Homily: March 6, 2022, First Sunday of Lent

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For forty days and nights, satan was waiting, to strike when Jesus was most hungry, at His weakest.

First temptation: “Command this stone to become bread.” Jesus needed food indeed. Satan did not give food, but suggested Jesus to abuse His divine power to create food for Himself. He makes us think our needs and wants are most important. And suggests shortcuts to satisfy ourselves. Selfish desires turn us away from God.

Second temptation: “I shall give to you all this power and glory…worship me.” Jesus’ mission is to preach the good news to all nations. Satan tries to persuade Jesus to take the easy way, to receive power and glory from him. satan is the father of lies. Nothing belongs to him.

satan tries to make us believe that money will give us power and earthly possessions will give us glory. He tempts us with quick and convenient ways to achieve our ambitions. Greed and vanity block us from holy virtues.

Third temptation: “If you are the son of God, throw yourself down from here…” Jesus is the Messiah, the world needs to know. Satan quoted scripture to convince Jesus to show off His status as the Son of God, to declare to the world with an impressive performance. Satan is a cheat. He uses scripture only to trick us into believing that we can take God’s blessings for granted.

He tempts us to be proud of our knowledge, intelligence, and achievements. He tempts us to question and quarrel with anyone with a different opinion so that we can show off our superior status. Pride makes us walk in opposition to the Lord.

satan’s ways are deceit. He makes sin appear pleasing, twist solutions to look clever, and hides ugliness with beautiful exteriors.

As Venerable Fulton Sheen warned, ‘Before the sin, satan assures us that it is of no consequence; after the sin, he persuades us that it is unforgivable’. Beware!

Would we fall into all his temptations?

Jesus overcame all these with the word of God, quoting from Deuteronomy chapters 6 to 9. The Word of God is the weapon against the evil one. We need the word of God to help us when we are at our weakest, when temptations are strongest.

Are you able to quote the word of God when in need?

In our family prayer, we used to recite Psalm 91 every day. It is the responsorial psalm today. I have used this psalm to help me through many difficult moments.

satan too quoted it at his third temptation, but he used only the verses convenient to him. Why do you think he is familiar with this psalm?

Because it is used by priests at every exorcism. satan gets hit and beaten by this psalm all the time.

His intention behind all the temptations is to take us away from God. He tries to turn our attention away, convinces us to disobey God and makes us challenge His plans.

If you have been occupied by matters of the world, Lent is a time to step out and turn back to God. If you can’t remember any scripture text, try to memorise Psalm 91 or Psalm 23 ‘The Divine Shepherd’.

Let us not fall in satan’s tricks. Let us crush his head with the Word of God. 

Amen.

Fr. Nivin Scaria 


Comments

  1. Lisa Schwarte6 March 2022 at 14:58

    Thank you for pointing out that often our greatest temptations fall into the categories of pleasure (food, drink, etc.), possessions (you can have everything), and power/glory (you can be like god). It is so easy for us to fall into these temptations. We must pray daily the Our Father "and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil." Plus Psalm 91

    Another good quote from the Venerable Fulton Sheen, ‘Before the sin, satan assures us that it is of no consequence; after the sin, he persuades us that it is unforgivable’.

    I also heard this week, that priests in their Liturgy of the Hours, pray this prayer at night: Lord, we beg you to visit this house and banish from it all the deadly power of the enemy. May your holy angels dwell here to keep us in peace, and may your blessing be upon us always." Something good for all of us to pray each night!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Word of God 7 March 2022 at 09:51

      Thanks so much Lisa. I love your feedback.

      Delete

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