Anonymous artist, The Temptations of Christ in the Desert (1128), Fresco transferred into canvas, The Cloisters at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York)
We are all tempted to sin. That is part of life. But we can defeat temptation. In some ways we all experience each of the temptations that the devil put before the Lord. The devil wanted Jesus to trust in His own power, rather than the Father. He wanted him to change rocks into bread. We also are tempted to trust in ourselves instead of trust in God. We cannot fall for the temptation to think that we can do everything ourselves. We have to trust in God. We have to have faith. Yes, we must do our best to provide for our future that of our loved ones, but, ultimately, we rely on the Lord to care for us. We can resist the temptation to push God out of our lives. This call to faith is not always that easy. In fact, it is usually quite difficult. It is quite difficult to spend so much time and energy on a child, or on a situation, for example a career, and then trust the future to God rather than to ourselves. It is tempting to think that we do not need God. In fact, that is the temptation of the atheistic elements of the world. The so-called intellectual elite often mock people of faith, belittling us for believing in God and asserting that they have wonderful lives without God. And then they write books about the quiet desperation of everyday man. We cannot allow these fools to sway us. We know that we need God. Daily. We cannot survive without God. We cannot be happy without Him. And we cannot live forever without Him. Like Jesus’ second temptation, we are tempted to force God into action instead of simply trusting in Him to care for us. We may not be standing on the edge of a building deciding that God must save us if we jump, but we may be toying with that which can destroy us, alcohol, sex, drugs, etc, and think, erroneously, that if we fall God will catch us. We may be living on the edge. It is presumption to think that God will take care of us if we live rejecting the way of life he has given us. God is All-Merciful, true, but He is also All Just. We trust in God, but, as Jesus told the devil, we don’t put God to a test. We have to resist the temptation to live life on the edge because if we slip, we fall into eternal death. And like Jesus, we can fight the temptation to be bought by the world. The devil tempts us to join those who do evil, tune down or turn off our consciences, and reap wealth beyond our imaginations. There is a lot of money to be made working in the low industries of our society, a lot of money to be made cheating our way to the top of the business world, but we refuse to sell our souls to the devil. We live for One and One only. We live for our Heavenly Father, not for ourselves. So, the goal of our lives is not to amass a fortune. The goal of our lives is to live for God. We have bought into the Kingdom, not sold our souls to the world, or to the devil, often the same thing. At the end of the Gospel Satan left Jesus, and the angels came to help Him. There are angels here. How many are in our parish? How many angels are in our homes? The angels are our protectors and our spiritual care givers. They will minister to us also as we join the Lord in the fight against evil. Let us not forget that we are warriors in the battle of the Lord against the power of the devil. We don’t fight alone. The Lord and His forces fight with us. We ask the Lord today to protect us from the temptations of the world, lead us not into temptation, and to deliver us from evil. And we trust in God for we know that we are loved; for as St. Paul says in the First Letter to the Corinthians, we have been purchased, and at what a price! • AE
• St. Dominic Catholic Church •
First Sunday of Lent 2023
Saturday February 25, 2023
4.00 p.m. Sacrament of Reconciliation
5.00 p.m. Holy Mass
Sunday February 26, 2023
7.30 a.m. Holy Mass
10.00 a.m. Holy Mass
12.30 p.m. Holy Mass
3.00 p.m. Misa en Español
I Domingo de Cuaresma (Ciclo A)
Lo propio de nuestra sociedad consumista es que no sólo consumimos lo necesario para la vida, sino que consumimos sobre todo y fundamentalmente bienes superfluos. Éste es un hecho que, además, mueve la política y la economía. Lo importante, segun esta mentalidad, es aumentar el crecimiento y subir el nivel de consumo. Todo gira en torno a este consumo de bienes superfluos. Los seres humanos hemos aprendido a cifrar el éxito, la felicidad y hasta la personalidad en poseer tal modelo de coche o vestir con tal marca. Es el modo natural de vivir. En este consumo vivimos, nos movemos y existimos. Pero, ¿sabemos lo que estamos haciendo?, ¿queremos seguir consumiendo de esta manera?, ¿es éste el mejor estilo de vida?, ¿no nos interesa cambiar y humanizar un poco más nuestra vida? Tal vez, lo primero es tornar conciencia de lo que estamos haciendo. Es un primer paso, pero importante. ¿Por qué compro tantas cosas?, ¿es para estar a la altura mis amigos?, ¿para demostrarme a mí mismo y a los demás que soy alguien y que quede claro que he triunfado? Podemos preguntamos también si somos libres o esclavos. ¿Soy dueño de mis decisiones, o termino comprando lo que me dicta la publicidad?, ¿tengo lo que me ayuda a vivir de manera digna y dichosa, o estoy llenando mi vida de cosas inútiles? Nos hemos de preguntar, sobre todo, si este consumismo tan irresponsable nos parece justo. Ya nada es bastante para vivir bien. Seguimos creando y creando necesidades siempre nuevas, sin sentirnos satisfechos. Mientras tanto, millones de seres humanos no tienen lo necesario para sobrevivir. ¿Qué pensar de todo esto? ¿No es injusto y estúpido? No sólo de pan vive el hombre, dice Jesús en el evangelio de hoy, una verdad que necesitamos volver escuchar una y otra vez. Este primer domingo del tiempo de Cuaresma nos trae, sí, preguntas incómodas, pero necesarias. Vitales • AE
LA MEDITACION DE LA ESPOSA 