Resisting and saying No to temptations
There were three temptations given by the Evil One to Jesus:
1. to trust in mammon rather than the word of God
2. to test God's power
3. to trust in riches and the power of this world
In all three temptations, Jesus said No to the Evil One. The Church, in imitation of Christ, and in her vocation to follow Him, is aso called to say No to the same temptations in her life as the Body of Christ. Though the Church is a divine institution by the power of the Holy Spirit, occasions and events in her history witness to human mistakes and errors committed by some of her members. To correct the mistakes she committed in history, John Paul II made a gesture, as a representative of the Church, and asked forgiveness from God for all the mistakes the Church as an institution composed also of human beings, committed in her historical life.
As individuals, we too are called to say No to the temptations which beset us everyday in ordinary living. Our strength to resist the temptations of the Evil One is in Christ. It is the Spirit of Jesus that can help us struggle against all the evils facing our daily lives. What can strengthen us to resist evil and sin is a disciplined life of prayer and the regular reception of God's grace in the sacraments. Lent is a special time for us to take this opportunity. We can give more time to practice not prayer but also follow the traditional practice of the Church: abstinence, fasting and spiritual and corporal works of mercy. May this season of Lent bring Christ much closer to our minds and hearts, so that His Spirit may permeate every area of our lives.
