This Sunday is the 1st Sunday of Lent. In the Gospel of St. Matthew, we hear about Christ fasting and praying in the desert for 40 days, and then, at the end, Satan tempting Him with all of the world's goods, if He were to bow down to him. Christ dispels him quickly. St. Francis de Sales says that Christ was tempted more than three times when in the desert, but that St. Matthew deemed these three times would serve the purpose to teach us what we are to know. We are not immune from temptations from this same devil. He never gives up on trying to get our soul to be with him for all eternity. We also learn that the devil also knows Scripture. He can twist it, like all false religions, to his own use.
Our beloved Abbot Gueranger states:
'We have three enemies to fight against; our soul has three dangers; for, as the beloved disciple says, all that is in the world, is the concupiscence of the flesh, and the concupiscence of the eyes, and the pride of life! By the concupiscence of the flesh, is meant the love of sensual things, which covets whatever is agreeable to the flesh, and, when not curbed, draws the soul into unlawful pleasures. Concupiscence of the eyes expresses the love of the goods of this world, such as riches, and possessions; these dazzle the eye, and then seduce the heart. Pride of life is that confidence in ourselves, which leads us to be vain and presumptuous, and makes us forget that all we have, our life and every good gift, we have from God.'
Let those who must go, on these days, and mingle in the company of worldlings, be guided by St. Francis of Sales, who advises them to think, from time to time, on such considerations as these:--that while all these frivolous, and often dangerous, amusements are going on, there are countless souls being tormented in the fire of hell, on account of the sins they committed on similar occasions; --that, at that very hour of the night, there are many holy religious depriving themselves of sleep in order to sing the divine praises and implore God's mercy upon the world, and upon them that are wasting their time in its vanities;--that there are thousands in the agonies of death, while all that gaiety is going on;--that God and His angels are attentively looking upon this thoughtless group; and finally, that life is passing away, and death so much nearer each moment.
As St. Francis says: 'If we are led by the Spirit of God to the place of temptation, we should not fear, but should be assured that He will render us victorious. But we must not seek temptation not go out to allure it, however holy and generous we may think ourselves to be, for we are not more valiant than David, not than our Divine Master Himself, who did not choose to seek it. Our enemy is like a chained dog; if we do not approach, it will do us no harm, even though it tries to frighten us by barking at us.'
St. Bernard, referring to words in Psalm 90,(which is a really good Psalm to read during this time of year), which is telling us: '... to have faith in God and He will deliver us. Deliver us from what? There are three kinds of terrors which we might be afraid of (groups we don't want to be in). The first fear is that of cowards and slothful souls; the second, that of children (I think this is being like a child and not wanting to learn anything); and the third, that of the weak. Fear is the first temptation which the enemy presents to those who have resolved to serve God, for as soon as they are shown what perfection require of them they think, "Alas, I shall never be able to do it." ...But Our Lord does not want this kind of warrior in His army; He wants combatants and conquerors, not sluggards and cowards. He chose to be tempted, and Himself attacked in order to give us an example.'
Following are some parts of St. Francis' sermon for this first Sunday of Lent:
'Thus , it is a very necessary practice to prepare our soul for temptation. That is, wherever we may be and however perfect we may be, we must rest assured that temptation will attack us. Hence, we ought to be so disposed and to provide ourselves with the weapons necessary to fight valiantly in order to carry off the victory, since the crown is only for the combatants and conquerors.'
'The life of the perfect Christian is a continual penance. Console yourself, I pray, and take courage. Now is not the time for rest.'
'Walk confidently! If you are armed with the armor of Faith, nothing can harm you.'
'Gently, do not hurry on so fast! Begin to live well, according to your vocation: sweetly, simply, and humbly. Then trust in God, Who will make you holy when it pleases Him.'
Let us, during this Lenten season, try to make good on our promises, which we made to God, and God alone, and fight these temptations to the best of our God-given ability. Onward, Christian soldiers.
I'm going to end with a quote from St. Augustine:
"Because we are human, we are not strong.
Because we are not strong, we pray."
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