Our Strength: Rooted in Christ and Tradition

1stSunday of Lent

11am

Cycle C

Deuteronomy 26:4-10; Psalms 91:1-2, 10-11, 12-13, 14-; Romans 10:8-13; Luke 4:1-13

Our Strength: Rooted in Christ and Tradition

In a talk I gave for Into the Deep (for the Archdiocese of Vancouver) I invited people to follow Jesus spiritually into the desert for the 40 days of Lent and learn from him what it means that “man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.” (Mt 4:4)

What does this mean? We can only learn what this really means if we resolve to follow Jesus and imitate Jesus. In other words – if we are resolved to be his disciple every day of Lent and beyond.

How do we do this? One of the Core Values we now have at Corpus Christi is that we are Rooted in Tradition.

Now, you might wonder – ‘how can being rooted in Tradition help us in our Lenten journey and in staying close to Jesus’?

This Core Value is defined thus: Corpus Christi parishioners are firmly rooted in the living Tradition of the Church, faithful to the fullness of the teachings of Christ in every aspect of parish life (cf. 2 Thessalonians 2:15). “So then, brethren, stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught by us, either by word of mouth or by letter.”

Let us see what Jesus does in the desert: he fasts forty days. He is doing this to teach us how to confront evil, how to confront temptations that are not overwhelming and the overwhelming ones as well. Jesus is also teaching us how to repair the damage caused by our sins and the sins others.

When we are rooted in the Tradition of the Church our three main weapons are Sacred Scripture (Jesus never dialogues with the devil – he blasts him with God’s Word); the second is revealed in Jesus’s response to Satan: “man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.” (Mt 4:4). What does he live on?

As well as the written word of God there is the Sacred Eucharist that we need to truly live --- Jesus will give us this “bread from heaven”… his very Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity and he will also give us six other sacraments that will communicate to us the divine life.

This Core Value can and will help all of us live the Gospel message of repenting of our sins, making regular confession and cultivating a deep adoration of Jesus. When we live this Core Value we discover that we have an arsenal of spiritual weapons to both fight evil and grow in friendship with Jesus and others.

What does this CV look like when lived in our parish?

Two windows into what it means to be living the reality of having Jesus be the most important person in our life

We see a newly designed adoration chapel that is occupied 24/7 with a waiting list of people hoping to find a spot during the day.

We see dozens of parishioners seeking the Sacrament of Reconciliation at least 1 hour per day.

If you (any of us) do not keep doing things from our family Tradition – spiritually realities like Reading Scriptures, going to confession and receiving the Eucharist; if we do not fast, give alms and engage in prayer AND at the same time we allow ourselves to be bombarded by the world we will lose our identity as God’s children, as Christians and Catholics.

Memory is directly linked with identity.

We need to take Jesus seriously and engage in these teachings of Prayer, Fasting and Almsgiving.

Our Core Value will help strengthen our identity though memory – remembering these spiritual disciplines that will help us reassert the primacy of Jesus in our lives

We are called to accompany Jesus into the desert.

Like Jesus we need to allow the Holy Spirit to lead us into the desert so that we may learn from Jesus how to overcome temptations and evil and grow in friendship with him.

Jesus gives us his example – he will mentor you and me if we allow him – we will see that he supplies us with an arsenal of spiritual weapons that will help us to remember that “man does not live on bread alone but on every that comes from the mouth of God.”

The Ask

Ask Jesus to help you renew your resolve to live this Core Value of being Rooted in the Tradition of the Church – leading you to be more committed to daily prayer(maybe 15 minutes every day), reading of Scripture (start with the daily Gospel) and attending Mass (try to attend 1 extra Mass other than Sunday).