1ST
SUNDAY OF LENT B
YEAR OF THE CLERGY
AND CONSECRATED PERSONS
FEBRUARY 18, 2018
Jesus, I trust in you.
The 40 days of Lent imitate the
40 days spent by Jesus in the desert. Jesus was led by the Spirit into the
desert where he was tempted by the devil. The barrenness of the desert is a
true contrast to the abundance of the garden where Adam and Eve were also
tempted by the devil. In the garden where Adam and Eve had everything, they
fell to the seduction of the devil. However, in the desert where Jesus had
nothing, he triumphed over the devil’s temptation. Is it not ironic that when
the body is pampered, the soul is weak in the presence of temptations while
when the body is weakened by suffering, the soul is strong enough to withstand
temptations?
Lent calls us to the solitude and
the barrenness of the desert. The Spirit leads us to the desert as He did to
Jesus. Lent is a call to solitude. It is like a 40 day spiritual retreat where
through fasting and mortification, we experience the barrenness of the desert. It
is when we are alone and when we have nothing that we begin to be sensitive to
the interior voices that we usually do not hear when we are busy and preoccupied
with so many concerns. The external silence of the desert becomes conducive to
interior listening. The sounds of the urban jungle oftentimes drown interior
voices. This is why during Lent, it would do us good to tone down external
sounds and slow down our usual pace so that we can engage in spiritual introspection.
In the desert lived wild beasts
and the Lord Jesus was among them. But it really looks strange that the wild
beasts seemed tame as they surrounded Jesus. It was like paradise before the
fall where Adam and Eve lived in harmony with the beasts. Unlike the fallen angels who refused to serve
God the Son in his humanity, the angels ministered to Jesus whose divinity
remained unchanged in his incarnation. The original harmony between man and the
natural and supernatural world was seen no longer in the garden but in the
desert. This is because being true man while remaining to be true God, the Lord
Jesus has restored to humanity what the devil stole through his seduction and temptation.
Inasmuch as temptation always appeals to the “animal” in man, Lent becomes for
us the occasion to tame the beasts within. It is the time for us to control
inordinate passions that liken us to the beasts and draws us away from our
likeness to God. We control our animal instincts (sinusupil natin ang ating kahayupan)
through fasting, mortification, and prayer. Lent is the time to regain the humanity
that sin has compromised in us. When we control ourselves (nilalabanan ang
sarili), we become less beasts and more human which was created in the image
and likeness of God.
Thus, Lent is a time of real
spiritual renewal. It is the time to recover our lost humanity, our likeness
unto the Lord. It is a time of silence and solitude. It is a time of taming the
beasts within. It is a time to be like Christ who was “put to death in the
flesh and brought to life in the Spirit.” Let us allow the Holy Spirit to lead
us to the desert. With his help, let us confront our demons. Let us take care
to resist the temptation of the devil. Instead, like the angels, let us
minister to the Lord. Let us listen to the voice of God who draws us through
the desert unto himself.
O Mary
conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee!
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