The Season of Lent is a season of grace when through the tripartite holy practices of prayer, fasting and almsgiving, we strive to climb and arrive at the glorious mountain of Easter, the season of renewal. The Lenten Season, which runs between Ash Wednesday until the Mass of the Lord’s Supper exclusive on Holy Thursday, has a double character, namely to prepare both catechumens and the faithful to celebrate the Paschal Mystery. The Catechumens, both with the Rite of Election and Scrutinies, and by catechesis, are prepared for the celebration of the sacraments of Christian initiation; the faithful, ever more attentive to the Word of God and prayer, prepare themselves by Penance for the renewal of their Baptismal promises.

During Lent we shall “retire” the “Alleluia” and the “Gloria,” wear mostly purple vestments, desist from adorning the Altar with flowers, and musical instruments shall be played only to give necessary support to the singing. All these are aimed towards enabling a reflective liturgical environment for preparation for the glorious Season of Easter.

The First Reading at the Liturgy on this first weekend of the Holy Season of Lent traces the origin of man and his eventual fall which led to sin and death. By the disobedience of Adam, the first man, together with Eve, the first woman, man chose sin and death that were packaged and presented to them as enlightenment and freedom even from the promptings of God. Pride is the devil’s favorite vice and our forebears get easily enticed by its allure. The pursuit of freedom to extreme heights without seeking discernment with the help of the Holy Spirit continues to cause us to drift away from grace into sin and death. Adam lacked the help that the Holy Spirit provides that enables us to discern and navigate Spiritual challenges in such a way that we know ourselves be‚ er and grow stronger in our commitment to a faithful and righteous relationship with God. The temptation of Jesus, in whose steps we intend to journey in this Holy Season of Lent, is a demonstration of what we can achieve if we align our lives with the promptings and the Divine assistance of the Holy Spirit.

As we enter into the “desert” of Lent, the church presents, for our reflection, the account of Jesus doing spiritual combat with the devil in the wilderness. The devil threw at Him the “threefold concupiscence,” that is, the most common three ways in which we experience temptation to sin, namely: lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes and the pride of life. Lust of the flesh is physical lust for food, sex, drugs, comfort and so on. Lust of the eyes is greed or avarice, the desire to own and possess things of beauty and value. Pride of life is sinful pride and the temptation to achieve self-sufficiency that has no place for God. Jesus conquered disobedience by rejecting the lure to satisfy the body, ignoring the false promise of earthly power and influence, and renouncing decisively the crave for fame, vain adulation and popularity through sensationalism. Accepting the promptings of the Holy Spirit, total obedience to the will of the Father and a deep understanding of the content and true intent of Scripture, were the tools with which Jesus responded to each of the temptations thrown at Him.

“The Holy Spirit makes us discern between trials, which are necessary for the growth of the inner man, and temptation, which leads to sin and death. We must also discern between being tempted and consenting to temptation. Finally, discernment unmasks the lie of temptation, whose object appears to be good, a ‘delight to the eyes’ and desirable, when in reality its fruit is death.” (CCC 2847).

As we begin this Holy Season of Lent, let us ask the Lord for His Holy Spirit to help us discern the hurdles of life as we prepare to celebrate the feasts ahead so that at Easter we will joyfully celebrate the new life with Christ.

Please be kind and may God bless you.

Fr. Manasseh Iorchir, VC

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