FIRST SUNDAY OF LENT—C

(Deuteronomy 26: 4-10     Romans 10: 8-13      Luke 4: 1-13)

We have begun a holy season of reflection that leads to repentance. We have taken in vain the grace of God to an extent that we are clueless in this life as to what to choose as the final destiny of our souls. If we take some time off to reflect on the necessity to desire for the Lord, we shall be brought back to our state of grace by the hand of God.

There is a constant struggle within us as regards the use of our concupiscence: either we use it positively in addition with cooperating with the grace of God to be steadfast in our desire to see the face of God, or we use it negatively to satiate and accomplish our lustful desires. In the case of the latter, there is no effort on our part to cooperate with the grace of God, and as a result we cause so much mess in our lives.  When we negatively channel our concupiscence towards self-glorification, we easily fall prey to any temptations. But if we believe in the power of Jesus, then we shall easily withstand and overcome any measure of temptations.

Our private and public reflections will immediately indicate that we are so frail in matters of resisting the Devil, because either we do not trust in the power of the grace we have received, or we do not focus on our purpose as God’s Children. Prayers, both private and public, that remind us of our need to depend on the mighty power of God will help us in this regard. Other forms of self-discipline like Almsgiving and Fasting that include the systematic effort of eliminating all that take us away from the love of God and neighbor are sure aids of increasing our total trust in God. Lent offers us these possibilities to sanctify our total beings as we prepare to celebrate Easter and finally meet our God.