From our Pastor’s Desk

Dear Family:

Lent is primarily the time of intense spiritual preparation for conquering our temptations, using the means Jesus used during his forty days of preparation in the desert for his public life. It is also the time of repenting for our sins and renewing our lives so that we can celebrate Easter with our Risen Lord who conquered sin and death by His passion, death and resurrection. Today’s readings teach us that we are always tempted by the devil, by the world, and by our own selfish interests. So, we need to cooperate actively with God’s grace, if we are to conquer our temptations and practice prayer, self-control, and charity.

It is not a coincidence that today, the first Sunday of Lent, the church presents us with the theme of temptation to prepare us for the challenges ahead. In the first reading we read the classical story of the fall of the first Adam. It describes the “Original Temptation” – “you will be like gods who know what is good and what is evil.” Adam and Eve were given the freedom to make a choice to live for God, dependent upon, and obedient to, His will, or to say no to God. The temptation to evil led Adam and Eve to an act of faithlessness and sin. In the gospel we see Jesus’ threefold temptations and his phenomenal victory, the rise of the second Adam. St. Matthew shows us how Jesus Christ conquered temptation by relying on faith in God’s Word and authority. St. Paul, in the second reading, contrasted the first Adam, the gate of sin, from the second Adam, the gate of grace and mercy. He describes how the disobedience of Adam, who fell to Satan’s Original Temptation, brought him and us sin, death, and a broken relationship with God. St. Paul explains that Christ regained for us a right relationship with God by his perfect obedience to God His Father.

All readings today give us great insight on truth and the reality of temptation and the tempter. All the claims of the devil do not correspond with truth. He claims to have powers which he has not. He claims to possess knowledge which he has not. In the first reading today, the devil deceived Adam and Eve to believe that they will be like God if they eat the forbidden fruit. He is indeed the father of lies. All his promises are fake. No one gives what he does not have. But the devil did not succeed with Jesus because truth and falsehood have nothing in common.

One might be wondering why Jesus, who is God, “one in substance with the Father,” experienced temptations. Should he not be above temptations? The answer is simple: Jesus allowed himself to be tempted by the devil for the same reason he allowed himself to be baptized by John at the Jordan river. Because he was human like us in all things but sin, he passed through all things we are passing through. We are tempted the same way he was tempted. It is still the same old method and weapon that the devil used on him that we still experience today; nothing has changed. More importantly, he taught us that no one is immune to temptations.

The weapons of the devil as we see in the first reading and the gospel are: Uncontrollable appetite, pride, cheap popularity, vainglory, egoism, arrogance, unquenchable quest for power and wealth.

We must learn to put God first. Adam and Eve put their ambition first- “You shall be like God”. This is the most cruel of human ambitions, to be like God in majesty and power. The devil was simply showing them the route to his own downfall. But Jesus put God first. When the devil tempted Jesus to turn stones to bread, He replied, “It is written: One does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.” When the devil tempted Jesus to bow down and worship him Jesus replied, “It is written: The Lord, your God, shall you worship and him alone shall you serve.” When the devil tempted Jesus to fall down from the pinnacle of the temple with the false assurance that God had given his angels a command to protect him quoting psalm 91:11, Jesus replied, “It is written: You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test.”

Whatever we are tempted with today is just nothing compared to what God has in store for us tomorrow. If we endure, the reward will be so great. Christ who conquered the temptation of bread later multiplied bread for thousands at the appointed time. He conquered the seduction of earthly power, but now he rules over heaven and earth. He conquered the temptation of cheap popularity by refusing to fall from the pinnacle of the temple; now he is the most famous everywhere. Think about people you know who gave in to temptation and how much they have compromised their future.

Temptation can come at any time. Expect it both when are you swimming in comfort like Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden and when you are in great distress and in despair like Christ who was in need of food and water after forty days of fasting. No one is immune to temptation. Even though he was filled with the Holy Spirit, yet Jesus was tempted (Luke 4:1). No matter how powerful you are spiritually and how holy you are it will still come. St. Peter admonishes us, “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8). Toughest temptations in life come at the peak of success. Christ was tempted at the peak of spiritual preparation for his public ministry. Fortify yourself with the word of God, gird yourself with prayer and abstinence.

We too can overcome our different temptations in life. He is with us in our weaknesses. “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are–yet he did not sin” (Heb. 4:15.) Victory is ours through Christ our Lord.

Because we, the priests, understand perfectly how our lives are always surrounded by temptations, here in St. Katherine Drexel Parish we are adding one more day of confessions during the Lent season. Therefore, our confession schedule for Lent is as follows: Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 5:15 to 6:45 pm and Saturdays from 8:30 to 10:00 am. If the confession schedule does not work for you, you may also be able to schedule a confession by appointment. Just call either Fr. Omar (954) 389-5003 Ext. 215, or Fr. Saul (954) 389-5003 Ext. 222. We will try to accommodate your need as much as possible.

Just remember that we are to confront and conquer temptations as Jesus did, using the means Jesus employed: fasting and prayers. We are to grow in holiness during this Lent through prayer, reconciliation and sharing. After all, we are One Body, One Spirit, One Family! Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint Katharine Drexel, Saint Michael the Archangel, St. José Gregorio Hernández, Pope Saint Pius X, St. Teresa of Avila, and St. Charbel, pray for us.

Yours in Christ!
Fr. Omar