First Sunday of Lent (A)

Fr. Antoni BALLESTER i Díaz(Camarasa, Lleida, Spain)

Today we celebrate the first Sunday of Lent. This ‘strong’ liturgical time is a spiritual path leading us to participate in the great mystery of the death and resurrection of Christ. Saint John Paul II said: “Each year, the Lenten Season is set before us as a good opportunity for the intensification of prayer and penance, opening hearts to the docile welcoming of the divine will. During Lent, a spiritual journey is outlined for us that prepares us to relive the Great Mystery of the Death and Resurrection of Christ. This is done primarily by listening to the Word of God more devoutly and by practicing mortification more generously, thanks to which it is possible to render greater assistance to those in need.”

Lent and today’s Gospel teach us that life is a path leading us to Heaven. But to deserve this, we must first overcome our temptations. “Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil” (Mt 4:1). By allowing Himself to be tempted, Jesus wanted to show us how we can fight and overcome our temptations: with our trust in God and in prayer, through grace and fortitude.

Temptations may be described as the ‘enemies of the soul.’ In fact, they can be summarized and determined by three aspects. In the first place, ‘the world’: “command that these stones become loaves of bread” (Mt 4:3). It implies living to possess material things only.

Secondly, ‘the devil’: “if you will prostrate yourself” (Mt 4:9). It conveys the greed for power.

And, last but not least, ‘the flesh’: “throw yourself down” (Mt 4:6), which means placing our confidence only in our body. Saint Thomas Aquinas explains it better when saying: “For the causes of temptations are the causes of desires” —namely, ‘lust of the flesh, hope of glory, eagerness for power’.”

Thoughts on Today’s Gospel

• “Jesus conquered the adversary by quotations from the law, not by actual strength. He conquered that we too might likewise conquer.” (Saint Leo the Great)
• “A spirituality which forgets God as all-powerful and Creator is not acceptable. That is how we end up worshipping earthly powers, or ourselves usurping the place of God, even to the point of claiming an unlimited right to trample his creation underfoot.” (Francis)
• “Jesus is the new Adam who remained faithful just where the first Adam had given in to temptation. Jesus fulfils Israel’s vocation perfectly: in contrast to those who had once provoked God during forty years in the desert, Christ reveals himself as God’s Servant, totally obedient to the divine will. In this, Jesus is the devil’s conqueror: he ‘binds the strong man’ to take back his plunder (Mk 3:27) Jesus’ victory over the tempter in the desert anticipates victory at the Passion, the supreme act of obedience of his filial love for the Father.” (Catechism Of The Catholic Church, Nº 539)