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We are about to begin the Holy Season of Lent which begins this coming Wednesday. With our churches now open it is hoped that this Lent will afford us the opportunity once again to experience in person the rich source of graces found in the Lenten liturgy's. The key to a fruitful Lent is preparation followed by participation. The following are some suggestions. The graphic above depicts the three classic practices observed during Lent which help us deal with the three classic challenges facing us in the practice of our faith. In the gospel text for ash Wednesday Jesus gives instruction on each of these practices. Then in the gospel text for the First Sunday of Lent we see Satan attempting to deceive Jesus with temptations in each of these three disciplines. These are the same three disciplines in which Satan will try to trip us up in our spiritual life. This year, for the First Sunday of Lent, the liturgy has Luke's account of Jesus being tempted by the devil in these three areas. 1. The Flesh: our physical needs to survive in this life. (Not on bread alone . . .)
2. The World: our desire for power over our world. (Worship the Lord as God . . .)
3. The Devil: our need for proof before faith. (Do not put God to the Proof . . .) These elements of Jesus in the wilderness being tested by the devil makes for us an excellent model to pattern our Lenten journey into prayer. 1. Set aside a time and place each day to join with Jesus in prayer. 2. Have a text from the daily Lenten scriptures to be the focus of your prayer. 3. Ask the Holy Spirit to guide you to recognise where and how your physical world experiences my be compromising your commitment to God's Truth for a holy life. 4. Ask for the grace to wholeheartedly embrace the remedies to these errors the Lord is showing you.
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