Doing Battle with the World, the Flesh and the Devil. God does not need Lent, we do.

When I was a young man I had a priest friend who I now recall every time we begin the Forty Day Observance of Lent. About a week before Ash Wednesday he would say, “I am looking forward to Lent.” The comment would perplex me greatly. Now I understand.

Jesus being tempted in the Desert

“Filled with the Holy Spirit, Jesus returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the desert for forty days, to be tempted by the devil.” (Luke 4:1) “The truth is that only in the mystery of the incarnate Word does the mystery of man take on light.” (Gaudium et Spes, # 22, Second Vatican Council)

When I was a young man in College I had a priest friend who I now recall every time we begin the Forty Day Observance of Lent. About a week before Ash Wednesday he would say, “I am looking forward to Lent.” The comment would perplex me greatly. In fact, I was dreading Lent, thinking it to be an onerous time with a lot of external practices which I did not really understand.

In my 20-year-old mind, mistakenly thinking as most 20 year olds do that I knew everything, I would dismiss the comment from my priest friend as some sort of “weird piety.” Now, decades later, I find myself joined with my old friend, seeing the wisdom of his well-formed piety. I welcome this remedial season of grace in my life. Now that it has come, I pray that I can enter into its invitation and find the path to Freedom. God does not need Lent, we do.

This ancient practice of setting aside 40 days in order to enter – in Jesus – into the desert places in our own daily lives and confront the temptations and struggles we face is a gift. It comes from the Lord and is offered through the Church who is our mother. The Church as mother and teacher knows just what we need. We all know the truth and need to be honest, particularly so during Lent as we examine our lives in the light of the call to repentance. We all struggle with disordered appetites and unconverted ways of thinking and living.

We also demonstrate in our daily lives a lack of charity in our relationships with others. We have developed unhealthy habits which cause us untold sadness and impede our progress in virtue. None of these set us free or help us to flourish as human persons. They are the bad fruit of sin. The Desert of Lent is where we learn to conquer in the One who both shows us the Way and is Himself the Way.

Lent is a Gift

Lent is a gift given to us by the Lord, but we have to unwrap it and apply its remedial and healing prescriptions. The Lord in whom we now live through Baptism, is Risen from the Dead. He is walking through time now, in his Body, the Church. He wants to save us and set us free as we live our lives in that new world which is the seed of the Kingdom to come. However, as another priest friend of recent acquaintance regularly reminds his parish, “Lent won´t work unless you work it!”

Lent invites us to journey in Jesus, into the Desert. It is there, in that pace of struggle, the field of engagement, where we can learn the root causes of our challenges and be equipped with the weapons of our warfare to fight what the Scriptures and Tradition refer to as the “world, the flesh and the devil.” The “world” in this meaning is NOT referring to the created order. Creation is good and given to us as a gift. Rather, the “world” refers to the system which has squeezed the primacy of the Creator out of daily life. When we succumb to its seduction we give ourselves over to the idolatry of self.

The “flesh” is not our body – which God fashioned and which will be raised from the dead, made glorious by the Resurrection. Remember, the Word became flesh and was raised BODILY from the grave. Jesus was the “first fruits” and we too will be raised in Him. Rather, the “flesh” refers to the disordered appetites which are one of the bad effects of sin at work within us.

The “devil” is not some figment of our imagination, but a malevolent fallen angel who, just as He tempted our first parents and tempted the Lord, now tempts us. These 40 Days of Lent are a classroom in which we learn to conquer the “world the flesh and the devil” so as to live differently, beginning now.

The Author of the letter to the Hebrews reminds us, “we have not a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.” (Heb. 4:15) Jesus, the Word made flesh is our Model. The temptations He engages in the desert are the prototype of all of the challenges we face as we respond to the continuing call to conversion. After all, the Christian vocation is just that – a continuing call to conversion. We respond to the Lord´s invitation.

Temptations Jesus faced

The first temptation Jesus faced was to His identity. After all, he IS the Son of God! We, through our Baptism, have also now become Sons (and daughters) of the Father in Him. The next temptation was to idolatry. We regularly commit the horrid sin of idolatry, succumbing to its lies almost on a daily basis.

Like the Christians in ancient Rome, we live in an age which has “exchanged the truth of God for a lie, worshipping created things rather than the Creator. (Rom. 1:25) Finally, there was the subtle but deadly temptation to violate integrity, to use the gifts and power of God improperly and put the Lord to the test. How clearly this poisonous serpent lurks in our daily life!

In each of these encounters with the Tempter, Jesus shows us the method by confronting the lies of the truth of God´s Word. He is the Living Word, and we, through our Baptism, now live our lives in Him.That is why I say we enter the desert IN Him. We do this by living within the communion of the Church which is His Risen Body on earth. The Church is not some-thing but Some – One.

There in the Church, living in the Lord, we find the resources we need to grow in holiness and struggle against the lingering effects of sin. There we embark on the journey of holiness, becoming what the Scriptures call “perfected´ or completed in Jesus Christ. His Divine Life (Grace) is mediated to us through the Sacraments, in the Living word and the communion of love in which we now live.

We are invited during these 40 days to take every gift, every grace, offered to us. We are invited to learn to wield the weapons of prayer, fasting and almsgiving. By these practices we grow in freedom by putting away the “old man/woman” and putting on the “new man/woman”, created anew in Jesus. It is Jesus in his Sacred Humanity who fully reveals that new man. He is the model, showing us the method. However, in His Divinity He is Himself the Means. In Him we are redeemed. We are also capacitated to grow in holiness and virtue by overcoming temptation. Through His Saving Life, Death and Resurrection, he makes it possible for us to live new lives, in Him – beginning now and leading into eternity.

Too often we forget that sin is a wrong choice, an “abuse of freedom” (See, Catechism of the Catholic Church # 1731- 1739, 386 – 402). We were created in the Image of God and at the very core; the heart of that Image is the capacity to freely choose to respond to his loving invitation to communion with Him.

From the first sin, the original sin, onwards, every sin is an abuse of that freedom and leads us into slavery. However, as the Apostle Paul reminds the Galatians, “It was for freedom that Christ sets us free”! (Gal. 5:1) Our freedom has been fractured and the Cross is the splint which, when applied in our daily lives, restores our capacity to live freely!

Going into the Desert of Lent

In his homily on Ash Wednesday in 2010, Pope Benedict XVI sketched for the faithful the portrait of this Holy Season as he reflected on the 40 Days that Jesus spent in the desert on our behalf: ”That long time of silence and fasting for him was a complete abandonment to the Father and to His plan of love. Going into the desert meant voluntarily exposing himself to the enemy’s attacks, to temptation.entering into battle with him on the open field, defying him without any weapon other than his infinite trust in the Father’s omnipotent love.

“Adam was expelled from the earthly paradise, the symbol of communion with God…. Now, in order to return to that communion and thus to eternal life we must pass through the desert, the test of faith. Not alone but with Jesus who proceeds us and who has already conquered in the fight against the spirit of evil. This is the meaning of Lent, the liturgical time that, each year, invites us to renew our decision to follow Christ on the path of humility in order to participate in his victory over sin and death”.

Let us choose to enter into the desert, in Jesus. Let us welcome Lent by embracing its way of voluntary sacrifice, of fasting, prayer and almsgiving. Lent is a path to Freedom.

Pope Benedict XVI’s Prayer Intentions For February 2012

General Intention: Access to Water
That all people may have access to water and other resources needed for daily life.
Missionary Intention: Health Workers
That the Lord may sustain the efforts of health workers assisting the sick and elderly in the world’s poorest regions.

Family Lent Calendar – Download the above image

Here is the Lent Calendar for 2012. This one starts right from Ash Wednesday till Holy Saturday. The above calendar image is of 1320×1020 dimensions. Click on the image to view it in actual size. Then go ahead and right-click the image and save the lent calendar to your computer. You can print it later at your convenience.

Lent is the liturgical season of forty days which begins with Ash Wednesday and ends with the celebration of the Paschal Mystery (Easter Triduum). Lent is the primary penitential season in the Church’s liturgical year, reflecting the forty days Jesus spent in the desert fasting and praying. – Catechism of the Catholic Church

Family Lent Calendar Explained

February 

22 Feb – Take your family to an Ash Wednesday liturgy and wear the cross of ashes all day.
23 Feb – Tape a drawing of a vase on the fridge and label it, “Lent”. Each day draw a flower in the vase and watch Lent blossom.
24 Feb – Share a meatless family meal. Discuss your Lenten offerings to be sure all are doable and sacrificial.
25 Feb – Choose a family Lenten offering, such as giving up desserts, attending daily Mass, or praying a family Rosary regularly.
26 Feb – After Mass today, explain the Gospel and the homily in terms your children can understand.
27 Feb – Contact Catholic Relief Services (877-HELP-CRS, www.catholicrelief.org) to see how you can help any of their ongoing projects.
28 Feb – Invent a new family prayer you can say together each day.
29 Feb – Take stock of how your Lenten fasts are going, and refresh your commitment to them.

March

01 Mar – Before eating your family meal together, ask each person to say a spontaneous prayer.
02 Mar – Pray for the people in the world who can’t afford to have meat as a regular part of their diets.
03 Mar – Turn off the Television, unplug the computers, and take the phone off the hook for half an hour to pray the family Rosary.
04 Mar – Before Mass today, pick a saint represented in one of the statues in your church and find out more about him or her during the lent.
05 Mar – Collect stuffed animals or soft pillows in good condition and bring them to a local nursing home. Older folks love soft things to hug.
06 Mar – Ask each person to share a game, toy or treat with someone else in your home.
07 Mar – Plan how each of you can show kindness or compassion to someone else tomorrow.
08 Mar – Think of someone you don’t like and say three nice things about him or her.
09 Mar – Figure out how much your family saved by not eating meat today, and put that money in the poor box at church.
10 Mar – At bedtime, say “Let’s turn our hearts to God and think of Him.” Sit in silence for a few minutes.
11 Mar – Light a candle in Church today for someone who passed away or who needs special help.
12 Mar – Ask each family member to write a letter to Jesus thanking Him for his sacrifice on The Cross.
13 Mar – Make cookies and bring them to a nearby nursing home.
14 Mar – Encourage each family member to perform an examination of conscience.
15 Mar – Place a crucifix or picture of Jesus in a central place to keep the focus on Him.
16 Mar – Whenever someone does a good deed, put a jelly bean in a jar. Share the jelly beans at Easter!
17 Mar – Ask each person to make a sacrificial offering, such as doing an extra chore without being asked.
18 Mar – Laetare Sunday – Have a special meal at home or a restaurant to celebrate the half-way point through Lent.
19 Mar – Pick a friend or neighbor and perform an anonymous good deed for him or her.
20 Mar – Encourage all family members to refrain from bickering today.
21 Mar – Say a short prayer before each cross or crucifix in your home.
22 Mar – Make up a box for a needy family or homeless shelter. Put canned goods, clothing, toiletries and gently used toys in it.
23 Mar – Serve pretzels as a remainder that Catholics used to fast from milk, butter, eggs, cheese, cream and meat.
24 Mar – Make simple crosses out of construction paper. Write on them, “He died for me”, and post them around your home.
25 Mar – After Mass, light a candle, and recite the Apostle’s Creed as an affirmation of faith.
26 Mar – Pray for the victims of the earthquake still suffering in Haiti.
27 Mar – Send a card to someone who might need cheering today.
28 Mar – Give up a favorite toy or treat just for today.
29 Mar – Visit someone who is sick and can’t leave home.
30 Mar – Place any final donations in the box you set up. Make a family trip to deliver it to its destination.
31 Mar – Go to Confession or attend a Reconciliation service. Then go out afterwards to celebrate forgiveness.

April

01 Apr – Have a Palm Sunday procession around the house and take turns playing Jesus.
02 Apr – Take a walk outside and look for signs of new life.
03 Apr – Forgive someone who hurt you today.
04 Apr – Get up 15 minutes earlier than usual today and pray as a family.
05 Apr – Wash and dry each other’s feet in commemoration of Jesus washing the feet of His Apostles.
06 Apr – Pray the Stations of the Cross today, and mediate on each one.
07 Apr – Dress a doll in a white garment and talk about the Baptismal vows we renew each year.

Calendar Symbols

The solid fish icon = A day of fasting and abstinence from meat
The plain fish icon = A day of abstinence from meat

We hope this Family Lent Calendar will be useful for all in this lent season as we prepare our best to celebrate Easter.

What to do before Lent begins? Anything worth doing is worth preparing for.

Just imagine that this Lent is going to be different from every other Lent we’ve experienced. Imagine that there will be many graces offered me this year. Let’s even imagine that God is going to help transform our lives, with greater freedom, greater joy, deeper desires for love and service.

If we want it, we will choose it.

Lent will be this wonderful season of grace for us if we give ourselves to it. And, we will give ourselves to it to the degree we really want it badly. So, in these days before Lent, we need to prepare our hearts. We need to prepare by realizing how much we want to grow in freedom, how much we need to lighten our spirits and experience some real joy, and how much some parts of our lives really need changing.

So, preparing our hearts is a process of preparing our desires. This means practicing our sense of anticipation. If I imagine Lent as an “ordeal” or a time I dread in some way, then I’ve already predisposed myself to not get very much out of it. These days before Lent are a time to start anticipating something wonderful that is about to happen.

Our Focus: On what God wants to give us.

Our sense of excitement and anticipation will grow more easily if we begin to imagine what God wants to give us. There is really something coming that we can truly look forward to. If we get too focused on ourselves, and what we are going to do or not do, we could risk missing the gift God wants to give us. We have to keep aware of the fact that grace comes from God. This is about God’s great desire to bless
us. Then, it is easier for us to imagine that we really want to do is place ourselves in a space to receive what God wants to give us.

Not starting from a dead stop.

Taking some time to get ready for Lent will ensure that we aren’t going to miss the first week or two of Lent, because we are just getting started. Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, but we want to be ready to really take off on that day, rather than just beginning to think about Lent on that day. Part of what makes a vacation or a special anniversary so special is the build-up to it.

Before we get to Ash Wednesday, we should start asking ourselves some questions and we should start with some preparations. “What does God want to give me this year?” This question may require that I slow down a bit and listen to my inner spirit. For example, even if I’m very busy, I realize I’m hungry when I hear my stomach start “growling.” “What am I going to be doing on Ash Wednesday?” Too often, Ash Wednesday is like every other day, except that I manage to get to church and get ashes on my forehead. Is there anything else I can do on Ash Wednesday? How will fasting and abstaining happen for me, for my family on that special day?

Lent is not something I need to do alone.

If I have a spouse, or children, or some close friends, or distant e-mail companions, I can begin now to talk about how we will support each other in this Lenten journey. The anticipation and the preparation is transformed with the companionship of family and close friends. We shouldn’t be deterred by the fear that our spouse or children or friends “won’t be into it.” Jesus said, “Fear is useless; what’s needed is trust.” Let’s begin now to tell others about our desires. Let’s help support others’ expectations. Let’s help others see that Lent doesn’t have to be something I avoid, and certainly can’t be reduced to “giving up candy.” We can help our loved ones to begin to imagine what they could receive from God in these days.

Ash Wednesday is great place to start with our planning. “What are we going to eat?” We shouldn’t be embarrassed if we really haven’t fasted in a long time, or perhaps ever before. We can plan to intentionally have only one full meal on Ash Wednesday. We can make that meal very meaningful and symbolic.

Getting ready, means getting my house ready, too. And, it can mean lots of choices.

In the days before Lent, we can read some of the resources here that give concrete ideas of ways to get ready to begin. Choosing Lent, Acting Lent gives a number of ways we can enter Lent with our whole selves, – as body-persons, who use our senses to help us experience things deeply. The symbols in our home, and the concrete choices we make can shape the way we will begin Lent, as individuals and as a family.

And, it doesn’t take much time.

It doesn’t a lot of time to prepare for the beginning of Lent. It just takes desire and focus. God can do so much with that. We can give God more of a space to touch our hearts if we begin to establish some simple patterns. We could wake up each morning, and for something like a half a minute to a minute, stand by the edge of our beds, and just ask the Lord for the grace to let this day be one in which I long for the beginning of Lent. Perhaps we need to ask for specific helps or graces to get ready to begin Lent. Whatever we try to say, our Lord can understand the Spirit trying to speak through our simple words. And all it takes is the time to find and put on our slippers. And each night, in the days ahead, we can practice giving thanks to God before I go to bed. This simple pattern, in the morning and evening can stir our spirits to look forward to and prepare for Lent, as a season of grace.

Download Lent Preparation PDF

May our Lord bless us all on this journey ahead.

Read: Why Ashes on Ash Wednesday? , Ash Wednesday – A Wakeup Call