The first Sunday of Lent always gives us the gospel of Jesus going into the desert to be tempted or tested. It may appear to be a case of poor judgment to follow anyone into the desert for forty days, even if that someone is the Holy Spirit. Why would Jesus, immediately after his baptism, willingly enter the wilderness, only to be tempted by the devil? Surely we wouldn’t be asked to do the same. But the truth is that no one can avoid the desert forever. Deserts of temptation, deserts of loneliness, and deserts of pain, are all part of human life. We too need the Holy Spirit’s assistance to withstand the temptation, sadness, or despair of our deserts. As baptized Christians we have the same advantage Jesus had. We too are filled with the Holy Spirit to strengthen and comfort us in our deserts.
Jesus is tempted first with food and then with power, each tempting him to put himself and his own needs first. He resists these temptations by taking the focus off himself and putting it on others, who do not live on bread alone, and God, who alone we shall serve. Likewise, we can resist temptation by taking the focus off ourselves and putting it on others, which we do when we do the things Jesus called us to do on Ash Wednesday: fasting, praying, and giving alms, charity for others.
In this season of Lent, let us focus on the real struggle of living the Christian life. Let our fellow Catholics suffering in Ukraine inspire us. We turn to God, trusting that the Lord will accompany us during our moments of need. Our faith in Him enables us to face these times of stress, to look to the Lord for strength to handle trauma, resist temptation, and hope in eternal life.
Love, Peace, Joy,
Fr. Bob
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