First reading
Genesis 9:8–15
‘There shall be no flood to destroy the earth again.’
Responsorial psalm
Psalm 24(25):4–6, 7b–9
R. Your ways, O Lord, are love and truth to those who keep your covenant.
Second reading
1 Peter 3:18–22
The water on which the Ark floated is a type of the baptism which saves you now.
Gospel acclamation
Matthew 4:4
No one lives on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.
Gospel
Mark 1:12–15
Jesus was tempted by Satan, and the angels looked after him.
Images from the Word
- Remained there
- Wild beasts
- Believe
- Covenant
- By water
Liturgical notes
Holy Communion has a fuller form as a sign when it takes place under both kinds. For in this form the sign of the Eucharistic banquet is more clearly evident and clearer expression is given to the divine will by which the new and eternal Covenant is ratified in the Blood of the Lord, as also the connection between the Eucharistic banquet and the eschatological banquet in the Kingdom of the Father.
—General Instruction of the Roman Missal, §281
The theme of being people of the New Covenant is not strong among Catholics. This is particularly evident in our reserve with regard to sharing in the cup of the New Covenant. At the Last Supper, Christ gave to his disciples the cup of the New Covenant so that they could share for all generations in the blood of that covenant, which he shed for us. As we drink from the one cup at Mass, we affirm our willingness to be people of the New Covenant and live accordingly. Hopefully, in the near future, we may return again to this practice.
‘When he calls on me, I will answer him; I will deliver him and give him glory, I will grant him length of days’
—entrance antiphon