Today’s Gospel tells us about Jesus being tempted three times by the devil (Matthew 4:1-11). At the end of the day, the score was Jesus 3, Satin 0. Jesus resisted the devil the same way we can. First, he was not ambushed because he knew the tempter would come. And so do we.
Second, Jesus centered his strength in his identity with his heavenly Father, never letting the claims of his baptism fail from his memory. And so it can be with us.
Jesus prepared his heart by storing up knowledge of the scriptures, caring for his soul as well as his mind on God’s word. What do we store up in the pantry of our heads and hearts? What material are we meditating upon and from which we will draw on in the moment of temptation? If all we have to draw upon is sports trivia, the latest gossip, or financial projections, we are in trouble. Those are just junk food to the soul.
But if we follow the way of Jesus, then we too can say, “Away from me, Satin!” And sure enough, defeated, Satin and his temptations will leave us… in a hurry.
- Deacon Robert
“There is an urgent need to recover a correct perspective
on life as a whole. The correct perspective is that of
eternity, for which life at every phase is a meaningful
preparation. Old age too has a proper role to play in this
process of gradual maturing along the path to eternity. And
this process of maturing cannot but benefit the larger
society of which the elderly person is a part.”
~ Blessed John Paul II, Letter to the Elderly, 1999
