Day: March 8, 2023

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Sunday, 12 March 2023 : Third Sunday of Lent (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

John 4 : 5-42

At that time, Jesus came to a Samaritan town called Sychar, near the land that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well is there. Tired from His journey, Jesus sat down by the well; it was about noon. Now a Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, “Give Me a drink.” His disciples had just gone into town to buy some food.

The Samaritan woman said to Him, “How is it that You, a Jew, ask me, a Samaritan and a woman, for a drink?” (For Jews, in fact, have no dealings with Samaritans.) Jesus replied, “If you only knew the gift of God! If you knew Who it is, Who is asking you for a drink, you yourself would have asked Me, and I would have given you living water.”

The woman answered, “Sir, You have no bucket, and this well is deep; where is Your living water? Are You greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us this well, and drank from it himself, together with his sons and his cattle?” Jesus said to her, “Those who drink of this water will be thirsty again; but those, who drink of the water that I shall give, will never be thirsty; for the water, that I shall give, will become in them a spring of water, welling up to eternal life.”

The woman said to Him, “Give me this water, that I may never be thirsty, and never have to come here to draw water.” Jesus said, “Go, call your husband, and come back here.” The woman answered, “I have no husband.” And Jesus replied, “You are right to say, ‘I have no husband’; for you have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband. What you said is true.”

The woman then said to Him, “I see You are a Prophet; tell me this : Our ancestors came to this mountain to worship God; but you Jews, do you not claim that Jerusalem is the only place to worship God?” Jesus said to her, “Believe Me, woman, the hour is coming when you shall worship the Father, but that will not be on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.”

“You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, because salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is even now here, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for that is the kind of worshippers the Father wants. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit, and truth.”

The woman said to Him, “I know that the Messiah (that is the Christ) is coming. When He comes, He will tell us everything.” And Jesus said, “I Who am talking to you, I am He.”

At this point the disciples returned, and were surprised that Jesus was speaking with a woman, however, no one said, “What do you want?” or, “Why are You talking with her?” So the woman left her water jar and ran to the town. There she said to the people, “Come and see a Man Who told me everything I did! Could He not be the Christ?” So they left the town and went to meet Him.

In the meantime the disciples urged Jesus, “Master, eat.” But He said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” And the disciples wondered, “Has anyone brought Him food?” Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of the One Who sent Me, and to carry out His work.”

“You say that in four months there will be the harvest; now, I say to you, look up and see the fields white and ready for harvesting. People who reap the harvest are paid for their work, and the fruit is gathered for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. Indeed the saying holds true : One sows and another reaps. I sent you to reap where you did not work or suffer; others have worked, and you are now sharing in their labours.”

In that town many Samaritans believed in Him when they heard the woman who declared, “He told me everything I did.” So, when they came to Him, they asked Him to stay with them, and Jesus stayed there two days. After that, many more believed because of His own words, and they said to the woman, “We no longer believe because of what you told us: we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is the Saviour of the world.”

Alternative reading (shorter version)

John 4 : 5-15, 19b-26, 39a, 40-42

At that time, Jesus came to a Samaritan town called Sychar, near the land that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well is there. Tired from His journey, Jesus sat down by the well; it was about noon. Now a Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, “Give Me a drink.” His disciples had just gone into town to buy some food.

The Samaritan woman said to Him, “How is it that You, a Jew, ask me, a Samaritan and a woman, for a drink?” (For Jews, in fact, have no dealings with Samaritans.) Jesus replied, “If you only knew the gift of God! If you knew Who it is, Who is asking you for a drink, you yourself would have asked Me, and I would have given you living water.”

The woman answered, “Sir, You have no bucket, and this well is deep; where is Your living water? Are You greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us this well, and drank from it himself, together with his sons and his cattle?” Jesus said to her, “Those who drink of this water will be thirsty again; but those, who drink of the water that I shall give, will never be thirsty; for the water, that I shall give, will become in them a spring of water, welling up to eternal life.”

The woman said to Him, “Give me this water, that I may never be thirsty, and never have to come here to draw water. I see You are a Prophet; tell me this : Our ancestors came to this mountain to worship God; but you Jews, do you not claim that Jerusalem is the only place to worship God?” Jesus said to her, “Believe Me, woman, the hour is coming when you shall worship the Father, but that will not be on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.”

“You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, because salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is even now here, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for that is the kind of worshippers the Father wants. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit, and truth.”

The woman said to Him, “I know that the Messiah (that is the Christ) is coming. When He comes, He will tell us everything.” And Jesus said, “I Who am talking to you, I am He.”

In that town many Samaritans believed in Him, so, when they came to Him, they asked Him to stay with them, and Jesus stayed there two days. After that, many more believed because of His own words, and they said to the woman, “We no longer believe because of what you told us: we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is the Saviour of the world.”

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Sunday, 12 March 2023 : Third Sunday of Lent (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Romans 5 : 1-2, 5-8

By faith we have received true righteousness, and we are at peace with God, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Through Him we obtain this favour in which we remain and we even boast to expect the Glory of God.

And hope does not disappoint us because the Holy Spirit has been given to us, pouring into our hearts the love of God. Consider, moreover, the time that Christ died for us : when we were still helpless and unable to do anything.

Few would accept to die for an upright person; although, for a very good person, perhaps someone would dare to die. But see how God manifested His love for us : while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

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Sunday, 12 March 2023 : Third Sunday of Lent (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Psalm 94 : 1-2, 6-7, 8-9

Come, let us sing to the Lord, let us make a joyful sound to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before Him giving thanks, with music and songs of praise.

Come and worship; let us bow down, kneel before the Lord, our Maker. He is our God, and we His people; the flock He leads and pastures. Would that today you heard His voice!

Do not be stubborn, as at Meribah, in the desert, on that day at Massah, when your ancestors challenged Me, and they put Me to the test.

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Sunday, 12 March 2023 : Third Sunday of Lent (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Exodus 17 : 3-7

But the people thirsted for water at Rephidim and grumbled against Moses, “Why did you make us leave Egypt to have us die of thirst with our children and our cattle?”

So Moses cried to YHVH, “What shall I do with the people? They are almost ready to stone me!” YHVH said to Moses, “Go ahead of the people and take with you the elders of Israel. Take with you the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. I will stand there before you on the rock at Horeb. You will strike the rock and water will flow from it and the people will drink.”

Moses did this in the presence of the elders of Israel. The place was called Massah and Meribah because of the complaints of the Israelites, who tested YHVH saying, “Is YHVH with us or not?”

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(Usus Antiquior) Third Sunday of Lent (I Classis) – Sunday, 12 March 2023 : Offertory, Secret Prayer of the Priest, Preface, Communion and Post-Communion Prayer

Liturgical Colour : Violet

Offertory

Psalm 18 : 9, 10, 11, 12

Justitiae Domini rectae, laetificantes corda, et judicia Ejus dulciora super mel et favum : nam et servus Tuus custodit ea.

English translation

The justices of the Lord are right, rejoicing hearts, and His judgments are sweeter than honey and the honeycomb; for Your servant kept them.

Secret Prayer of the Priest

Haec hostia, Domine, quaesumus, emundet nostra delicta : et, ad sacrificium celebrandum, subditorum Tibi corpora mentesque sanctificet. Per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum Filium Tuum, qui Tecum vivit et regnat in unitate Spiritus Sancti Deus, per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.

English translation

May this offering, o Lord, we beseech You, wipe out our sins, and sanctify the bodies and minds of Your servants for the celebration of the sacrifice. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, Who with You lives and reigns in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, world without end. Amen.

Preface of Lent

Vere dignum et justum est, aequum et salutare, nos Tibi semper et ubique gratias agere : Domine, Sancte Pater omnipotens, aeterne Deus : Qui corporali jejunio vitia comprimis, mentem elevas, virtutem largiris et praemia : per Christum, Dominum nostrum.

Per quem majestatem Tuam laudant Angeli, adorant Dominationes, tremunt Potestates. Caeli caelorumque Virtutes ac beata Seraphim socia exsultatione concelebrant. Cum quibus et nostras voces ut admitti jubeas, deprecamur, supplici confessione dicentes :

English translation

It is truly meet and just, right and profitable, for us, at all times, and in all places, to give thanks to You, o Lord, the Holy One, the Father Almighty, the Everlasting God, Who on those who chastise their bodies by fasting had bestowed the restraining of evil passions, uplifting of heart, and the enjoying of virtue with its reward. Through Christ our Lord.

Through Whom the Angels praise, the Dominations adore, the Powers, trembling with awe, worship Your majesty, which the heavens, and the forces of heaven, together with the blessed Seraphim, joyfully magnify. And may You command that it be permitted to our lowliness to join with them in confessing You and unceasingly to repeat :

Communion

Psalm 83 : 4-5

Passer invenit sibi domum, et turtur nidum, ubi reponat pullos suos : altaria Tua, Domine virtutum. Rex meus, et Deus meus : beati, qui habitant in domo Tua, in saeculum saeculi laudabunt Te.

English translation

The sparrow had found herself a house, and the turtle a nest, where she may lay her young ones. Your altars, o Lord of hosts, my King and my God. Blessed are those who dwell in Your house, they shall praise You forever and ever.

Post-Communion Prayer

Acunctis nos, quaesumus, Domine, reatibus et periculis propitiatus absolve : quos tanti mysterii tribuis esse participes. Per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum Filium Tuum, qui Tecum vivit et regnat in unitate Spiritus Sancti Deus, per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.
English translation

Be merciful, o Lord, we beseech You, and free us from all sins and dangers, as You had granted us to be sharers in this great mystery. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, Who with You lives and reigns in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, world without end. Amen.

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(Usus Antiquior) Third Sunday of Lent (I Classis) – Sunday, 12 March 2023 : Holy Gospel

Liturgical Colour : Violet

Sequentia Sancti Evangelii secundum Lucam – Continuation of the Holy Gospel according to St. Luke

Luke 11 : 14-28

In illo tempore : Erat Jesus ejiciens daemonium, et illud erat mutum. Et cum ejecisset daemonium, locutus est mutus, et admiratae sunt turbae. Quidam autem ex eis dixerunt : In Beelzebub, principe daemoniorum, ejicit daemonia. Et alii tentantes, signum de caelo quaerebant ab Eo.

Ipse autem ut vidit cogitationes eorum, dixit eis : Omne regnum in seipsum divisum desolabitur, et domus supra domum cadet. Si autem et satanas in seipsum divisus est, quomodo stabit regnum ejus? Quia dicitis, in Beelzebub Me ejicere daemonia. Si autem ego in Beelzebub ejicio daemonia : filii vestri in quo ejiciunt? Ideo ipsi judices vestri erunt.

Porro si in digito Dei ejicio daemonia : profecto pervenit in vos regnum Dei. Cum fortis armatus custodit atrium suum, in pace sunt ea, quae possidet. Si autem fortior eo superveniens vicerit eum, universa arma ejus auferet, in quibus confidebat, et spolia ejus distribuet.

Qui non est mecum, contra me est : et qui non colligit mecum, dispergit. Cum immundus spiritus exierit de homine, ambulat per loca inaquosa, quaerens requiem : et non inveniens, dicit : Revertar in domum meam, unde exivi. Et cum venerit, invenit eam scopis mundatam, et ornatam.

Tunc vadit, et assumit septem alios spiritus secum nequiores se, et ingressi habitant ibi. Et fiunt novissima hominis illius pejora prioribus. Factum est autem, cum haec diceret : extollens vocem quaedam mulier de turba, dixit illi : Beatus venter, qui te portavit, et ubera, quae suxisti.

At ille dixit : Quinimmo beati, qui audiunt verbum Dei, et custodiunt illud.

English translation

At that time, Jesus was casting out a devil, and the same was dumb, and when He had cast out the devil, the dumb spoke, and the multitude were in admiration at it, but some of them said, “He cast out devils by Beelzebub the prince of devils.” And others tempting, asked of Him a sign from heaven.

But He seeing their thoughts, said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself shall be brought to desolation, and house upon house shall fall; and if Satan also be divided against himself, how shall his kingdom stand? Because you say, that through Beelzebub I cast out devils by Beelzebub, by whom do your children cast them out? Therefore they shall be your judges.”

“But if I by the finger of God cast out devils, doubtless the kingdom of God has come upon you. When a strong man armed kept his court, those things which he possessed are in peace, but if a stronger one that he comes upon him, and overcome him, he will take away all his armour wherein he trusted, and will distribute his spoils.”

“He who is not with Me, is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me, scatters. When the unclean spirit has gone out of a man, he walked through places without water, seeking rest, and not finding it, he said, I will return into my house from whence I came out. And when he comes, he found it swept and garnished.”

“Then he went, and took with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and entering in they dwell there, and the last state of that man became worse than the first.” And it came to pass, as He spoke these things, that a certain woman from the crowd, lifting up her voice, said to Him, “Blessed is the womb that bore You, and breasts upon which You have suckled.”

But He said, “Yea, rather blessed are they who hear the word of God, and keep it.”

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(Usus Antiquior) Third Sunday of Lent (I Classis) – Sunday, 12 March 2023 : Gradual and Tract

Liturgical Colour : Violet

Gradual

Psalm 9 : 20, 4

Exsurge, Domine, non praevaleat homo : judicentur gentes in conspectu Tuo.

Response : In convertendo inimicum meum retrorsum, infirmabuntur, et peribunt a facie Tua.

English translation

Arise, o Lord, let not man be strengthened, let the Gentiles be judged in Your sight.

Response : When my enemy shall be turned back, they shall be weakened and perish before Your face.

Tract

Psalm 122 : 1-3

Ad Te levavi oculos meos, qui habitas in caelis.

Response : Ecce, sicut oculi servorum in manibus dominorum suorum.

Response : Et sicut oculi ancillae in manibus dominae suae ita oculi nostri ad Dominum, Deum nostrum, donec misereatur nostri.

Response : Miserere nobis, Domine, miserere nobis.

English translation

To You have I lifted up my eyes, You Who dwells in heaven.

Response : Behold as the eyes of servants are on the hands of their masters.

Response : And as the eyes of the handmaid are on the hands of her mistress, so are our eyes unto the Lord our God, until He has mercy on us.

Response : Have mercy on us, o Lord, have mercy on us.

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(Usus Antiquior) Third Sunday of Lent (I Classis) – Sunday, 12 March 2023 : Epistle

Liturgical Colour : Violet

Lectio Epistolae Beati Pauli Apostoli ad Ephesios – Lesson from the Epistle of Blessed Paul the Apostle to the Ephesians

Ephesians 5 : 1-9

Fratres : Estote imitatores Dei, sicut filii carissimi : et ambulate in dilectione, sicut et Christus dilexit nos, et tradidit semetipsum pro nobis oblationem, et hostiam Deo in odorem suavitatis. Fornicatio autem et omnis immunditia aut avaritia nec nominetur in vobis, sicut decet sanctos : aut turpitudo aut stultiloquium aut scurrilitas, quae ad rem non pertinet : sed magis gratiarum actio.

Hoc enim scitote intelligentes, quod omnis fornicator aut immundus aut avarus, quod est idolorum servitus, non habet hereditatem in regno Christi et Dei. Nemo vos seducat inanibus verbis : propter haec enim venit ira Dei in filios diffidentiae. Nolite ergo effici participes eorum.

Eratis enim aliquando tenebrae : nunc autem lux in Domino. Ut filii lucis ambulate : fructus enim lucis est in omni bonitate et justitia et veritate.

English translation

Brethren, may all of you become followers of God, as most dear children, and walk in love, as Christ also had loved us, and had delivered Himself for us, and oblation and a sacrifice to God, for an odour of sweetness. But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not so much as be named among you, as became the saints, nor obscenity, nor foolish talking, nor scurrility, which is to no purpose, but rather giving of thanks.

For all of you should know this, and understand, that no fornicator, nor unclean, nor covetous person, which is a serving of idols, had any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no man deceive you with vain words, for because of these things came the anger of God upon the children of unbelievers. Be you not partakers with them.

For you were heretofore darkness, but now light in the Lord. Walk all of you as children of the light, for the fruit of the light is in all goodness, and justice and truth.

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(Usus Antiquior) Third Sunday of Lent (I Classis) – Sunday, 12 March 2023 : Introit and Collect

Liturgical Colour : Violet

Introit

Psalm 24 : 15-16 and 1-2

Oculi mei semper ad Dominum, quia ipse evellet de laqueo pedes meos : respice in me, et miserere mei, quoniam unicus et pauper sum ego.

Ad Te, Domine, levavi animam meam : Deus meus, in Te confido, non erubescam.

Response : Gloria Patri et Filio et Spiritui Sancto, sicut erat in principio, et nunc, et semper : et in saecula saeculorum. Amen.

English translation

My eyes are ever towards the Lord, for He shall pluck my feet out of the snare. May You look upon me, and have mercy on me, for I am alone and poor.

To You, o Lord, have I lifted up my soul. In You, o my God, I put my trust, let me not be ashamed.

Response : Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Collect

Quaesumus, omnipotens Deus, vota humilium respice : atque, ad defensionem nostram, dexteram Tuae majestatis extende. Per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum Filium Tuum, qui Tecum vivit et regnat in unitate Spiritus Sancti Deus, per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.

English translation

Have regard to the desires of the lowly, o Almighty God, we beseech You, and stretch forth the right hand of Your majesty in our defence. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, Who with You lives and reigns in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, world without end. Amen.

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Saturday, 11 March 2023 : 2nd Week of Lent (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we listened to the words of the Scriptures reminding us that God’s love and mercy, His kindness and compassion for us are truly boundless and wonderful. God has never abandoned us and has always remembered us despite our frequent rebellion and disobedience against Him. He is still always ever patient despite the many troubles and wickedness that we have committed before Him. He has always been generous with His love and mercy, although at the same time, He still despises our sins and wickedness. He chastised His people, His children with love, and when He punished them, He did so with the intention to be reconciled with us, by helping us to be more disciplined and to be steady in our lives, in resisting the pull of temptations and worldly attachments.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of the prophet Micah, we heard of the prophet Micah speaking of God’s great love and mercy, reminding the people of God of everything that He had done for them, all the kindness and mercy that He has shown them, in leading them out of their slavery in Egypt, in the care and love He has shown them in each step of the way, even when they had rebelled and disobeyed against Him time and again. God never ceased to love His people. In that passage, the prophet Micah also uttered the prayer on behalf of the people of God, those who sought to be reconciled with God, asking Him to be merciful upon them and to give them His forgiveness and kindness. They had sinned a lot against Him and they had wandered off far away from His path, but that should not have prevented them from coming back to God if they so decided for it.

The prophet Micah himself lived during the reigns of the last kings of the northern kings of Israel and the time of the kings Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah of the southern kingdom of Judah according to Biblical and historical evidence. Hence, based on the era and time of his work, we surely can see the dire straits in which the people of God had found themselves in, as Micah lived through the tumultuous years of the final years of the larger, northern part of the Israelites, surrounded and destroyed by the warlike and rampaging Assyrians, who crushed their kingdom and cities, destroyed Samaria and brought of many of the people into exile in far-off lands. The land of Judah in the south did not fare that well either, facing a lot of hardships and struggles, and all these came about because of the repeated stubborn attitude of the people, in persisting upon their rebellious actions and refusal to obey the Lord and His Law.

But that does not mean that God desired or wanted the destruction of His people. On the contrary, just as He has sent the prophet Micah to help remind the people to find their way back to the Lord, and many other prophets to both the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah, and also afterwards during the years of the Babylonian exile and beyond, God has always patiently cared for them all, for their descendants and everyone that He had loved. He truly desired for all of them to return to Him, penitent and repentant, regretting their sinful ways and wickedness and with the desire to be reconciled with Him and to live once again in His grace and fullness of love. God has given us many avenues and means to reach out to Him and to find His mercy and forgiveness, and He has done so again and again, over all the time, until this very day.

In our Gospel passage today, we are then reminded yet again of this great love and mercy of God with the famous and well-known parable of the prodigal son, in which we heard the story of the prodigal and rebellious younger son of a rich father, who had two sons. That younger son chose to take the portion of his inheritance and leave his family behind, to enjoy a hedonistic and wicked lifestyle in distant, foreign lands, and eventually as we all know, that prodigal son ran out of money and possessions, and ended up as a penniless man in that distant and foreign country, with no one to care for him, and with all of his former friends and associates caring only about the wealth and possessions that he had, and not truly loving him, unlike his father back at home, whom the prodigal son had chosen to leave behind.

We heard how the prodigal son returned to the father with shame and humility, humbling himself and begging himself to be taken back to his house, even if he were to be like one of the servants, as he told his own father that he no longer deserved to call him as his father for everything that he had done. Yet, the father welcomed back the prodigal, rebellious and wicked younger son with great pomp, as he has found him once again, and he saw how this son had repented and regretted his past sins and faults, and hence, by coming back all the way to him, instead of staying on in that distant lands, that son had once again gained the favour of the father, and there was indeed a great joy as the prodigal son was once again part of the father’s family, and this represents just the way that all of us should act in reaching out to God, our most loving Father, Creator and Master.

First of all, just as the prodigal son had a choice of staying on in the distant lands instead of humbling himself and swallowing his pride to return to his home, thus, we also have the option to remain stubborn in our path and way of sin, instead of humbling ourselves to seek God’s forgiveness and compassionate mercy. Yes, brothers and sisters in Christ, that is why pride is such a dangerous thing for us, as pride often becomes a great obstacle in our path of seeking God’s forgiveness and grace. Pride has led so many people to their downfall, including Satan himself, and many other of our predecessors, as pride led us to separate ourselves from the love of God, and often prevented us to admit that we have been wrong and are in need of healing and forgiveness from God. Many people steadfastly continued to walk in their wrong paths because they rejected the fact that they were in need of help from God.

Then, if we heard and recalled the action of the elder son, who was angry at the father for welcoming the younger son back, it is also a reminder to all of us not to be judgmental on others just because we think that we are better than them. Like the actions of the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law back then during the time of the Lord Jesus, who often thought of themselves as holier and better than everyone else, condemning and being judgmental on those whom they deemed as sinners, unworthy and hopeless in their path towards God, they had closed the door of God’s mercy and kindness to so many of these people whom they could have helped if not for their own pride and arrogance. Again, here we can see how pride can even be the downfall of the righteous, if we allow pride to take over our actions and judgments in life.

Hence, brothers and sisters in Christ, having been reminded of all these and of God’s ever enduring and persistent love for us in this season of Lent, let us all keep in mind what we have been given all these times, the many opportunities and chances for us to turn away from sinful paths and from all the things that had separated us from the fullness of God’s love and grace. During this time of Lent, let us all turn away from our sins and our disobedience from God, and once again discover the love that we all should have for our loving Father and Creator. Let us all humble ourselves before Him, realising just how sinful we have been, and how we are in need of God’s forgiveness and mercy, and resist the temptations of our pride and ego, our greed and ambition, and the many other things that separate us from God and His love. May God help us all in our journey especially during this Lent, that we may come ever closer to Him, now and always. Amen.