TAU House Ministry: Lent begins!

http://liturgy.co.nz/church-year/ash-Wednesday (Ash Wednesday communal service)

Lord of the universe, he hid his infinite glory and took the nature of a servant. Incapable of suffering as God, he did not refuse to be a man, capable of suffering.” -Pope St. Leo the Great

Matthew 4:1-11: Then Jesus was led by the Spirit out into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. He fasted for forty days and forty nights, after which he was very hungry, and the tempter came and said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to turn into loaves’. But he replied, ‘Scripture says: Man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God’. The devil then took him to the holy city and made him stand on the parapet of the Temple. ‘If you are the Son of God’ he said ‘throw yourself down; for scripture says: He will put you in his angels’ charge, and they will support you on their hands in case you hurt your foot against a stone’. Jesus said to him, ‘Scripture also says: You must not put the Lord your God to the test’. Next, taking him to a very high mountain, the devil showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendour. ‘I will give you all these’ he said, ‘if you fall at my feet and worship me.’ Then Jesus replied, ‘Be off, Satan! For scripture says: You must worship the Lord your God, and serve him alone.’ Then the devil left him, and angels appeared and looked after him.

Christ the Lord The King of Light does battle with the Prince of Darkness and comes out victorious, reversing Adam’s original defeat. No one else before or after has so soundly trounced the devil. We may think it is because Christ had special powers, but the Scriptures don’t present it that way. According to them, the source of Christ’s victory is his humility.

The devil tries to trick him into being selfish, but each time, Jesus appeals to a higher law – he refuses to do things any way but his Father’s way. Christ is the humblest man who ever lived. Having received everything from his Father, he claimed nothing as his own. And it was the strength of such absolute humility that crushed the devil’s kingdom, not only in this desert temptation, but also later, in his final temptation. While he agonized in the Garden of Gethsemane on the eve of his Passion, he resisted the devil’s onslaught with the prayer to his Father: “Yet not as I will, but as you will” (Matthew 26:39). Christ is the Lord, and humility is his scepter.

Christ the Teacher The first lesson in this passage is easy to overlook: temptation is not sin. Christ himself was the “spotless lamb” foreshadowed by the Old Testament sacrifices, the new Adam who had no sin. And yet, he experienced temptation. He was invited to disobey God’s will. As his followers, then, we should expect nothing less. We too will experience temptation; we should neither be surprised nor perturbed by feeling the attraction of sin. In fact, by battling against temptation we grow in our love for God, showing we love him and giving him glory.

The second lesson is even easier to overlook: the devil is real. St Matthew leaves no room for doubt on this point. The reason the Spirit led Christ into the desert in the first place, he tells us, was “to be tempted by the devil.” (The forty days of Lent correspond to this forty-day sojourn of Christ in the desert.) We don’t fully understand the nuts and bolts of how the devil influences things, but the Church has always taught that his influence is real. The devil is dead-set against Christ and his Kingdom. Therefore, we should expect him and his minions to do all they can to disrupt Christians who try to build that Kingdom: stirring up opposition, multiplying difficulties, and putting up plenty of roadblocks.

The third lesson is the most important one. By his all-out attack on Christ, the devil shows his hand. Jesus’ three temptations expose the devil’s three favorite ploys. In order to divert us from God’s path, the devil will appeal to our desire for comfort and pleasure (“Turn those stones into jelly donuts”), our desire for recognition (“Do a swan dive off the top of the temple; that will impress them”), or our desire for greatness (“Just do it – it’ll make you rich and powerful”). Of course, merely knowing the devil’s tactics won’t neutralize them completely. Our desires for comfort, recognition, and influence run deep. To be able to resist them, we have to desire something else even more, just as Christ did: we have to “set our hearts on his Kingdom first” (Matthew 6:33), and then everything else will fall into place.

Christ the Friend Jesus Christ knows what it means to suffer temptation. He is truly human, just like us in all things except sin. Therefore, we can appeal to him when temptations beset us – he knows what we are going through. He did not want to leave us alone in our struggles; he wishes to walk by our side every step along the way. That’s why he came to earth in the first place. In Christ we have a friend like no other: his patience is boundless, his empathy is complete, and his concern for us is as personal as it is pure.

Jesus: Do not be afraid – even when you are weak and you fall, I will be there to pick you up. Trust in the strength of prayer and sacrifice, and no temptations will drag you away from me. To be tempted doesn’t mean to deny me – just turn your gaze back to me and I will be there to strengthen you against the wiles of the devil. In the desert, the thought of you spurred me on. I wanted to suffer in the wilderness to convince you that I can be there to hold you and guide you in the dark nights of your soul. I am with you until the end of time.

Christ in My Life Lord, your motto was so simple: “Thy will be done.” I want to live by the same motto. But I often follow other motto's, other desires. Teach me how to close the gap between what I want to be (your faithful follower), and what I too often am (self-seeking, self-absorbed, self-indulgent). With the Kingdom of your heart, reign in my heart…

I have fallen victim to all three of the devil’s favorite ploys, but you know the one that plagues me most. It comforts me to know that you faced temptation too. You will never let me be tempted more than I can resist. Be my strength, Lord, because I am so weak; always guide me along your true, sure path. Help me not to give in to the tricks of the devil…

You have done so much for me, Lord. And I forget so easily. You suffered for me – just for me. You were tempted, you fasted, you were hungry – all for me, to save me, to redeem me. Thank you, Lord. What would you have me do?…

Read more: http://rcspiritualdirection.com/blog/2014/03/05/8-desert-storm-mt-41-11#ixzz2v73dF6YF

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Ash Wednesday, March 5

Today’s Grace

I ask for the grace of an intimate knowledge of God's presence in my life and an awareness of my own response.

Scripture/Reading

From the First Principle and Foundation of the Spiritual Exercises, based on a paraphrase by David Fleming, SJ:

The goal of our life is to live with God forever. God created us and gave us life because God loves us. Our own response of love allows God’s life to flow into us without limit.

All the things in this world are gifts of God, presented to us so that we can know God more easily and make a return of love to God more readily.

As a result, we appreciate and use all these gifts of God insofar as they help us develop as loving persons. But if any of these gifts become more valuable to us than the goal for which we were created, they displace God and so hinder our growth toward our goal.

Reading via the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops website:

2 Corinthians 5:20-6:2
Brothers and sisters:
We are ambassadors for Christ,
as if God were appealing through us.
We implore you on behalf of Christ,
be reconciled to God.
For our sake he made him to be sin who did not know sin,
so that we might become the righteousness of God in him.

Working together, then,
we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain.
For he says:

In an acceptable time I heard you,
and on the day of salvation I helped you.

Behold, now is a very acceptable time;
behold, now is the day of salvation.

Reflection Questions

Today, I receive ashes on my forehead. Why do I choose to participate in this very old ritual? What does it mean to me, personally? What recent experiences in my life do I bring to this ritual? What hopes and dreams for this coming Lent do I bring to this ritual?
Reflecting on 2 Corinthians 5:20-6:2, we read, "Now is a very acceptable time. Now is the day of salvation." Reflecting on the circumstances of my life at this moment, I explore: Now is an acceptable time for what, exactly? I ask God this question. How might now be a "Day of Salvation" for you? I speak with God about this.