Greetings and Peace of Jesus Christ be with you all!!
Lent - A long 40 days of abstinence from certain types of
luxuries, fancy dresses, delicious foods and sweets is the common man’s
thinking. St.Paul in his letter to the Romans says that our minds should be
renewed. It is all about battling the “Evil” and the negativities in us in the
Lent season. Now how to win this battle would be the question.
It is very simple, no matter what it is, ensure that you go
for mass everyday. There is nothing better than taking part in the Mass and
receiving the Holy Eucharist. We would remain holy because of one reason that
we need to partake in the Eucharist. St.Paul writes “Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord
unworthily will have to answer for the body of the Lord” 1Cor 11:27.
We would be tempted by Satan in many ways for his works are
deceiving. In the Gospel of Matthew we see that Satan knowing that Jesus would
be hungry after his forty days of fasting in the wilderness and by human nature
his first urge would be is to eat so Satan offered the Lord to change the
stones into bread.
Jesus was tempted all along his life. When he was on the
cross to die for our sins the devil didn’t stop its act. The people jeered at
him, mocked him, and asked him to save himself if he is the Son of God. Do you
think it was not possible for Jesus to have come down and turn those mockers
into stones??? But no he didn’t. He just carried out the will of his Father.
The Devil will tempt us all along our way when are in this lent season carrying
our crosses of sinfulness with Jesus to be crucified crushed and never for that
evil to rise again and hold us.
We are chosen people set apart by God, we are his
possession, and we are the apple of his eyes. The devil will try to pull us to
his side, till the last moments in our life. “For if these things are done to the tree when it is green what will
happen when it is dry? Lk23:31. We are grafted to the Jesus
who is the vine, we are his branches. If a branch is cut from the vine the
branch dies. In simple words without Jesus we can do nothing. Let us not be
lost. Let us turn and look at Jesus. He lived a life for us, for us to follow,
for us to look upon him when are tempted when are going through trials and
tribulations. “Those who are well do not
need a physician, but the sick do. I did not come to call the righteous but
sinners” Mk 2:17.
Let us make this season of Lent a change over in our lives.
It is by human nature we fall. Let us not drown in the sea of sin. The Lord is
there stretching out his hand for us, all we need is to rise above all
pressures of evil desires and hold on to His hand. Whenever we fall lets go
10-15 minutes earlier before the mass knock the door of our Priests kneel down
and make a confession. The Lord does not overlook our efforts of being a new ,
renewed person and when he pours out his graces it will b a good measure,
packed together, shaken down, and over flowing.
