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First Sunday of Lent
We began our Lenten journey on Ash Wednesday and now we've reached the first plateau, the First Sunday of Lent, where we read in Mt 4:10 the story of the devil who sees Jesus in the mountains and shows Him all the earth. He tempts Jesus three times. And each time, Jesus puts the devil in his place, "Get away, Satan! It is written: 'The Lord, your God, shall you worship and him alone shall you serve.'"
Maybe this is a good time to think about and reflect on the sort of friends we go around with. If they are people who tempt us or encourage us to do evil, maybe it is the time to jettison those so-called 'friends' and to see them no more. Seek out those who have your benefit and well-being in mind.
What would you do, if those type of friends accompanied you in life? And, if they tried, as the devil did to Jesus, to get you to do things that were not healthy for your health or your soul. I don't know what you would do, but I would tell them to get lost! There are so many human beings whose mental idleness gets them in all sorts of trouble, just for the heck of it. Just to exercise control. Some of such people are sick, but many are just evil. They weren't born evil, but through unfortunate circumstances in their lives they became evil. We can try to convert them back to become good people, but if, after a time, it appears this won't work, then the best thing is to just pray for them and distance yourself from them entirely. Jesus can put the devil in his place, and so must we!
At Holy Mass, and in Church the color of the vestments has gone from the Green of Ordinary time to the Purple of lent. It somewhat reminds me of the Northern winters (I live in Florida and here it is always green, so this analogy doesn't work well down here), where they were muted grays and browns in the forested areas in a rather life-less landscape visible to most except to naturalists who always manage to find life. Still there is great beauty in that bleak landscape. I remember driving around in February or March, the traditional time of the beginning of Lent, in southern New Hampshire and Vermont, and finding there typical New England scenery amid bare trees. You might say, so what - but to me these shapes meant something in my meditations and reflections - a journey beginning when there was little or no life. And in Church, with purple or very dark blue vestments, that remind us of no life, our journey is just beginning.
We are the oppressed, the poor, often, the sheep and the goats, and many of us are worthy of eternal punishment and don't even know it. Many have lost the meaning of sin. And many sin every day, deeply offending God. Let us pray for them, but let us also pray that we, ourselves, will do everything to avoid the near occasion of sin in our lives! We can fight sin. Yes, we can. If you already start by saying "Oh, but it is so difficult," or "But - everybody does it (sins)" - what are you saying? You're saying yes negatively - you are condemning the effort before you have even started. It's like the glass of water is half full, or half empty. You CAN fight sin. I am totally sure of this! So let us take this week of Lent, beginning with the First Sunday, and really try to make an inroads into sinning less.
Now's the time to examine what your biggest problems are. Go through the list of the Ten Commandments, and sort it out. Only you know which Commandments you routinely break. Then pray that Our Lord give you the strength to fight these particular problems. If these sins are big sins, please go see a priest and confess your sins. The Sacrament of Reconciliation gives you the Grace to improve your relationship with God!
May this Lenten Journey inspire you, and May God bless you, and keep you!
Fred Schaeffer, OFS
