Dear Parishioners of St. James:
Praised be Jesus Christ!
The First Sunday of Lent presents us with Jesus being tempted by Satan in the desert. Jesus allows the evil one to tempt Him in order to manifest the opposition of Himself and Satan, as well as to triumph over evil through perfect obedience to God the Father (Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC), 538). Essentially, Jesus went out to the desert to pick a fight with Satan to show us how to emerge victorious in our battles with the evil one.
God permits the devil to tempt us in order to prove our love. Love must be freely given. God does not force us to love Him or one another. Our free will makes us like God, but it must be used free of corruption and evil so that it may find its true fulfillment. Often, we give in to Satan’s temptations by preferring a false good to a true one. The devil wants us to use our freedom to break God’s commandments and live a life of slavery. God’s grace enables us to resist Satan’s lies and live in true freedom.
Temptations are not sins – they are invitations to holiness! Each time Satan tempts us we are given an opportunity to show our love for God. Do not be shaken by temptations since Jesus Himself was tempted. If we resist the lies of the evil one then we grow in grace. However, if we give in to temptation and fall into sin, humbly confessing your sins wins an increase in God’s grace and fresh strength for the next fight. When we trust God, even after a fall, we imitate Jesus Christ’s humble trust in the Father’s love and emerge stronger.
Temptations are permitted by God so that we might become more like Christ. When the evil one offers a lie, resist him solid in your faith (1 Pet. 5:9). Then we will grow in God’s grace from victory to victory until we prove valiant soldiers who have conquered all evil through Jesus Christ our Lord.
God bless you,
Fr. Geary
Saint James Catholic Church 