The season of Lent is upon us, and has in fact begun a few days ago on Ash Wednesday when Christians in the tens of millions flocked to Churches around the world to receive ashes on their foreheads as a sign of repentance for sin and in humble acknowledgement of their mortality. This is a time for serious soul-searching and spiritual stock-taking. We are called over the next forty days to imitate Jesus’ withdrawal into the desert for forty days to confront the temptations of Satan.

The bible traces the origin of human evil to the fall of our first parents in the garden of Eden. By contrast, today’s scripture sets us, not in the garden of paradise, but in a dry and barren desert where Jesus takes on the forces of evil, and reverses the consequences of Adam’s fall ( Matthew 4 : 3-10 ). In a grueling struggle, He rejects the three big temptations of Materialism ( “not on bread alone is a man to live”), of Fame (“you shall not put the Lord your God to he test”), and of Power ( “you shall do homage to the Lord your God; Him alone shall you serve”). By standing up to these powerful, human temptations, Jesus tipped the course of human behavior God-ward and has made it possible for those who follow Him to live lives free of their demonic control. What a difference it makes to our world and relationships when people deliberately chose love of God over love of money, fear of the Lord over destructive narcissism, and loving service over the abuse of power!

Lent originally meant springtime. Thus it is a time that speaks of new life just like springtime. And the life we are talking about during Lent is the life of the soul. This is a time, then, to put our spiritual lives in order, to throw away old attachments to sin and to embrace the new life of the gospel which, in its pristine spirit, is ever ancient and ever new. The prayer of the priest during the imposition of ashes on the foreheads of the faithful on Ash Wednesday is: ” turn away from sin and be faithful to the gospel.” What a marvelous goal for every Christian this Lent! To let go of sin and to be faithful to the gospel! To enter into this renewal, we need to know where our darkness lurks, and we need to know how to enter into the light. Thus there are two basic things, I submit, we should remember during the forty days of Lent.

Firstly, avoid self-righteousness in all its forms. Self-righteousness is the leaven of the Pharisees. No matter how faithful you may be in observing the Lenten practices, know that these works, though helpful, do not guarantee salvation. Faith, by which we are justified, is a gift, but its fruit is love. Love is not only the goal, it is also the means of achieving the goal. Make sure then to spread the love of Christ around this Lent wherever you live, wherever you work, and with whomever you come into daily contact.

Secondly, focus on overcoming the temptations within which defile a person. Temptations such as anger, pride, jealousy, avarice, gluttony, lust, laziness, and mean-spiritedness. These are the things, Jesus tells us, that make us unclean ( Matthew 15 : 18-20 ). You cannot hold on to these tendencies and follow Christ at the same time. Remember, you cannot serve two masters. You only have one master, and that is Christ.

May the Lord bless you and keep you safe from the snares of temptation.

Fr. Hugh Duffy