God is for us!

1ST SUNDAY OF LENT

[ Mark 1: 12-15 ]

  The dreadful reality of Satan

The devil (Satan) is real. It is not a figment of our imagination or the fallacy of the faint-hearted. He is the great accuser who ‘accuses us day and night before our God’ [Rev 12: 10].

   1) The devil is the father of all lies. He is the creator and spreader of untruths, half-truths, and even fabricated and distorted truths. He seeks to confuse us and distract us from Jesus the Way, the Truth and the Life.

   2) The devil sows the seeds of discord, stir up division and creates enmity in the individual self, in the family, in the world and yes, even in the Church. He hates unity because our unity (especially Christian unity) is a sign of God’s love in the world.

   3) Ultimately, the devil tempts us to lose faith in God, to turn away from God, and to reject God. He continues to prowl this world seeking the ruination of our souls.

Yes, every single day, we are facing the full force and persistence of the tempter. We are encompassed, attacked from every side, swept over and overwhelmed by the torrents, and we are sinking like lead in the mighty waters. Has the Lord forsaken us?

   The consoling reality of a God who loves us.

No, our Lord Jesus Christ has not abandoned us. Instead, He has allowed Himself to be tempted by Satan to reveal Himself to us, and to give us a perfect example of fighting the deceits and deceptions of the devil. Lent is the season of grace for us to do the same, to face and fight and crush the enemy, in the name and power of the Lord.

   As the Spirit drove Jesus out into the wilderness and was tempted by Satan, we too following our Lord, Master and Teacher, also enter the Lenten desert in spirit in order to face with Him the ‘fight against the spirit of evil’. [cf. Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI]

   If God is for us, who can be against us? [Rm 8:31]

Should we be afraid of the devil? St Peter has this to say [1 Pt 5: 8-9], “Be calm but vigilant, because your enemy the devil is prowling round like a roaring lion, looking for someone to eat. Stand up to him, strong in faith.” Instead of being afraid, St Peter urges us to be calm but vigilant (watchful), stand up to him, strong in faith!

God will not lead us to where His grace cannot sustain us. His grace is always sufficient, abundant and overflowing. We need not be afraid because the enemy is nothing but a speck of dust before Christ and His Holy Church. With the Sacraments as our first defense against evil, let us also arm ourselves with prayer, fasting and abstinence, and almsgiving. United with Christ and His Church, we will stand up to the devil, strong in faith.

Let our fervent prayer be:

   “Guard me, O Lord, as the apple of Your eye;

   hide me always in the shadow of Your wings.”

   [Ps 17: 8]

   [Note: This Gospel reflection was adapted from Porta Fidei, Gospel Reflection, 21 Feb 2021.]