This coming Sunday is the 1st Sunday of Lent: he remained in the desert for forty days, tempted by Satan. “Satan” comes from the Hebrew verb STN meaning “to be hostile, to oppose”. The noun means “adversary,” who usually is an earthling in the OT, but in 1 Chr 21:1; Job 1 & 2; Zech 3:1, 2 it refers to a heavenly being and is transliterated “Satan”. Continue reading
Someone sent me a funny meme this morning. Someone asked a priest: “So what are your Valentine’s Day plans?” The priest responded: “I have to work and remind everyone of their inevitable deaths.” I thought it was funny. My oldest sibling asked if that was from “The Book of Morbid Priest Jokes.”
Year ago I read a short article about working on relationships, and if memory serves, there was a TED Talk speaker who mentioned something similar to the article. In short, if a couple romantically involved takes time each day to stare into one another’s eyes, the intensity of their common life increases. Both sources noted that it takes a little practice to no longer giggle/chuckle and to realize that it is “ok” to blink, but perseverance has its own rewards. Then an article came into my inbox. The topic seemed like something to post on Valentine’s Day. Continue reading
In today’s readings for Ash Wednesday, we encounter Jesus in the midst of the “Sermon on the Mount” from the Gospel of Matthew. As my friend, Fr. Bill points out, the entire context of these verses is that prayer, fasting, and almsgiving are a “given.” Jesus is operating out of the understanding that faithful people already are doing those things. In other words, Jesus doesn’t recommend a new set of practices, rather he addresses the underlying attitude about those practices. Continue reading
This coming Sunday is the 1st Sunday of Lent. 12 At once the Spirit drove him out into the desert, 13 and he remained in the desert for forty days, tempted by Satan. He was among wild beasts, and the angels ministered to him.
The account of the baptism moves immediately into Jesus’ test in the wilderness (eremos) as seen in the phrase “At once.” Jesus’ expulsion into the desert is connected to his baptism; it is the same Spirit who descended upon Jesus at his baptism who now forces him to enter more deeply into the wilderness. In Mark, the Spirit is “casting out” or “throwing out” (ekballo) Jesus into the wilderness. (Matthew and Luke are a bit less graphic with the Spirit “leading” [anago & ago] Jesus.) In the wilderness Jesus is to be tested (peirazo) by Satan (Mk) or the Devil (Mt & Lk). Continue reading
The first reading today and all this week is from the Letter of James. Today’s “installment” is just one of many insights the letter carries about the human condition: “Blessed is he who perseveres in temptation” (James 1:12).
Temptation: no one wants it, no one can avoid it, and it isn’t going away. When St. Paul refers to the “thorns in his side” (2 Cor 12:7) I think, in part, he is talking about temptation. When Paul asked God to take them away, the answer was simply “My grace is sufficient for you” (2 Cor 12:9) Continue reading
Ash Wednesday, the first day of the penitential season of Lent in the Catholic Church, is always 46 days before Easter Sunday. It is a “movable” feast that is assigned a date in the calendar only after the date of Easter Sunday is calculated. How is it calculated? I’m glad you asked.
According to the norms established by the Council of Nicaea (325 AD) and later adopted for Western Christianity at the Synod of Whitby, Easter Sunday falls each year on the first Sunday following the first full moon after the vernal equinox. This year the vernal equinox falls on March 19, 2024 and the first full moon after that occurs on Monday, March 25th. Therefore, Easter Sunday is celebrated this year on March 31st. If you want to know the date of Ash Wednesday, just count backwards 46 days and you get February 14th. Continue reading
This coming Sunday is the 1st Sunday of Lent. When we read this account in Mark, it is natural to insert the familiar details of the wilderness temptation from Matthew and Luke. Those are accounts that are filled with details of fasting, the appearance of Satan, more robust descriptions of the details of the encounter. Those details naturally lend themselves to placing more emphasis on an extended period of time in the desert. Some commentators find it of interest that Matthew and Luke do not mention the presence of the “wild beasts.” Continue reading
So… “What are you giving up for Lent?” Isn’t that always the question? As if that is the reason for the season. Growing up, everything I remember about Lent circled around the acts of self-denial – what food, entertainment, or habit one would give up, and how hard it was to deny oneself of that thing. It was not always made clear that the denial was meant to help one think about God and Christ’s sacrifice Continue reading
This coming Sunday is the 1st Sunday of Lent in Lectionary Cycle B. The Gospel of Mark is noted for its brevity and perhaps no better example exists than the narrative of Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness: 12 At once the Spirit drove him out into the desert, 13 and he remained in the desert for forty days, tempted by Satan. He was among wild beasts, and the angels ministered to him. 14 After John had been arrested, Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the gospel of God: 15 “This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.” Continue reading
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