1st Sunday of Lent (13th March 2011)

Forgive yourself for not forgiving

“Then Jesus was led by the spirit out into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil”

Gen 2:7-9; 3:1-7, Rom 5:12-19, Matt 4:1-11.

At the baptism of Jesus, the Father declared him his beloved son, and the Holy Spirit descended upon him and filled him. This was a very glorious day. What is surprising is that the same spirit who had filled Christ with glory, immediately afterwards leads him through the wilderness to be tempted. This is a consoling consideration for us. It is impossible to escape the assault of temptation in this life. Their sources are varied. But one thing is sure they are not meant to make us fall. They are like examinations. The questions are not phrased with the intention of making the students fail. What the examiner wants is to test the candidate’s knowledge and ability to communicate it. Temptations are sent to test the strength of our mind, heart and soul.


And we should not be surprised that with the years temptations become stronger. This is parallel to what happens in other aspects of life. A student at secondary level is not given questions of Advanced level student; I need not to mention University examinations! The hours you spend in the examination room are real martyrdom. So it is with games: a good team does not challenge weak ones. If it does it fails to prove its worth. This is God’s purpose in allowing temptations to assail us, that we may prove our manhood and emerge the stronger for the fight.

And Satan tempted Jesus! Satan, a word which comes back time and again in the Old Testament and in the New Testament. It is used even of human beings sometimes. And the meaning that runs through is thus that Satan means “Adversary”. To him is attributed all the evil that befall man, physical and moral. Holy Scripture in fact it is St. Peter compares him to ‘a roaring lion, prowling round, looking for someone to devour’ and he warns us to be calm but vigilant, to be on the lookout.

I have sometimes wandered whether we should be more vigilant if Satan always came to us in a visible form. As long as we do not see him we easily forget that he exists, and that he is our adversary.

On the other hand we know by experience that in regard to our spiritual life we have adversaries even among our fellows. The adversary always presents to us a choice. He presents to us a situation in which we have to decide. “Once to every man and nation comes the moment to decide” says the poet (Lowell) “In the strife of Truth with falsehood, for the good or evil side”

Our lord was presented three situations and he had to decide for Truth or for falsehood, for the good or evil side. One major difference between us and Christ is that our minds easily get obscured in the moment of temptation. He had a clear vision of the real good and could not mistake evil for the good. Lack of clear vision often makes us hesitate or worse still make a wrong decision. This is why we must never cease to pray for that grace which enlightens the mind to see the truth, to see the good in the moment of temptation.

Another difference between us and the Lord is that he did not suffer from moral weakness. Once he saw the good, he could not fail to do it. We on the contrary, are born with that moral weakness and it is made greater with each fall. Think of a drunkard or a prostitute with each act he sinks lower. Our weakness becomes greater with each bad example we get from those around us and greater still with each bad example we give.


The time of lent is sacred. We are invited by mother church to offer special prayers for ourselves and for our brothers in Christ. We are invited to deny ourselves, to mortify our flesh in enjoyments of life which are legitimate, so that we may gradually gain the necessary moral strength to deny ourselves in what is wrong and sinful.

Let us in this Mass of the first Sunday of this holy season resolve to take full advantage of the graces of the time in spirit of the Church in union with our Lord Jesus Christ.


Make an effort this Lenten period by encouraging your son/daughter/friend/husband/wife/ to go for the sacrament of reconciliation.