14 January 2010: Jesus prays and fasts in the desert

“Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the desert where for forty days he was tempted by the devil.” (Lk 4:1)

As man, Jesus possessed the fullness of wisdom and grace; perfectly secure against all error, surprise, or illusion. However, he acted only according to the leading of the Holy Spirit, to which he submitted with utmost docility. This same Spirit who, through grace we received, has led and drawn us into our present state in life; and never ceases to guide and encourage us onward to perfection.

His obedience to the Holy Spirit was generous and heroic. Wild beasts were his companions. He had no roof above his head. He ate nothing in those days and spent the whole time in contemplation, interrupted only by the tears he shed over our miseries, and the prayers he addressed to his heavenly Father on our behalf.

From John the Baptist’s baptism of penance, Jesus moved on to works of penance, and thus prepared himself for his public life and ministry. What does Jesus teach us here? First, that holy baptism (to early Christians, a call to martyrdom) in “The life of a Christian ought to be a perpetual penance” (Council of Trent). Second, that we must prepare for work in the middle of the world by prayer and mortification so that our labors will be meaningful, successful.

Ref:cf “Practical Meditations” by a Father of the Society of Jesus, 1964, pp342-4

Effectiveness of the Sacrament of Penance

In the Old Testament the Messiah was described as the shepherd who would come to care lovingly for his sheep, binding up their wounds and healing the sick. (cf Isaiah, 61:1 et seq; Ezekiel, 34:16 et seq) To seek what was lost, to call sinners, to give his life as a ransom for many. (cf Lk 19:10) As prophesied, it is He who “has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows ...” (Isaiah, 53:4 et seq)

Christ cures all our infirmities, sometimes acting directly in our soul: “I will, be clean” (Mt 8:3); keep going, be more humble, don’t be worried. Always when there is grave sin, Our Lord says, “Go and show yourselves to the priests” (Lk 17:14). Go to the Sacrament of Penance where the soul finds the opportune medicine.

“By reflecting on the function of this Sacrament, the conscience of the Church discovers within it, as well as its judicial character, a medicinal character. ‘I want to cure, not to accuse’ St Augustine used to say, referring to this pastoral practice of penance ... thanks to the medicine of Confession the experience of sin does not degenerate into despair.” (John Paul II, Apostolic Exhortation, “Reconciliatio”)

God, who directs the struggle, will certainly always encourage us and help us to begin again. “... an army Chief on the battlefield has more respect for the soldier who, having once given way to flight, returns and attacks the enemy bravely than for the soldier who never turned tail, but neither ever performed any act of valour.” (St Gregory the Great, “Homilies on the Gospels”, 4, 4)

Ref: cf F Fernandez, “In Conversation with God”, 2:20-22

Let Yourselves Be Reconciled with God

The call to reconciliation ought to have particular resonance and force in our hearts and consciences. If we are really disciples and confessors of Christ -- who reconciled man with God -- we cannot live without seeking such interior reconciliation for our part too. We must not remain in sin and fail to make efforts at finding the way again which leads to the Father’s house, where He is always awaiting our return.

The Church calls us [especially] during Lent to look for this way: “We implore you, in Christ’s name be reconciled with God.” (2 Cor 5:20) Only by being reconciled with God in Christ’s name can we taste how good the Lord is (cf Ps 34:9), by trying for ourselves, experimentally, as it were.

It is not of God’s severity that confessors throughout the world, those where men and women reveal their sins, speak; they speak rather of his merciful bounty. How many approach the confessional, sometimes after many years’ absence, bearing the weight of mortal sins and, as they depart from it, find the desired relief?

They find joy and peace of conscience, which they could not find anywhere else. No one actually has the power to free us from our sin; God alone has that power. And the person who obtains such remission receives the grace of a new life of the spirit, which God alone can grant us in his infinite goodness.

“When the afflicted called out, the Lord heard, and from his distress he saved him.” (Ps 34:7)

Ref: cf Pope John Paul II, “Prayers and Devotions”, 1994, p136

Contrition for sin

Contrition makes us forget ourselves and make our way to God. Our falls ought not to discourage us. Deep contrition always brings peace. ‘Go in peace’ are the very words the priest says to us after forgiving us our sins. Contrition is also a sign of the depth of our love and calls down God’s mercy upon us.

As Isaiah prophesies: “This is the man to whom I will look, he that is humble and contrite in spirit.” (Is 66:2) Thus our worst defects and failings ought not to dishearten us, even if they are many and frequent.

Let us ask the Blessed Virgin Mary, the ‘Refuge of sinners’, that she win for us from her Son a sincere sorrow for our sins and a deep and effective appreciation of the Sacrament of Penance.

We must pray to God for perseverance in our effort to be holy and reach His love.

Ref: cf F Fernandez, op cit, 3:583-4, 588

Penance

While the Holy Family was asleep, the angel appeared to Joseph so that they would be able to flee to Egypt. Mary and Joseph took the Child and started out on the journey without delay. They did not rebel, they did not find excuses, they did not wait till the following morning.

Tell our Holy Mother Mary and our Father and Lord Saint Joseph that we wish to be prompt in loving all passive penance.

Ref: St Josemaria Escrivá, “Furrow”, 999

Memorial: Our Lady of the Word (Speech) Montserrat, Spain, 1514 http://www.starharbor.com/santiago/m feasts.html; (http://www.divinewill.org/feastofourlady.htm; MaryLinks Calendar.htm)

Memorial: Our Lady of the Word, near Montserrat, in Spain; so-called because it is asserted that she restored speech to a dumb man, in the year 1514. (“Catholic Gems or Treasures of the Church” Historical Calendar; http://www.bethlehemobserver.com)