepted time have I heard thee; and in the day of salvation have I helped thee. Behold, now is the acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation. Giving no offense to any man, that our ministry be not blamed: But in all things let us exhibit ourselves as the ministers of God, in much patience, in tribulations, in necessities, in distresses, in stripes, in prisons, in seditions, in labours, in watchings, in fastings, in chastity, in knowledge, in longsuffering, in sweetness, in the Holy Ghost, in charity unfeigned, in the word of truth, in the power of God; by the armour of justice on the right hand and on the left; by honour and dishonour, by evil report and good report; as deceivers, and yet true; as unknown, and yet known; as dying, and behold we live; as chastised, and not killed; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as needy, yet enriching many; as having nothing, and possessing all things.
📖 Gospel (Mt 4:1-11)
In illo témpore: Ductus est Jesus in desértum a Spíritu, ut tentarétur a diábolo. Et cum jejunásset quadragínta diébus et quadragínta nóctibus, postea esúriit. Et accédens tentátor, dixit ei: Si Fílius Dei es, dic, ut lápides isti panes fiant. Qui respóndens, dixit: Scriptum est: Non in solo pane vivit homo, sed in omni verbo, quod procédit de ore Dei. Tunc assúmpsit eum diábolus in sanctam civitátem, et státuit eum super pinnáculum templi, et dixit ei: Si Fílius Dei es, mitte te deórsum. Scriptum est enim: Quia Angelis suis mandávit de te, et in mánibus tollent te, ne forte offéndas ad lápidem pedem tuum. Ait illi Jesus: Rursum scriptum est: Non tentábis Dóminum, Deum tuum. Iterum assúmpsit eum diábolus in montem excélsum valde: et ostendit ei ómnia regna mundi et glóriam eórum, et dixit ei: Hæc ómnia tibi dabo, si cadens adoráveris me. Tunc dicit ei Jesus: Vade, Sátana; scriptum est enim: Dóminum, Deum tuum, adorábis, et illi soli sérvies. Tunc relíquit eum diábolus: et ecce, Angeli accessérunt et ministrábant ei.
At that time, Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert, to be tempted by the devil. And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterwards he was hungry. And the tempter coming said to him: If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. Who answered and said: It is written, Not in bread alone doth man live, but in every word that proceedeth from the mouth of God. Then the devil took him up into the holy city, and set him upon the pinnacle of the temple, And said to him: If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down. For it is written: That he hath given his angels charge over thee, and in their hands shall they bear thee up, lest perhaps thou dash thy foot against a stone. Jesus said to him: It is written again: Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. Again the devil took him up into a very high mountain, and shewed him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them, And said to him: All these will I give thee, if falling down thou wilt adore me. Then Jesus saith to him: Begone, Satan: for it is written, The Lord thy God shalt thou adore, and him only shalt thou serve. Then the devil left him; and behold angels came and ministered to him.
🛡️ The help of the Most High in the desert of temptations
The divine promise that inaugurates the liturgy of this first Lenten Sunday, expressed in the Introit, unequivocally guarantees that everyone who dwells under the protection of the Most High and calls upon the Lord will be heard, rescued, and glorified. This certainty of absolute refuge is the theological foundation with which the Church places us in the desert of mortification, not as a space of arbitrary desolation, but as the spiritual battlefield where we bear the weapons of justice mentioned by the Apostle, living the "acceptable time" of grace through afflictions, fasts, and profound patience. Saint Augustine of Hippo (Commentary on the Psalms, Psalm 60) illuminates this mystery by teaching that, in Christ, we ourselves were tempted in the desert, and in Him we conquered the devil; the Doctor of Grace warns that we should not merely contemplate the Lord's trial as a distant event, but recognize our own victory in His unwavering resistance. Christ consents to be led to experience hunger and the enemy's assaults not out of weakness, but to elevate our corrupted nature and concretely teach us the art of spiritual combat. The tempter, with refined malice, uses the very same Psalm 90 sung in the Introit to instigate pride and presumption, offering the protection of the Angels as a pretext for a reckless fall, a sophism that the Redeemer rejects through docile submission to the Father's will and His Holy Scripture. Saint Thomas Aquinas (Summa Theologica, IIIa, q. 41, a. 1) masterfully explains that it was fitting for Christ to be tempted in order to grant us direct aid against our own disordered inclinations, instilling in us extreme confidence in His mercy, so that by imitating His fast, we might tame our carnal appetites and repel the vain promises of worldly glory. Thus, the sacred rite of this day intertwines the promise of heavenly longevity with the unavoidable reality of the cross; we are impelled to strip ourselves of earthly illusions and to nourish the soul exclusively with the word that proceeds from the mouth of God, with the profound certainty that, after we have fought the good fight with unfeigned charity, the same Angels of the Lord will come to serve us in the eternal dwelling.