March 1, 2020

1^st Sunday in Lent (A)

“Ever Tempted Yet Ever Strong”

Msgr. Thomas Gervasio

The First Sunday of Lent always transports us to the desert where Jesus was tempted by the devil. St. John Chrysostom tells us that although sinless, Jesus allowed this experience “in order that the baptized should not be troubled if after Baptism they suffer temptations.” Throughout our life, we shall always have to contend with temptation. They arise from our fallen human nature, the result of Original Sin and from the devil to be sure; but they are different from those experienced by Jesus.
 
I like the way Fr. Ronald Knox, a British convert and theologian explains it: “The temptations of Our Lord are also the temptations of his servants...but the scale of them, naturally is different; the devil is not going to offer you and me all the kingdoms of the world...He knows his market. Like a good salesman, he offers just as much as he thinks his customer will take...nor does he propose his conditions so openly, his offer comes to us wrapped up in all sorts of plausible shapes... and if he sees the chance, he is not slow to point out to you and to me how we could get the thing that we want if we would be untrue to our better selves...and not infrequently...untrue to our Catholic loyalties.” [Pastoral Sermons]
 
Temptations are not sins otherwise we would have to call Our Lord a sinner. St. Thomas Aquinas says, “God does not punish people for what they would have done; but for what they do.” The sin of Adam and Eve was not that they were tempted but that they succumbed to the temptation. God allows temptations to humble, purify, and strengthen us. We might even say that God uses temptation as a means to draw us to himself.
 
Temptations can be so strong and we can become very discouraged by our weakness. This is when the devil, seeing an opening, pesters us even more. But we can take comfort that God is always beside us. Whenever we are tempted, he says, “Be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”
 
St. Paul affirmed: “I can do all things in him who strengthens me.” [Phil 4:14] God’s grace is stronger than any temptation but we must be on guard, vigilant.
 
When we are tempted, Pope Benedict recommends we repeat the final words of the Lord’s Prayer: “...lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.” These words are powerful because they are the words of Christ himself.
 
Pope Benedict says that when we pray those words, we are saying to God, ‘I know that I need trials so that my nature can be purified. When you decide to send me those trials, when you give evil some room to maneuver, as you did with Job, then please remember that my strength goes only so far. Don’t overestimate my capacity. Don’t set too wide the boundaries within which I may be tempted, and be close to me with your protecting hand when it becomes too much for me. Free me, Lord, from all evils, past, present and future. By the intercession of the saints, give peace in our day. Come to my aid with your mercy that I may be free from sin and protected from confusion. May my gaze never be diverted from you, the living God.”