22 — THE GREAT BATTLE

First Sunday of Lent

Presence of God. — O Jesus, I withdraw with you into the desert; teach me how to fight against the triple concupiscence of the flesh, of pride, of avarice.

Meditation

1 — Today, as the strictly Lenten period begins, the Church invites us to that great battle, the battle against sin, which must lead us to the paschal resurrection. The model is Jesus, he who, though exempt from the fuel of concupiscence, willed for us to be tempted by the devil, so that he might “sympathize with our weaknesses” (Heb. 4, 15).

After forty days of rigorous fasting, while feeling the pangs of hunger, Jesus is tempted by Satan to turn the stones into bread. One cannot embrace a regime of serious penance or mortification without experiencing its discomforts, but it is precisely then the moment to resist the insinuating voices that invite greater indulgence toward physical exigencies, responding with Jesus: “Not in bread alone does man live, but in every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Gosp.: Mt. 4, 1-11). The life of man, far more than from material nourishment, depends on the will of God; whoever is convinced of this will have the courage to subject himself to privations, trusting in divine Providence for his sustenance.

Jesus is then tempted by pride: “If you are the Son of God, cast yourself down from here... and the angels will sustain you on their hands.” A similar miracle would have attracted the admiration and enthusiasm of the people, but Jesus knows that the Father has chosen for him a very different way: not triumphs, but humiliations, cross, death; He does not wish to depart from this way and resolutely rejects the proud proposal. The best means to overcome temptations of pride and vanity is to choose expressly that which humiliates us and makes us disappear in the eyes of others.

The devil returns to the charge and tempts Jesus with avarice: “All these things I will give you if, prostrating yourself before me, you adore me,” but He responds: “Adore the Lord your God and serve him alone!” Whoever has his heart firmly anchored in God never allows himself to be turned away from his service by the allurements and cupidity of earthly goods. But if this firm adherence to God is lacking, how many times will the temptation of avarice succeed in turning aside even those who should, by particular vocation, “serve God alone”!

2 — Jesus was tempted because he willed it. We are tempted even without willing it and, indeed, very often, against our will. The temptation of Jesus was purely exterior, finding no resonance in him; in us, instead, nature, wounded by the triple concupiscence of the flesh, of pride, of avarice, not only offers easy foothold to the assaults of the devil, but is itself the source of manifold temptations. It is therefore impossible for us to live without temptations, and our virtue consists not in being exempt from them, but in knowing how to overcome them. This is a battle from which no one can withdraw; indeed, God wills that this very battle be the pledge of eternal life: “Blessed is the man who endures trial, for when he has been proved, he shall receive the crown of life” (Jas. 1, 12).

Let us learn from Jesus how to comport ourselves in temptations; first of all we must have great trust in God. Jesus did not wish to provide for his hunger, did not wish to impose himself upon men by means of a spectacular miracle, did not accept kingdoms and riches, because, having full trust in his Father, he had totally entrusted everything — his life, his mission, his glory — to his care. Whoever has full trust in God and is sure of his divine Providence will not easily allow himself to be attracted by the vain allurements of the devil, of the world, and of the flesh, since he knows that God alone can give him the true good, true happiness.

But in another sense we must cultivate trust in the moment of temptation. If God permits us to be tempted, he does not however permit us to be tempted beyond our strength, and, alongside every temptation, a particular actual grace is always ready, sufficient to overcome it. Therefore, instead of allowing ourselves to be troubled by the violence of the battle, let us look with trust at the grace that God offers us and seek to make it ours through humble and trusting prayer.

Colloquy

“Lord, Father and God, life by which all live and without which all things are to be reckoned as dead, abandon me not in the malignant thought and in the pride of the eyes; take away from me the concupiscences and do not give me over to an irreverent and foolish soul; but possess my heart, that I may always think of you... Now, O Redeemer, I beseech you, help me, that I may not fall before my adversaries, caught in the snares they have set for my feet, to bow down my soul; but save me, O virtue of my salvation, that I may not give cause for laughter to your enemies who hate you. Arise, O Lord God my God, my strength; and your enemies shall be scattered, and those who hate you shall flee from your face.

“As wax melts before the fire, so let sinners vanish from your face; and I will hide myself in you, and I will rejoice with all your goods. You, O Lord God, Father of orphans, and You, Mother of the fatherless, spread forth your wings, that beneath them we may take refuge, to save ourselves from our enemies” (St. Augustine).

Yes, Lord and my Savior, I trust in you! And above all in the moment of battle I wish, with redoubled trust, to take refuge in you, because “my defender are You... and You will deliver me from the snare of the hunters and from every calamity. With your wings you will protect me and beneath your feathers I shall be safe. Your faithfulness shall surround me like a shield and I shall not fear the terrors of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that wanders in the darkness, nor the assault and the noonday devil. You are, O Lord, my hope, and You, O Most High, my refuge! To your angels you have given command for me, that they keep me in all your ways; and they shall bear me on their hands lest my feet should stumble against the stones” (cf. Ps. 90, 3-12).