For the preservation of the Deposit of Faith.

For the Kingdom of God to come!

MAGNIFICAT

The Order of the Magnificat of the Mother of God has a special purpose the preservation of the Deposit of Faith through religious education in all its forms. God has established him as a bulwark against the almost general apostasy which has invaded Christendom and in particular the Roman Church.

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Reading from the Gospel

Desert of Jericho — January 6 to February 16

Chap. III — FAST AND TEMPTATION OF JESUS

Saint Matthew 4:1-11; Saint Mark 1:12-13; Saint Luke 4:1-13

Jesus, full of the Spirit of God, left the Jordan and was led by the power of the same Spirit into a desert to be tempted by Satan. For forty days and forty nights, He abstained from eating and lived among the animals of the desert.11 After this time was completed, He was hungry.

The tempter22 came and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command these stones to turn into loaves of bread.”

Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Not by bread alone does man live, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.’ (Deut. 8:3)”

Then the devil took Him into the holy city of Jerusalem, and he set Him on the pinnacle of the Temple.

“If You are the Son of God,” he went on, “throw Yourself down; for it is written, ‘God has commanded His Angels to bear You up upon their hands, so that Your foot may not be dashed against a stone.’ (Ps. 90:11-12)”

Jesus said to him, “It is also written, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’ (Deut. 6:16)”

Again the devil took Him and brought Him to a very high mountain. There he showed Him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world with their splendor.

“This glory and this power are mine!” he assured Him. “They have been delivered to me, and I give them to whomever I will. All of this will I give You, if You fall down at my feet and worship me.”

“Begone, Satan! For it is written, ‘The Lord your God shall you worship, and Him only shall you serve.’ (Deut. 6:13)”

Having exhausted all his means of temptation, the devil left Jesus for a while. And behold, Angels came and ministered to Him.

11. This desert was no doubt the dreadful wasteland in the ­vicinity of Jericho, north of the Desert of Judea. To this day it is called the Desert of the Forty Days.

22. The devil could do nothing against the Son of God, but the Saviour submitted to the humiliation of the enemy’s triple attack for our sake and in our stead. He also wanted to show us the promptitude, scorn for the tempter, and confidence in God we must have to resist the assaults of triple concupiscence.

Sign of the Cross

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, and of the Mother of God. Amen.

Preparatory Prayer

O Jesus! We are going to walk with You on the road to Calvary which was so painful for You. Make us understand the greatness of Your sufferings, touch our hearts with tender compassion at the sight of Your torments, in order to increase in us the regret of our faults and the love we wish to have for You.
Deign to apply to all of us the infinite merits of Your Passion, and in memory of Your sorrows, show mercy to the souls in Purgatory, especially to those who are most abandoned.
O Divine Mary, who first taught us to make the Way of the Cross, obtain for us the grace to follow Jesus with the sentiments Your Heart was filled with as You accompanied Him on the road to Calvary. Grant that we may weep with You, and that we may love Your divine Son as You do. We ask this in the name of His adorable Heart. Amen.