Today is the First Sunday of Lent. We are all called to look at ourselves, acknowledge our mistakes and make amends.

Offered with immediate comforts and perks, Jesus did not give in to the temptations of the devil. Greed for wealth and hunger for power leads to injustices and and corruption. We are all tested.

Pope Francis, in his encyclical Laudato Si’, On Care for Our Common Home, number 198, clearly says that, “Politics and the economy tend to blame each other when it comes to poverty and environmental degradation. It is to be hoped that they can acknowledge their own mistakes and find forms of interaction directed to the common good.”

The Holy Father talks about ecological sin. When we destroy the earth, we destroy Creation and the interrelatedness of human beiungs. We need to hear both the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor.

Pope Francis further says that, “While some are concerned only with financial gain, and others with holding on to or increasing their power, what we are left with are conflicts or spurious agreements where the last thing either party is concerned about is caring for the environment and protecting those who are most vulnerable.” (Laudato Si’, 198)

Let us all pray: “O God of the poor, help us to rescue the abandoned and forgotten of this earth… Touch the hearts of those who look only for gain at the expense of the poor and the earth… Encourage us, we pray, in our struggle for justice, love and peace.” (Laudato Si’, 246)

Amen.