Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) - The Season of Lent reminds us of Jesus' experience in the desert: “And at once the Spirit drove him into the desert and he remained there for forty days, and was put to the test by Satan.” (Mk 1, 12). He withdrew to the desert to prepare for his public mission. During that time, Jesus was tested by temptations, when Satan came to Him and attempted to distract Him from his mission to save the whole human race through the Cross.
Temptation is part of life and there can be no genuine progress towards holiness, which is imitation of Christ, unless there is temptation, testing, the night of faith …
Precisely by looking at Jesus and how he faced the Evil One and his temptation, Christians see the way to overcome and conquer temptation.
With regard to temptation, there is a famous comment of St Augustine on psalm 60, which we read in the Office of readings on the 1st Sunday of Lent: “Our pilgrim life here on earth cannot be without temptation for it is only through temptation that we make progress and it is only by being tempted that we come to know ourselves. We cannot win our crown unless we overcome, and we cannot overcome unless we have an enemy and the temptation he brings.… We have just read in the gospel that our Lord Jesus Christ was tempted in the desert by the devil and this is exactly what happened. In Christ you were being tempted because Christ had his human flesh from you, just as he won salvation for you from himself. He received death from you, just as he gained life from himself for you. From you he received reproaches and from himself for you he gained glory and honour. In the same way he suffered temptation for you and he won from himself the victory for you. If we have been tempted in him, in him we conquer the devil. Do you notice that Christ has been tempted and fail to notice that he overcame the temptation? Recognise your own self, tempted in him and conquering also in him. He might have avoided the devil completely but, had he not been tempted, he would have failed to give you the lesson of conquering when you are tempted".
The secret of a genuine Christian life consists precisely in living 'in Christ', in close communion with Him, through prayer, through the sacraments, through fraternal charity. Everything which unites me with Jesus leads me to overcome temptation, which aims to distract me from him. Temptation can be recognised because it is an 'attempt' to distance us from living the Gospel, from the Word of God which calls us to intimate communion with Jesus. To conquer temptation we must remain in Christ! Saint Augustine says this clearly: “ If we have been tempted in him, in we conquer the devil.”. The secret for overcoming temptation, any kind of test, is this: “remain in Jesus ”. The Lord says this clearly: “ I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me, with me in him, bears fruit in plenty; for cut off from me you can do nothing. Anyone who does not remain in me is thrown away like a branch-and withers; these branches are collected and thrown on the fire and are burnt.” (Jn 15, 5-6). Temptation is like fire, if you draw near to it, it burns you. This is why in the Our Father prayer we ask God, as Jesus taught us “lead us not into temptation” (Mt 6, 13), to us keep away from falling into temptation and to overcome it if we do fall. Prayer is fundamental for recognising and overcoming temptation, but unless we make a 'desert' in our hearts, and put ourselves alone before God, alone with ourselves, it is difficult if not impossible to pray. Prayer should place us in the Presence of God and God is found not in noise, but in silence, not in exaltation but in humiliation day after day, taking a step backwards: not towards greatness but towards littleness. God reveals himself to the humble. He seeks the faith of the simple, unlike us he is not impressed by great deeds, he sees in the heart and he loves humility. When God sees a truly humble heart he works wonders of grace in it as Jesu promised: “unless you change and become like little children you will never enter the kingdom of Heaven.” (Mt 18, 3). A heart ever humbler pulls heaven down to earth! This sort of soul, as Saint Anthony the Abbot said so beautifully, “breathes Christ” and has no fear of the devil:
“You know the danger of demons you know they are ferocious yet feeble. Fear them not, breathe Christ and have faith in him. Live every day as if you were about to die, watch yourselves and remember my exhortation. Seek to be ever closer to the Lord and to the saints so that after your death they will welcome you to the eternal dwelling place as friends and family. Think about this and understand it ” (From the life of Saint Anthony the Abbot, written by St. Athanasius).
“Remaining with Jesus” means “breathing Jesus ” and these words contain all the beauty of the faith: Jesus is in us!
I must look for him not only outside myself, but also, like Augustine, within myself: “ Late have I loved you, O Beauty ever ancient, ever new, late have I loved you! You were within me, but I was outside, and it was there that I searched for you. In my unloveliness I plunged into the lovely things which you created. You were with me, but I was not with you. Created things kept me from you; yet if they had not been in you they would not have been at all. You called, you shouted, and you broke through my deafness. You flashed, you shone, and you dispelled my blindness. You breathed your fragrance on me; I drew in breath and now I pant for you. I have tasted you, now I hunger and thirst for more. You touched me, and I burned for your peace.” (Confessions, X, 27, 38). (Agenzia Fides 4/3/2009; righe 61, parole 1.006)
