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All of us presumably are very well aware that Lent is a season of
the Church year consisting of forty days. And, most likely, many of us
also think of Lent in terms of what we “give up” for nearly six
weeks.
However, the word “lent” (in Latin, lentus) means “spring.”
It connotes that annual period of the year when seeds transition
from the dormant state characterizing the dead cold of winter—and
this year in Philadelphia, hidden beneath more than sixty inches of
snow—into seedlings which take their nourishment from the sun’s
warmth, the rain showers, as well as the fertile earth. Within a
relatively short period—six weeks from today, for example—the seeds
will burst forth from the earth as plants bloom to reveal new life
and nature’s beauty through a brilliant array of color and scents
displaying nature’s
diversity and beauty.
Only six weeks earlier, there was nothing but those dormant, and
apparently lifeless, seeds.
Today’s readings from scripture remind us that Lent is a similar a
period of transition for us, spiritually speaking.
For the Israelites, the transition was from the death of slavery in
Egypt to the new life of the Promised Land. That transition took
forty years of testing, in the aptly-named Desert of Sin. It
was pretty tough sledding as the Israelites confronted the true enemy, the
evil within, even though there was no snow!
For Jesus, the transition was from that of the life of a carpenter’s son to
that of fulfilling his mission as God’s only begotten Son. This
transition took forty days of testing in the Judean desert.
Again, it was pretty tough sledding, as the true enemy, the evil
from without, tried to get
Jesus to reject the pathway of goodness, and again, yes, there was
no snow!
Like the ancient Israelites and Jesus, too, Lent is the period of
time for us to look at the true enemy: the one from within as well as the
one without. These forty days provide us the time to stop and to
examine the choices we have made that have gotten us to this point
in our lives, to take stock of the consequences of those choices in
order to ascertain more accurately the content and the quality of
our character and, to recognize our need for God’s grace to
transform those dormant seeds of virtue—after all, “the Kingdom of
God is within”—into the full bloom of our character as God created
us. But, for that to happen, let us recall once again those
dormant seeds: they germinate into seedlings not under their own
power but by cooperating with the forces of nature which the Creator
has set into motion.
Today’s scripture relates the temptations the Israelites had to
confront in the Desert of Sin and the three temptations Jesus had to
confront in the Judean desert and, by inference, those choices we
have made when we have been tempted in the desert where we live as well as how these choices
have led us inevitably to the place where we find ourselves today.
Since none of us is perfect, it is likely that the place where we
find ourselves today is neither the Promised Land nor the new life
of the resurrection. The word “temptation” literally means “a
test” and, more precisely, “a choice that tests the will” and, more
explicitly for us on this First Sunday of Lent, “a test of the
content and quality of one’s character.”
The word “temptation” comes to us from ancient archery, where the
archer’s goal is to hit the mark, namely, to shoot the bull’s eye.
Oftentimes, something will enter into the archer’s mind causing the
archer to divert one’s powers of concentration away from what the
archer should be thinking in order to hit the bull’s
eye.
The test the archer must confront and overcome in order to achieve
the objective is to remain focused solely upon the target, not allowing any
extraneous thoughts to divert the archer’s attention.
Temptation, then, isn’t so much about weakness and failure, but
about making those choices that will enable us to be successful in
achieving our spiritual objective. In
turn, those choices will enable us either to hit the mark or to miss
it. Lent provides us an extended period of time during the Church year to evaluate
the choices we have made, where we find ourselves as a result, and
whether that represents adequately the content and quality of
character we want to reveal in our lives. If not, and armed
with God’s
grace, we can then make better choices that will enable us to
achieve our objective.
The Israelites were tempted in the desert to believe that it is
possible to be happier if they were to remain enslaved in Egypt
rather than to live in freedom as God’s people by devoting themselves to the
arduous struggle of traversing through the harrowing Desert of Sin
and into the Promised Land. At this crossroads, the Israelites had
to make the choice to reveal the content and quality of their
character...as God’s holy people. It was not easy and the
Israelites were not always successful. But, it was when they
were tempted that the Israelites forged the content and quality of their
character as God’s
Chosen People and, assisted by God’s grace, Aaron finally did lead the Israelites
into the Promised Land.
Today’s gospel tells us that Jesus was also tempted three times in
the Judean desert.
Alone and hungry, Jesus was ripe for testing. Would he continue his
fast or give in to the devil for a lousy loaf of bread? How often
to this point in our lives have we chosen ease and comfort, having
sold out for what is of “lesser worth”? Do we really believe that
mere
“bread”—money and what acquiring more of it will—make us truly happier?
Is that who you really are?
The devil, we were told, also tempted Jesus to believe that worldly
power brings fame and glory, a lifestyle similar to those whom the
celebrity writer Robin Leach has chronicled in the 1990s television
series Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous. How often do we
find ourselves tempted to believe that we’d be more respected and
honored, if only we possessed the power to make the world the way we
want it to be? Well, maybe not the whole world, but how about the
world that includes my spouse, my children, my in-laws, and other
family members? What if I possessed the power to make them be
how I want them to be? Or, what about gossiping and lying about
others so that other people will think better about me? Is
that who you really are?
Lastly, the devil tempted Jesus to use his power to serve his own
purposes by offering the choice to engage in a cheap spectacle that would bring
Jesus worldly acclaim. We may not be able to leap from the parapets of tall
buildings and have angels from heaven swoop down to save us, but what are those
cheap stunts we have engaged in or want to engage in with the objective of receiving
adulation from an adoring public? Think back a bit. What
have you done that, were it made public on the front page of the
Philadelphia Inquirer or received one million hits on the
Internet, would make you blush in shame? Think forward a bit.
What are you thinking about doing that, were this to be made public
on the front page of the Philadelphia Inquirer or to receive one million hits on the
Internet, would make you blush in shame? Is that who you
really are?
At his crossroads, Jesus chose to overcome these three temptations
so that he would reveal the content and quality of his character as
God’s only begotten son. Are you as focused so that, like
Jesus, you will hit the mark?
Over the
past few weeks, here’s some of the tests people have related to me:
1) There’s the test to believe that one’s happiness will be
discovered through the magic of divorce and remarriage, the
rationale being: “Since my spouse has violated the marriage vows,
shouldn’t mine be null and void, too?”
2) There’s the test to simulate marriage—euphemistically called
“shacking up”—in the belief that testing out one’s partner provides
for a more stable and long-lasting marriage, the rationale being:
“Spouses are like cars that should be road-tested before purchase.”
3) Young people are tested, too, especially when it comes to the
fourth commandment, “Honor your father and mother.” Some young
people actually believe they can belittle and demean their parents,
usurping their parents’ God-given authority, the rationale being:
“All parents, and especially my parents, are about as lame and
stupid as Al and Peg Bundy in Married with Children.”
4) There’s a temptation, one as old as humanity itself, but
emerging with even greater power in this era of the Internet. Men
especially believe that fantasizing about illicit sexual matters is
never intrinsically evil nor is it demeaning to women, in general,
or to one’s spouse, in particular, the rationale being: “Since
pornography is so readily available on the web, there’s
nothing really wrong with it.”
I’ve
not invented these temptations; they are what people have recently
told me are their struggles in the desert of their lives and have asked me to pray for them. What is
important for us to consider this first Sunday of Lent is that, in
the crossroads of temptations like these, people can reveal their
belief that something other than God rules the universe, and
choosing that, miss the mark, fall short, and ultimately, find
themselves becoming that type of person they really don’t like and
would likely never befriend. Or, in the crossroads of
temptations like these, people can reveal their belief that God
rules the universe and, by making the choice to allow God to nourish
and strengthen those dormant seeds of virtue to come to fruition.
This is how we can hit the bull’s eye, as the content and quality of
our character reveals us to be one of God’s beloved. Success
won’t
come over night, however. It may take forty days or perhaps
even forty
years. The question is: Do I possess the fortitude in the
crossroads of the desert to chose
the pathway that will lead me to the good?
Lent is the time of transition away from choices to allow those
seeds of virtue to remain dead and
dormant and toward those choices that will germinate those seeds of
virtue and lead us to new life. This season
begins not with
“giving something up”
but instead by realizing that it is at
the crossroads of temptation in the middle of the desert where we make the choices about what we
want to constitute the true content and quality of our character.
The challenge is not so much to resist temptation but in the
midst of temptation to
make those courageous choices that will enable us live as God’s
beloved by inviting God to shower His grace upon those dormant seeds
of virtue—again,
“the Kingdom of God is within”—so
they will germinate and come to fruition. It’s in this sense that Lent isn’t so
much about “giving up things” as it is about “adopting an attitude” and, in
particular, the attitude trusting in God’s grace.
The temptations that the ancient Israelites and Jesus
experienced in the desert are intended to comfort, not to scare us.
After all, the Israelites and Jesus were human, just as we are, and
both showed us how to it is possible resist making those choices
that will ultimately destroy the seeds of virtue that God has breathed into us.
Temptation is a test where, at the crossroads in the desert, God
offers us the wonderful opportunity to recognize the choices before us and
for us to
invite God’s
grace to nourish those dormant seeds of virtue
with the objective that we will hit the bull’s
eye by
one day
revealing the true content and quality of our character, namely,
that we are God’s beloved.
And, now, the
Annual Top 10 Lenten Penances:
The 2010 edition...
These penances are arranged in order from those fellow parishioners
have identified as “least demanding” to those they’ve identified as
“most demanding.” Those who want to practice a more “muscular” form
of Catholicism during the season of Lent should try performing as
many penances from the most difficult (“easier”) penances to the
least difficult (“very difficult”) penances as is possible.
(easier penances)
10. Immediately upon
waking up, begin each day by making a very slow and thoughtful Sign
of the Cross. Be sure to press you hand against your forehead
(mind), your stomach (source of emotions), and shoulders (heart and
lungs) so that you feel your body as you say the words. And, before
going to bed, do the same.
9. Abstain from meat
on Ash Wednesday and all Fridays during Lent and give up something
you enjoy—like second helpings, candy, or desserts—for forty days.
8. Attend daily Mass
and participate in the Stations of the Cross on the Fridays of Lent.
7. Each day, pick out
and offer to complete an undesirable chore assigned to someone else
at home, school, or at work.
(more difficult penances)
6. Abstain from all
foul language, filthy jokes, gossip, and sarcastic or demeaning
language each day of Lent.
5. Turn off the
computer except for absolutely essential work. That means: no
Internet chatrooms, IMs (instant messaging), non-essential emails,
and absolutely no websurfing for forty days.
4. (a choice)
[especially for retired persons] Spend one hour each week of Lent in
Eucharistic adoration. Don’t bring anything but yourself. Sit
there in silence and contemplate the gift of the Eucharist.
[especially for married couples] Spend one hour one night each week
looking at your wedding albums and discuss what your hopes and
dreams were. Ask each other: What do I need to do so that we can
fulfill our hopes and desires? [especially for kids] Ask you Mom or
Dad what one thing you need to do to improve yourself during Lent
and do it.
(very difficult penances)
3. Say the rosary
every day. But, do so by offering the rosary sincerely from your
heart for someone you are having difficulties with, like your
in-laws, brother or sister, etc. Or, in a private space each day,
stand up, stretch out your arms as if you are placing yourself on
the Cross, and envision your sins nailing Jesus to the Cross. Feel
the pain that sin causes.
2. Turn off the
television, radio, IPod, Playstation, etc., for forty days. “What
am I going to do?” you may wonder. (especially for single adults
and older couples) Try reading the Sunday Scriptures each day of the
week or a section from the Catechism of the Catholic Church
each day. (especially for teenagers) Along with your parents, read
Pope John Paul II’s encyclical, On The Family (Familiaris
Consortio). It’s free and available on the web. Read one
section each day and discuss it after dinner as a family. If you
don’t understand something, ask your parents to explain what the
Pope means.
1. Each day, sit down
in absolute silence. Think about yourself and your life for about
five minutes. Then, write down a sin or character flaw you know you
need to improve upon. When you think you’ve completed your list, go
to Church and make a good confession.
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HOMILY
