In preparing the lectionary, several people believed that a single cycle (cycle A had been chosen[1]) would be sufficient for Lent, given its fundamental doctrinal significance. The group of biblical scholars prevailed, and a balanced decision was reached: where there are catechumens preparing for their initiation on Easter night, cycle A must be used because it is linked to the catechumenate. However, if deemed appropriate, it can always be used.
Cycle A follows a fundamentally Easter-oriented line. Its lectionary can be divided into two parts:
First Sunday – after man falls victim to temptation, the unity of creation, in itself and with God, is destroyed (first reading: Gen 2:7-9, 3:1-7). But this tragedy is countered by Christ’s victory over evil, overcoming temptation during his forty days in the desert (Gospel: Mt 4:1-11). The consequence is that even for us today, where sin abounded, grace abounds even more (second reading: Rom 5:12-19).
Second Sunday – this Sunday gives us a glimpse of what awaits us at the end of our journey: the paradise of the Father’s glory.
Christ appears between Moses and Elijah, types of the forty days of fasting; Jesus, who has conquered the power of evil, is now transfigured (Gospel: Mt 17:1-9). The example of Abraham is given, who follows the Lord’s commands and becomes the father of a great people (first reading: Genesis 12:1-4). These models constitute for every Christian the vocation accepted in baptism (second reading: 2 Timothy 1:1-10).
The catechumen is confronted with his or her life situation, in which he or she must see the difficulties, but also the beauty of the path that leads to the encounter with the Risen One.
For this reason, the following three Sundays could be called sacramental Sundays, since their liturgy of the Word is linked to the effects of the sacraments of Christian initiation. In fact, starting on the third Sunday, the mysteries of water, light, resurrection and life will be evoked.
Third Sunday – the Gospel passage is that of the Samaritan woman (Jn 4:5-42). The theme of water and thirst is taken up in the first reading, where the Israelites ask for water and their thirst is quenched (Ex 17:3-7). The second reading, on the other hand, reminds the community celebrating the Eucharist that God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us as a gift (Rom 5:1-2, 5-8).
Fourth Sunday – the theme of enlightenment is at the heart of this Sunday’s liturgy of the Word. In fact, the baptised have long been called the enlightened.
In this regard, the passage about the man born blind was chosen as the Gospel reading (Jn 9:1-41). The first reading chosen is the one that deals with the royal anointing of David (1 Sam 1:1, 4, 6-7, 10-13). The connection with the Gospel is that the enlightened person, through baptismal consecration, becomes a priest, king, and prophet. The anointing that Jesus performs on the man born blind also has this meaning. Furthermore, it is good to remember that the enlightened person is someone chosen by God without any merit of their own.
Finally, David’s brothers, although apparently stronger than him, were not chosen. Instead, the smallest and most hidden of Eliab’s sons, David, was chosen. We should always remember this fact in the Church, because things often go wrong because Samuel’s criterion is not used in choosing people to fill various offices, but that of David’s father: that of appearance, which is not God’s criterion. One of the consequences, at least in Western churches, where prosperity reigns, is a lack of vocations, which is not due to prosperity, but to our inability to evangelise, especially when we follow David’s father’s criterion in choosing people and not that of the prophet, which is the same as God’s.
Fifth Sunday – it is the Sunday of new life.
The Gospel of the resurrection of Lazarus places every believer in the wake of this resurrection; those who believe have life (Jn 11:1-45) because, as the second reading says, the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in us (Rom 8:8-11). The Lord who raises Lazarus, and through his own Spirit rises from the dead, is the one who told us in the first reading: I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live (Ezekiel 37:12-14).
The new order of the lectionary gives the Lenten readings a constructive theology that goes far beyond a purely ascetic vision, which is often too negative.
Lent is the time when we are called to answer the question: when pain knocks on my door, am I ready to experience it as Christ did in his passion? Or do I rebel against God because he allowed a person committed to following him, like me, to suffer? Am I capable of taking the last place, like Christ, or must I sit in the first place at all costs?
I wish everyone a holy Lent.
By Fr. Giorgio Bontempi, C.M.
[1] See AA.VV L’Anno Liturgico, Anamnesis 6: storia, teologia e celebrazione, Marietti, Turin, 1989, pp. 162–163.
