Temptations-lent 1
My dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ,
As we begin Lent, the first Sunday every year invites us to consider temptation in our own life. The heart of Jesus’ temptations was to misuse the power that he had to serve his own gratification rather than God’s intentions. Jesus in the desert is our model during Lent, inspiring us to die to ourselves so that the Father’s plan can be accomplished. Lent is a time to put our souls before a mirror and see ourselves as we really are. Lent is an invitation to allow our sin and darkness and wounds come to the surface so that we can deal with them and allow them to be healed by the grace of Jesus. It is only when we admit something that we can deal with it. The first stage in overcoming anything is to admit the problem.
Temptations come to every one of us. A temptation is a trick, a deception, a lie. It conceals the truth and presents falsehood to us as the truth. A temptation is therefore sneaky, offering us what appears to be a quick-fix, but is in reality a quick-disaster. A temptation hopes we will not use our brains because if we do use our brains when temptation comes we will quickly notice how stupid following a temptation would be. It is no wonder that temptation succeeds best during those times when our brains are not at full potential e.g. when under the influence of alcohol or drugs or when tired or under stress.
Once a priest asked an old monk; “How are you, Father?” He replied, “There is still a bit of the devil in me!” It sounds funny but it expresses a truth about all of us, “there is still a bit of the devil in us” because we have not yet overcome sin. Jesus spent forty days in the desert overcoming the devil and Lent is a time for us to get rid of whatever bit of the devil remains in us by overcoming sin in our lives.
Temptation will always be a part of our lives. No matter our age or the circumstances of our lives, temptation will be something that we have to deal with until the end of our journey here on earth.
Not every temptation is caused by Satan, so we need to look at the two causes of temptation.
Most temptations are caused by our fallen human nature. As we know original sin has wounded our human nature. We simply do not have complete control over our mind, memory, imagination, will, passions and emotions. We will always struggle with something.
Satan can also cause temptation. The greatest victory of Satan in the contemporary world is the fact that many Christians have bought into the lie that he does not exist. Nevertheless, Satan’s power and influence starts at the beginning of the history of humanity, in the Garden of Eden.
The Gospel reminds us of something many people would rather not face - the reality of the devil. The Gospel accounts do not give any description on how he looks, but they do describe his activity.
Because they are spiritual beings, we normally do not see them, but they are real as ultraviolet rays or microwaves. We know about them not by seeing them, but by their effects, by the things they do. The truth is you and I are no match even for the lowliest demon. It would be comparable to someone like me going against a kick boxer. Even the most poorly trained kick boxer could have me on the floor, flat on my back in a matter of seconds. Just so, even the smallest demon could bring you or me down - if we try to deal with him on our own.
Consider the way a wolf attacks a sheep. You would think the easiest way to bring down a sheep would be to attacks its legs and make it stumble. However, studies say that is not the wolf's normal method. He goes for the neck. And when he sinks his teeth into the neck, the sheep cannot bleat. It cannot make a noise to call for the shepherd. The devil does something similar. He wants to first disable our voice so that we do not call out to the Lord. The devil wants to attack at the throat, to take away your voice - so that you will not call out to the Lord.
Whenever we give in to a temptation, it takes power from us, but when we resist a temptation, we take power from it. The devil wants to take power from us, to make us impotent, but when - with the Lord's grace - we resist him, we gain strength.
Many people become discouraged and nervous when they are tempted. They think that they are sinning when in fact they have only been tempted. Sin is only a sin when there is full consent. To make a sin mortal three things are necessary: a grievous matter, sufficient reflection, and full consent of the will. Temptation is not a sin. Sin is a willed act upon a temptation.
Although it is true that we will always be tempted, we must also do all that we can to avoid temptation. Men who trap animals in Africa for zoos in America say that one of the hardest animals to catch is the ring-tailed monkey. For the men of the Zulu tribe it is quite simple.
The method the Zulus use comes from their knowledge of the animal. Their trap is nothing more than a melon growing on a vine. The seeds of this melon are a favorite of the monkey. Knowing this, the Zulus simply cut a hole in the melon, just large enough for the monkey to insert his hand. The monkey will stick his hand in, grab as many seeds as he can, then start to withdraw it. He cannot do this because his fist is now larger than the hole. The monkey will pull and tug, screech and fight the melon for hours. He cannot get free of the trap unless he gives up the seeds, which he refuses to do. Meanwhile, the Zulus sneak up and seize him.
The mere presence of a temptation is no guarantee that we will sin. We can say no! We can resist temptation. Moreover, God will always help us to say no to our temptations.
"Always look at what you have left. Never look at what you have lost." As long as there is life, there is hope!
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.

Ash Wednesday
My dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ,
Today and Good Friday are official days of fast and the other six Fridays are days of abstinence from meat. The point of the abstinence law is to give a witness to others and your own self. In a spirit of repentance we have always fasted from one of our favorite foods for the entire season of Lent …whatever it is, my dear brothers and sisters, it is a way of showing that we love the Lord more than food and that we love the Lord more than sin.
Why do we do this? It is said very clearly in the tracing of the ashes. Remember, man, you are dust and to dust you will return. Without God, we are nothing. We are a bunch of chemicals, carbon, water, that are worth about 25 cents if we were split apart and sold for our chemicals. With God however, we are made in the image and likeness of the Triune God and with that, we become priceless treasures. Yes dear brothers and sisters, Lent is a time to remind ourselves that without God we are nothing. It is a time to rend our hearts and tear from them anything that might keep us from God. Everything of this earth is dust and to dust it will return. “Realizing you are a sinner is a great moral achievement!” As the prophet Joel tells us today: “Rend your hearts.” Open them up for the world. That is how we should spend the next 40 days.
In the Scriptures when people left sin behind and turned over to a new life they used ashes to symbolize their repentance. Job said, “I disown what I have said, and repent in dust and ashes.” (Job 42:6) Daniel “turned to the Lord God, pleading in earnest prayer, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes.” (Dan 9:3) Jesus said, “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty deeds done in your midst had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would long ago have repented, sitting in sackcloth and ashes.” (Matt 11:21; Luke 10:13). Therefore in a spirit of repentance we will take ashes on our foreheads.
I want to invite you this Lent to spend one hour a week in prayer before the Blessed Sacrament. Here at our Church we have the Adoration on Every Monday during Lent at 7pm.
More than ever before, it seems, we live in an age of ashes. This soot is a reminder of the fires that have lit our world – and the burning fragments left behind from so many wars, and so many ruins. Think of the fires of Hiroshima, of London, of Auschwitz, of Vietnam, of Baghdad, of New York, of Buffalo.
We repent. We reconcile ourselves with God. We pray. We rebuild, turning over shovels of ash, to begin again. We believe in something better to come: redemption, and resurrection. The cities that burned have been rebuilt. A glass tower will one day rise at Ground Zero. Sometimes people ask, “What are you going to give up for Lent?” There is one thing to give up during Lent – sin. Our penance during Lent as well as being a small attempt at reparation for our sins is a symbol of the change of heart we want to achieve. In the Gospel today (Matt 6:1-6, 16-18) Jesus spoke about prayer, fasting and giving alms. Since the early centuries these are three practices the Church has encouraged us to undertake during Lent as a form of penance: praying more, fasting and giving alms to the poor.
I conclude with the opening prayer of our Mass today, “Lord, protect us in our struggle against evil. As we begin the discipline of Lent, make this season holy by our self-denial”. Amen.