Today is the first Sunday of Lent
Our Gospel today is the Temptation of Christ. In it we hear about how Satan tempts Christ to break his fast, receive power over the world, and to challenge His Father to demonstrate His care for Him.
As Christians we too are sometimes tempted. Perhaps the exact details are different but we hear that voice whispering in our ear from time to time. During Lent maybe we’re tempted to not fast, not abstain from eating meat, not be prayerful, and not be charitable.
Jesus referred to the Hebrew Scriptures to fight back against temptation. We should use Scripture too. For us, we have both the Hebrew Scriptures and the New Testament, especially the Gospels.
St. Jerome famously said that ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ. In this case our understanding of the Christian Scriptures is a key tool in our toolbox to avoid sin and giving in to temptation.
We should all have a good working knowledge of Scripture. In fact, a great Lenten project, as I mentioned last week, would be to read more Scripture, but not just read, but prayerfully read it.
Maybe read the daily Gospel readings and pray for understanding and the ability to apply it to our lives. After all, Scripture isn’t just descriptive, something for us to know. It’s intended to guide our lives day in and day out.
So as we’re getting started in Lent think about how you might strengthen your ability to avoid the temptation to sin and grow closer to Christ in the process.
That’s it for now. Thanks for reading.
I hope you have a great week.
Peace, Bob
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