Do you want the Lord to give you many graces? Visit Him often. Do you
want Him to give you few graces? Visit Him rarely. Do you want the devil to
attack you? Visit Jesus rarely in the Blessed Sacrament. Do you want him to
flee from you? Visit Jesus often. Do you want to conquer the devil? Take refuge
often at the feet of Jesus. Do you want to be conquered by the devil? Forget
about visiting Jesus. My dear ones, the Visit to the Blessed Sacrament is an
extremely necessary way to conquer the devil. Therefore, go often to visit
Jesus and the devil will not come out victorious against you. - St. John Bosco:
1815 – 1888: popularly known as Don Bosco was an Italian Roman Catholic priest, educator and writer of the 19th
century)
Gospel
Text: (LK 4:1-13)
Filled with the Holy Spirit, Jesus returned from
the Jordan
and was led by the Spirit into the desert for
forty days,
to be tempted by the devil.
He ate nothing during those days,
and when they
were over he was hungry.
The devil said to him,
“If you are the Son of God,
command this stone to become bread.”
Jesus answered him,
“It is written, One does not live on bread
alone.”
Then he took him up and showed him
all the kingdoms of the world in a single
instant.
The devil said to him,
“I shall give to you all this power and glory;
for it has been handed over to me,
and I may give it to whomever I wish.
All this will be yours, if you worship me.”
Jesus said to him in reply,
“It is written:
You shall worship the Lord, your God,
and him alone shall you serve.”
Then he led him to Jerusalem,
made him stand on the parapet of the temple, and
said to him,
“If you are the Son of God,
throw yourself down from here, for it is
written:
He will command his angels concerning you, to
guard you,
and:
With their hands they will support you,
lest you dash your foot against a stone.”
Jesus said to him in reply,
“It also says,
You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the
test.”
When the devil had finished every temptation,
he departed from him for a time.
Today in the Gospel, we hear that Jesus was
“filled with the Spirit” as He was lead into the desert to confront the
devil. Just a few weeks ago we read that Jesus, returning to His home
town to preach as He began His ministry, was filled with the Spirit. If
Our Lord needed the Holy Spirit as He started His ministry or as He was lead to
the desert to be tempted, how much more do I. How much do we all need
those confirmation gifts of the Holy Spirit to help us navigate the challenges
in life, and to be led by His will.
“When the
devil had exhausted every way of tempting Jesus he left him, to return another
time." The battle and encounter with the devil were not over at
these temptations in the desert; Jesus would be tempted to give up his mission
at his agony in the garden, "Father,
if it is your will, remove this cup from me; still not my will but yours be
done." (Lk 22: 42) For us too, the battle against temptations and evil
never stops. Temptations remain real with sexual matters, lies,
backbiting and forms of injustice against others. There will always be
temptations related to more wealth, higher status and power. There will
be temptations to be greedy and angry, jealous and resentful of others. There
will always be temptations to have rather than to share, to control and rule
rather than to serve and give.
Lent is a grace-filled occasion to be more aware
of our sinful inclinations and to be more jealous for true repentance and
conversion. Let us not be discouraged by the presence of temptations; let
us beg the Lord's help and grace.
No comments:
Post a Comment