March 10, 2019

1^st Sunday of Lent 

Lenten Lessons from the Desert

Msgr. Thomas Gervasio

 On the 1^st Sunday of Lent the Church reflects upon Our Lord’s temptation in the desert. Pope Benedict says this experience was “a way Jesus entered into the drama of human existence” so that he might be in solidarity with us. In the Letter to the Hebrews we read “Because he has suffered and been tempted, he is able to help those who are tempted. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses but one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are, yet without sin.” (4:15)
 
In the desolation of the desert, Jesus fasts for forty days and the devil takes advantage of the situation. How are we to understand his three temptations? They are about the nature of Our Lord’s mission but also contain lessons for our own life. So let us consider them.
 
A famished Jesus confronts the first temptation: “If you are the Son of God...turn these stones to bread.” In other words, “If you are truly God, there is no need for you to go hungry. Take care of yourself! Satisfy your craving. The Lord refutes him quoting Scripture: “Man does not live on bread alone.” In other words, there is more to life than bread, than material things. How often we are tempted to set God aside so that he seems to be a secondary concern when compared with all the urgent priorities of our lives—to consider ourselves, the needs and desires of the moment to be more important than he is. A disciple’s life is one in which God comes first in all things. A disciple’s security is based not in any created things, good as they may be, but in God.
 
The devil tests the Lord again showing him all the kingdoms of the world and says, “All this power and glory is mine and I will give it all to you, if you worship me.” We know that Satan is “the father of lies” and so he has no authority over the kingdoms of the world. He tempts Jesus to use his power for his own benefit. But the Our Lord did not come to establish an earthly kingdom for himself. “You shall worship the Lord your God and him alone shall you serve,” he says.
 
Jesus came among us “as one who serves.” That service was to fulfill not his own will but that of his Father. He would not be dissuaded from the mission of bringing us eternal life, a mission he would carry out in humility. Every disciple, like Jesus, must always be willing to stoop low in humble service; to say with the Baptist: “He must increase. I must decrease.”
 
In the devil’s third temptation, Jesus is brought to the parapet of the Temple, where the devil challenges him to make a spectacular display of his divinity: “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here.” Go ahead, Jesus, jump off! There is no risk as angels are supposedly at hand to rescue you in mid-air! The devil taunted Jesus: “You need not suffer. Avoid the cross. Let people follow you through spectacular signs and wonders.” But Jesus again refutes the devil: “You shall not put to the Lord your God to the test.” The sign that Christ would give is the cross: “When I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to myself.”
 
A disciple does not follow after Jesus seeking spectacular miracles but by embracing the cross. Cardinal Bernardin said, “When Jesus invites us to follow him, the Cross is embossed at the very center of the invitation.” It is the central sign of our faith that invites us to find hope where we see pain and to reaffirm the resurrection where we see death. It leads us to see the joy beneath our sorrows and peace in the midst of conflict. It gives us strength in the midst of weakness.
 
As we begin this first full week of Lent, let’s ask for the grace to give God the first place, to serve him in humility and to embrace the cross.
 

Ash Wednesday

“Lord, Make this Lenten Season Different.”

Msgr. Thomas Gervasio

Recently, I came upon a “Letter to Jesus” that I believe captures the message I would like to share with you as we begin the Holy Season of Lent.

Dear Lord Jesus,
 
Today the Lenten Season begins. It is a time to be with you in a special way, a time to pray, to fast and to follow you on your way to Jerusalem, to Golgotha and to the final victory over death.
 
I truly want to follow you, but I also want to follow my own desires and lend an ear to the voices that speak about prestige, success, pleasure, power, and influence. Help me to become deaf to these voices and more attentive to your voice, which calls me to choose the narrow road of life.
 
I know that Lent is going to be a very hard time for me. I have to choose thoughts that are your thoughts, words that are your words, and actions that are your actions. I know how I resist choosing you!
 
How often I have lived through these weeks without paying much attention to penance, fasting and prayer! How often I have missed the spiritual fruits of this season.
 
But how can I really celebrate Easter without observing Lent? How can I rejoice in your Resurrection when I have avoided participating in your death?
 
Yes, Lord, I have to die...die to false attachments, greed and anger, impatience and stinginess. How little I have died with you and really gone your way.
 
O Lord, make this Lenten Season different from the other ones. Be with me at every moment and in every place. Give me the strength and courage to live this season faithfully, so that when Easter comes, I will be able to taste with joy the new life which you have prepared for me!