On Temptation

Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert for forty days,
to be tempted by the devil.
He ate nothing during those days,
and when they were over he was hungry.
                       Luke 4: 2-3

Happy First Sunday of Lent!

Forty days in the desert without eating? I guess Jesus was hungry!

Now the devil doesn’t tempt him with a banquet. He tempts him with a crummy loaf of bread. No lamb, no fatted calf, just a loaf of bread. I mean the devil is tempting him with something that is needed, that is good, that is modest, and Jesus turns him down! Why?

Jesus tells the devil that it is because he is nourished by the Word. The devil’s temptation is for Jesus to use divine power for himself, and that would begin a slide down a slippery slope. Jesus came for us and so stays focused on declaring the Kingdom of God.

The second temptation, for power and wealth, seems so engrained in human relations that no one is immune from it. Even in a humble parish we can find well-to-do parishioners who want decisions to go their way and will leave when those decisions go against their wishes.

The third is also common but much more subtle. Almost all of us put the Lord our God to the test. It is so easy while asking for a serious request to forget that it is God’s will that will be done. We all want God’s will to conform to our will, not the other way around. God give us the grace to plead but also the grace to accept God’s will.

If you have any questions, please email me at jvrussell85@gmail.com or Diane Figaro at paa@st-therese.cc or Nicole St. Hilaire at nicoles@st-therese.cc. Our website, st-therese.cc has a wealth of information about how you could help!