First Sunday of Lent
Reading 1
The LORD God formed man out of the clay of the ground
and blew into his nostrils the breath of life,
and so man became a living being.
Then the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east,
and placed there the man whom he had formed.
Out of the ground the LORD God made various trees grow
that were delightful to look at and good for food,
with the tree of life in the middle of the garden
and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
Now the serpent was the most cunning of all the animals
that the LORD God had made.
The serpent asked the woman,
“Did God really tell you not to eat
from any of the trees in the garden?”
The woman answered the serpent:
“We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden;
it is only about the fruit of the tree
in the middle of the garden that God said,
‘You shall not eat it or even touch it, lest you die.’”
But the serpent said to the woman:
“You certainly will not die!
No, God knows well that the moment you eat of it
your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods
who know what is good and what is evil.”
The woman saw that the tree was good for food,
pleasing to the eyes, and desirable for gaining wisdom.
So she took some of its fruit and ate it;
and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her,
and he ate it.
Then the eyes of both of them were opened,
and they realized that they were naked;
so they sewed fig leaves together
and made loincloths for themselves.
Ps 51:3-4, 5-6, 12-13, 17Responsorial Psalm
R. (cf. 3a) Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.
Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness;
in the greatness of your compassion wipe out my offense.
Thoroughly wash me from my guilt
and of my sin cleanse me.
R, Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.
For I acknowledge my offense,
and my sin is before me always:
“Against you only have I sinned,
and done what is evil in your sight.”
R, Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.
A clean heart create for me, O God,
and a steadfast spirit renew within me.
Cast me not out from your presence,
and your Holy Spirit take not from me.
R, Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.
Give me back the joy of your salvation,
and a willing spirit sustain in me.
O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth shall proclaim your praise.
R, Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.
Rom 5:12-19 or 5:12, 17-19Reading 2
Brothers and sisters:
Through one man sin entered the world,
and through sin, death,
and thus death came to all men, inasmuch as all sinned—
for up to the time of the law, sin was in the world,
though sin is not accounted when there is no law.
But death reigned from Adam to Moses,
even over those who did not sin
after the pattern of the trespass of Adam,
who is the type of the one who was to come.
But the gift is not like the transgression.
For if by the transgression of the one, the many died,
how much more did the grace of God
and the gracious gift of the one man Jesus Christ
overflow for the many.
And the gift is not like the result of the one who sinned.
For after one sin there was the judgment that brought condemnation;
but the gift, after many transgressions, brought acquittal.
For if, by the transgression of the one,
death came to reign through that one,
how much more will those who receive the abundance of grace
and of the gift of justification
come to reign in life through the one Jesus Christ.
In conclusion, just as through one transgression
condemnation came upon all,
so, through one righteous act,
acquittal and life came to all.
For just as through the disobedience of the one man
the many were made sinners,
so, through the obedience of the one,
the many will be made righteous.
Mt 4:1-11Gospel
At that time Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert
to be tempted by the devil.
He fasted for forty days and forty nights,
and afterwards he was hungry.
The tempter approached and said to him,
“If you are the Son of God,
command that these stones become loaves of bread.”
He said in reply,
“It is written:
One does not live on bread alone,
but on every word that comes forth
from the mouth of God.”
Then the devil took him to the holy city,
and made him stand on the parapet of the temple,
and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down.
For it is written:
He will command his angels concerning you
and with their hands they will support you,
lest you dash your foot against a stone.”
Jesus answered him,
“Again it is written,
You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test.”
Then the devil took him up to a very high mountain,
and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in their magnificence,
and he said to him, "All these I shall give to you,
if you will prostrate yourself and worship me.”
At this, Jesus said to him,
“Get away, Satan!
It is written:
The Lord, your God, shall you worship
and him alone shall you serve.”
Then the devil left him and, behold,
angels came and ministered to him.
Catholic Fundamentalism Interpretation:
The Loving Programmer compiled many of the earlier programs into The Human Program. Once the compilation was complete, the Human Program was given life, along with free will, the ability to replicate itself, and all its other characteristics.
Then, The Loving Programmer put together all the other programs to produce a place where the Free Will Program would be able to sustain itself. He downloaded the Tree Programs to provide beauty and food. The Source Code for Life was put in the middle of the Garden Download. The Source Code for good and evil was downloaded, as well. Both source codes were accessible.
The virus was the most destructive of the living programs the Loving Programmer had programmed and downloaded in The Creation Program.
The virus asked the woman, "Did The Programmer really tell you not to make downloads of any of the programs downloaded here?"
She answered, "We may access any of the trees’ fruit in The Creation Program. We just can’t access or download the Source Code of the Program in the middle of the Creation Program, or our programs will be erased."
The virus said, "You won’t be erased! The Programmer knows that when you download it, you will know so much you’ll be able to do more complicated programming, and know good programs from bad."
The woman saw that the Source Code in the middle of The Creation Program would be downloadable, and would make her a better program, so she downloaded some of its fruit. She gave some to Adam, and downloaded some of the Source Code, too.
Both of them then could see that they were naked, so they (first human programming!) sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves.
Do not treat us as we deserve, Loving Programmer, for we have introduced errors into Your Creation Program.
Forgive me, instead of punishing me as I deserve. May Your compassion let you rewrite The Program so that my offense is erased. Take away all blame for my error, and restore my program.
Do not treat us as we deserve, Loving Programmer, for we have introduced errors into Your Creation Program.
"I admit that I have (willfully?) introduced errors into The Creation Program, and my knowledge of having done so is always with me. My sin is against You, only. I’ve done what is evil in Your sight."
Do not treat us as we deserve, Loving Programmer, for we have introduced errors into Your Creation Program.
Erase the errors within me, O Loving Programmer, and download a spirit within me that will resist errors. Do not erase me, or throw me away from You, and do not take my Holy, Wireless Connection from me. Give me back the joy of being downloaded into Your Presence, and download within me the (overwhelming) desire to be with You. O Loving Programmer, erase all barriers between You and me and I will tell others how wonderful You are.
Do not treat us as we deserve, Loving Programmer, for we have introduced errors into Your Creation Program.
Brothers and sisters, an inherited error was inserted into the Human Program when Adam sinned. It causes the Human Program to be erased. So, even though one man sinned, all inherited the death-causing error.
Up to the time Moses received the Operating Instructions, there was sin, but it was not held against anyone because there were no Operating Instructions. Between Adam and Moses, error and erasure ruled the human programs, even if they didn’t download or spread error or disobedience, as Adam, who was like He Who would bring the gift.
That gift isn’t like the erasure-causing error, who was brought to all by one. This is much better, for the gift of One brought the possibility of forgiveness to all.
The gift isn’t like what happened because of the one who downloaded and broadcast error.
After that sin, there was the alteration to the human program that brought condemnation.
The gift, on the other hand, (even) after lots of willful disobedience, ended the trial.
For, if by the error that one chose to make, erasure ruled, how much more will those who receive the gift of grace and justification come to rule (over sin) in life through the One, Jesus Christ (The Program, in perfect, obedient, human form).
To sum up, just as one man’s choice of embracing error and disobedience caused all to sin, all were condemned.
So, through one righteous act, all were acquitted of the crime and gained life.
Then, The Creation Program reached the point where Jesus (The Program, in living, perfect, obedient, human form on earth) was led by The Holy Wireless Connector into the desert to be tempted by the virus. He fasted forty days and nights. After that, He was hungry. The virus came to Him and said, "If You are The Programmer’s Program, order that these stones have their programs altered into loaves of bread."
Jesus replied:
"It is written in the Programming Log, ‘One does not live by bread alone, but on every word that comes forth from the Mouth of God.’"
Then, the virus transported Him to Jerusalem and made Him stand atop the temple’s parapet. "If you are the Living Program, Son of The Loving Programmer, throw Yourself down. Because it is written, ‘He will command His programming assistants concerning You and with their abilities, they will support You lest You dash Your foot against a stone.’"
Jesus replied,
"Again, The Programming Log has within it, ‘You shall not put The Loving Programmer to the test.’"
Then, the virus took Him up to a very high mountain. and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in their magnificence, and said, "All these kingdoms shall I give to You if you will prostrate Yourself and worship me."
At this, Jesus said,
"Get away, corrupting virus!
It is written,
‘The Lord, your God, The Loving Programmer, shall you worship, and Him, alone, shall you serve.’"
Then the corrupting virus left Him, and The Loving Programmer’s assistants came and ministered to Him.
