Gospel Acclamation: First Sunday of Lent

One does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.

Bread alone. The material world. All the stuff that we rely on to make our lives “good” and “prosperous” and “happy.” We need material things, and they are usually not bad in and of themselves. We humans are body and soul, and we must tend to the body. But we cannot let our body dominate. We cannot let the material world control us, for that is exactly what happens when we give it pride of place. Our stuff starts to own us.

Every word that comes forth from the mouth of God. This is life for our souls. It refers to God's grace, to the Scriptures, to Tradition, to the sacraments, to our encounters with God in prayer. We are to take in every drop, every word, every small bit of inspiration. We are to focus on God, putting Him first in our lives, above all else. This is true life. This is the beginning of eternal life that we can experience in part now and fully in Heaven.