Sunday, February 26, 2023

READINGS: GN 2:7-9; 3:1-7; PS 51:3-6,12-13,17; ROM 5:12-19; MT 4:1-11
As we begin the beautiful and challenging season of Lent, our readings this week remind us why we need these 40 days so much. They also suggest a particular strategy we Catholic Christian might take as we make the journey toward Easter.
Our first reading takes us all the way back to Genesis, reminding us of our Creator and the loving care and lavish gifts He gave to our ancestors, Adam and Eve. He created them out of pure love and provided abundantly for them.
Life was good in the Garden! Until the first couple allowed just a sliver of doubt in the goodness of God to enter their minds.
Swayed by the words of the serpent, they became ungrateful and distrustful despite God’s great love for them and all the gifts of creation He had provided. Sound familiar? These are the same temptations that threaten to pull us away from God today.
Our Gospel passage from Matthew shows us (by the example of Jesus Himself) one way that we can attain spiritual strength and grow to become more effective disciples and followers of Jesus Christ. In this passage, we find our Lord in the desert, fasting for 40 days and 40 nights. Like Adam and Eve, He is confronted by the evil one. But unlike our fallen parents, our Lord triumphs definitively over the devil’s lies and sends him slithering away.
How did He do it? By knowing the Scriptures and by proclaiming them confidently. And by His perfect trust in the Father.
This Lent, let us embrace this 40-day spiritual reset. Let us prioritize our use of time by committing to prayerful study of the Scriptures and trusting more deeply in the Father’s love. We will surely be better and more committed disciples and Catholic Christians by Easter Sunday!