The Holy Mother Church has entered into the Holy Season of Lent, where each and every one of its children is called to be led by the Spirit into the Desert to fight, just as the Author of our Salvation, Jesus, did. Let us all remember and reaffirm the truth that Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit to be tempted; in other words, you and I are armored, protected with and by Grace before temptation, hence there is no defeat. We begin our war from the victory podium. St Paul proclaims this truth loudly, boldly and graciously in Romans 8:31: ‘If God is for us, who is against us?’
The Devil has one aim: to whisper constantly into our ears, ‘God is not for you’, ‘God does not stand with you’. This is the message he successfully convinced our first parents to believe in; the rest followed. Let us make one thing clear, Sin did not come through the Devil. It came through man. Romans 5:12 ‘Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death came through sin’, not through the devil but through man, why? Man forgot that this God is for me; He stands by me, He is my Father! In every generation, the Devil implies the same Trick: ‘God is not for us’, and man falls for this Trick and commits Sin.
A Spirit of Trust
In the first reading, as you and I listen carefully to the Holy Spirit, especially in verses 8 & 9 of Genesis 2, we see a spirit of Trust that comes out of obedience from Adam ( 8 And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east; and there he put the man whom he had formed. 9 Out of the ground the Lord God made to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food, the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.) Man always had free will and in the above verses we see Adam using his free will to trust and obey. How do we know, he did not question God, why? He knew that this God is for Me, I can Trust him. Even Better, this God who has done everything for me, created me, breathed into me to make me alive and put me in a Garden where he caused everything to Grown is The Provider also known as ‘Father !’. Adam knew this!
What did the devil do, the ancient Serpent – create a rift in that relationship, he whispered through the temptation that ‘you cannot Trust God in other words he is not your Father!’ ( Genesis 3: 4 But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not die; 5 for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God,[a] knowing good and evil.”)
CCC 397 Man, tempted by the devil, let his trust in his Creator die in his heart and, abusing his freedom, disobeyed God’s command. This is what man’s first sin consisted of. 278 All subsequent sin would be disobedience toward God and a lack of trust in his goodness.
The New Adam
Jesus, the new Adam, the true Son of God, whom the Devil acknowledges over and over again in the temptation (if you are the Son of God – Matthew 4:3 & 6), reinforces his Trust when tempted, just the opposite of our first parents, defending God the Father in every temptation.
4. One does not live by bread alone,
but by every word that comes from the mouth of God
7. Do not put the Lord your God to the test.
10. Worship the Lord your God,
and serve only him
Forge Our Trust
My dear Bother and Sister in Christ, Lent calls us to forge our Trust in God our Father and this can only happen when you and I constantly work on our Trusting (Obedience out of Love) relationship with God, God is Faithful ( 1 Corinthians 1:9 God is faithful; by him you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.) the question is Am I ? in everything that you and I do this lent be it any acts of Prayer, Fasting, almsgiving remember this is meant to Forge your Trust in God the Father so when temptation comes and Yes it will, you will show over and over again to the devil that you are a dear Son and dear Daughter of God who always and in all circumstances will Trust God.
I pray 2 Corinthians 13:13 for everyone to have a Trustful Lenten Season.
13 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of[a] the Holy Spirit be with all of you.
[Readings: Genesis 2:7-9; 3:1-7; Romans 5:12-19 or 5:12, 17-19; Matthew 4:1-11]
