A PATTERN OF SELF MASTERY

V/​ I will turn to you O God, 

R/​ to God who gives joy to my youth

V/​ Give me the Wisdom that sits by your throne; 

R/ that I may be counted among your children

Lord, in your all-providential plan, you have led me to this moment to rediscover me in your Word and Wisdom. Aid me to make this time of meditation and prayer enriching, transforming, and liberating for my well-being and others. Amen!

First Sunday of Lent, Year C

9th March 2025

Deuteronomy 26:4-10; Psalm 91(90):1-2, 10-15; Romans 10:8-13; Luke 4:1-13

The Lenten journey we are each called to follow is directly linked to salvation history, which is presented powerfully throughout the readings of Lent, not least on this first Sunday. The Hebrew scriptures on this day present not one particular stage of salvation history, but the essence of the whole journey. We, too, belong to the Lord, and the reading from Romans gives us our own confession of faith.

Saint Paul tells us, everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. Saint Paul is here presenting Jesus as the fulfillment of the law. In like manner, Edith Stein describes the law of the new covenant as the Lord himself. It is in this light that she explains the Carmelite spirituality of meditating on the law of the Lord. The Gospel of Luke holds before our eyes Jesus tempted in the wilderness. This comes directly after his baptism which reveals to us the Trinity, the Holy Spirit descending on him like a dove, and Jesus hearing the voice of the Father. You are my Son, the Beloved, with you I am well pleased. John of the Cross, so Carmelite in highlighting the relationship of love, imagines the Father saying to Jesus in the heart of the Trinity. My Son, you whom I love so.

The scene of the desert also suggests the presence of the Trinity. Jesus is led there and through it by the Holy Spirit, and he would have been filled with the joyous memory of the Father’s so recent words of love, you are my Son. And it is precisely on that point that the devil strikes, launching this challenge.

If you are the Son of God.

Saint Teresa warns us that the devil works like a noiseless file, hence the need for vigilance. To a discerning ear, the difference is palpable. When the Father calls Jesus my Son, it is all about relationship and mission. When the devil says, Son of God, it is all about status and power. Temptation can strike us hardest when we are at our most vulnerable. Jesus is hungry, having fasted for 40 days. But he refuses to turn the stone into bread and counters all three temptations with words from Deuteronomy on the Israelites testing in the desert. Man shall not live by bread alone. He answers this first temptation, thus implying what follows in the quotation, but by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.

Scripture is our shield. Then the devil offers to give Jesus all the kingdoms of the world if he will worship him. This horrible suggestion is countered by Jesus. You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve. This reply is helpful for us in every temptation. Resolute fidelity to God and a disposition of humility are firm foundations for countering the devil’s wiles.

The next temptation is actually couched in the words of scripture. The devil urges Jesus to throw himself from the top of the temple. He says, the angels will prevent his foot from striking a stone.

But Jesus replies, you shall not put the Lord your God to the test. It is striking that the three temptations seem to have an echo in the Our Father, the bread, the kingdoms, not being put to the test. Saint Teresa knew the immeasurable worth of this prayer given to us by Jesus. Her comment on avoiding temptation shows us the surest protection. Souls who practice prayer walk so much more securely than those who take another road.