Feb. 21, 2021: 1st Sunday Lent B
Have you noticed that in scripture whenever God is preparing someone for an important task or mission, the person experiences time in the desert? The time of preparation in the desert often involves deprivation of comfort, food, and support system. The Old Testament Joseph, Moses, Prophet Elijah, Naomi, and John the Baptist are some of the examples.
God also prepared Jesus for public ministry by leading him into the desert. When Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist in the Jordan River, the Holy Spirit descended upon him and the voice of the Father spoke, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.” Upon his baptism, the Holy Spirit led Jesus into the desert for 40 days where he fasted and prayed in solitude.
There in the wilderness, Jesus prepared himself for the mission the Father sent him to accomplish, that is to offer up his life as the perfect atoning sacrifice for our sins. It is while Jesus endured hunger, thirst, fatigue, and bodily weakness that Satan came to tempt him. Isn’t it true for us that when we are hungry, tired, or bored that we are more susceptible to the evil one’s temptation?
In the Garden of Eden, Adam was surrounded by comfort and food when he gave into the temptation by the devil. Jesus, the new Adam, was in the solitude of the harsh desert and deprived of food and comfort when he remained faithful to the Father against the temptations of Satan. Here in lies a lesson for us: The strength to overcome the temptation of the devil comes from feeding on God’s word through prayer and doing his will. How important is prayer in our lives right now?
When Mother Teresa was in Rome, Fr. Angelo Comastri had an opportunity to visit with her. During the conversation, Mother asked him: “How many hours do you pray a day?” Fr. Comastri was a little embarrassed and replied to her that he celebrated the Mass daily, prayed the Liturgy of the Hours and the Rosary. He thought he was almost a hero in the art of prayer. However, Mother Teresa kreplied, “That’s not enough because love cannot be lived minimally.” Then Mother asked him to promise to spend half an hour in adoration in front of the Blessed Sacrament daily. Fr. Comastri who is now Cardinal Comastri said, “I promised her, and today I can say that this saved my priesthood.”
Lent gives us the opportunity to be led into the desert where God will prepare us for our mission. Our faithfulness to prayer, fasting from food to moderate our sensual desires, and giving generously to the needy will be essential in allowing God to prepare us. Fasting will bring some moderation in our lives in which we tend to overdo--overeating or over indulging in food; by cutting back, say even going without one meal a day, we refocus our need to be grateful for God’s daily sustenance. Charity or almsgiving counters our temptation to be self-centered by refocusing our attention to the needs of others and finding help for them, however small. Prayer is pure receptivity to God's grace, love in action, communion with the Spirit who dwells within us, leading us to follow Jesus, Pope Benedict XVI wrote. Let us ask St. Joseph to help. us to make this desert time a sacred time for centering our lives back on trusting and relying on God.
