Hello St. Mary Magdalene,

I wanted to reflect on two ideas in today’s article. First, you may have noticed that we’ve introduced a new Mass setting for some of our liturgical chants. These are taken from the Missa Orbis Factor, a beautiful Mass setting with a penitential character fitting for the season of Lent. We’re adding a new tool to our liturgical toolbox that’s supposed to be different so that it gets our attention.

Personally I’ve noticed in my life whenever I get into a routine and then something new happens, it forces me to a renewed intentionality and focus on what I’m doing. In other words I can’t just go through the motions anymore. This is the aim behind the introduction of this new Mass setting and why the Church encourages us to learn a diversity of settings; to refocus our attention on the liturgical texts so that we can more actively participate in the liturgy thus making the prayer of the Mass our own prayer.

Second, I want to reflect on the three temptations Christ faces in the desert. If you’ve ever played the game “two truths and a lie” then you know that sometimes it is awfully difficult to separate lies from truth unless we know the person very well. So it is too, in the spiritual life as we find that it is oftentimes difficult to see temptations for the lies they are. How blessed we are then that at the start of our Lenten journey (that great time where we pray, sacrifice and do penance so that we might know God more intimately) we have this beautiful Gospel passage about the temptations of Christ to help us expose the lies behind temptations so that we might seek God with an undivided heart.

For example, His first temptation, of turning stones into bread, shows us that material goods of this world do not truly satisfy or bring happiness; only God can do that. Think about it, I’m sure we all know persons who care more about the world than they do God; these people are the “must have” types we could call them: they “must have” the latest gadget, gizmo, fashions, trends, foods, etc. in order to be happy. Yet we all know the lie behind this temptation, Christ exposes it for us; that worldly goods are never enough because 1) there is always something “newer and better” coming out; and 2) such an attitude cultivates greed, and greed is never satisfied. God alone, on the other hand, satisfies the longings of the human heart!

The second temptation Christ faces teaches us that we have to let God be God and not try to force Him to work how and when we want Him to. This is what Christ is tempted to do as He’s told to throw himself down from the temple. This temptation is one that seeks to put the human will above that of God’s or seeks to use God’s own words against Him as we try to justify our sinfulness. “Oh its ok, God understands, He knows I’m sorry” we hear people say all the time. But how often do these same people change their ways and repent? Shouldn’t they amend their life if they are truly contrite? This is often called presumption of God’s mercy and it too, like the temptation Christ faces, tries to confine God to a hand-crafted “God box.” Personally, I’d rather let God think outside the box and be Himself.

Third, we see the temptation to power and wealth! But here again Christ exposes the lie that seeks to separate us from God. Many theologians and spiritual writers instantly see here the devil offering something to Christ that he cannot give, the affections and loyalty of men! In other words, the devil is trying to seduce Christ with something the devil ultimately has no control over. But what’s more, Christ sees and knows the dangers that lust for power brings. Like greed, power is never satisfied and seeks only “more.” True power, in contrast, consists in the ability to lay aside one’s own ambition and do that which is truly good for someone else; just as Christ does when He goes to Calvary. Power then, is the fruit of Authentic Love which (as our beloved John Paul II reminds us) consists in willing the good of the other person and making a complete gift of self. Only with God’s help can this be done, and He has shown us the way through His Son Jesus Christ.

Let us then, my brothers and sisters, through our Lenten penances and sacrifices, learn to see and expose those lies in our lives so that rather than conveying to the world “two truths and a lie” we share instead The Truth, the Gospel message that Christ has come to save us!

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