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Friend,
“At that time Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. He fasted for forty days.” Mt. 4:1-2
The forty days of Lent remind us of Jesus’ forty days in the desert being tempted by Satan and the Israelites forty years in the desert after being released from the slavery of the Egyptians. In the early church Lent was viewed as a forty-day retreat of intense fasting and penance of preparation for those people preparing for baptism at the Easter Vigil. Those who were going to become Catholic at Easter had prepared extensively for two years learning the faith and seeking to grow closer to God through fasting and penitential works. When the forty days began, the whole Church would join those who were going to be baptized in the practice of fasting.
The purpose of our fasting is to connect our physical hunger with the hunger and ache of our hearts. As we experience physical hunger when we fast, we have the opportunity to come into living contact and explore our deepest spiritual hunger. Our deepest spiritual hunger is to be in union with God. St. Augustine said, “Lord, we are created for Thee and our hearts are restless until they rest in Thee.”
In today’s story, Jesus goes into the desert for a great showdown. Satan is the enemy/opponent who tries to get Jesus to break His union with God. That is what the enemy tries to do with every person all the time. The book of Peter says that Satan is prowling about like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. He wants to destroy our loving union with God by offering us something that is “better.”
As we begin our Lenten retreat in preparation for being baptized or renewing our baptism at Easter, we have the opportunity to go to the desert with the spirit of Jesus and face the temptations of Satan. During this forty-day showdown with Satan in the desert, write down the ways you are tempted. Then, in a two-column list, write all the positive and negative fruits of what happens when you choose to give into the temptations and act on them. Does each specific action increase or decrease your union with God/others?
One author asks the question, ‘What is the point of living in the most dynamic and affluent nation on earth if you are feeling sad and anxious much of the time?” How much is this question the story of your life?
Union with God will help remedy the sadness and anxiety.
Fr. John
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