Pray and flee

The story is told about a nervous skydiving student who asked his instructor: “What will happen if the parachute does not open?” The instructor’s response was: “That’s what we’d call jumping to conclusions.”

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In today’s Gospel (Luke 4,1-13), we hear of the temptation of Jesus in the desert where He was attacked by the devil physically, emotionally, and spiritually. He did not fall. He did not “jump to conclusions.” Why? Because He opened up to God. Yes, prayer is our parachute that opens so that we will not fall. When tempted, just pray and flee.

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Our greatest temptation is that of selfishness. We know what is right and what is wrong, but we often succumb because of our human frailty, and because we give room for rationalization, compromise, and justifications. Remember, the devil is good in warfare using half-truths and empty promises. Careful. The remedy is just to pray, and flee. Pray, and the devil will flee, but we too must flee from the temptation, right away.

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The call of Lent is that of fasting and abstinence from our material and physical attachments and addictions. In humility, we ask the Lord to purify us and heal us of our selfish wants and worldly desires. “One does not live by bread alone.”

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We ask the Lord to heal us of our emotional wounds that lead us to become proud, angry, and arrogant. May the Lord heal us of our temptation for power and personal glory that make us want to be “worshipped” by others. “You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him alone shall you serve.”

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We ask the Lord to heal us spiritually and make us realize our need for Him. May we realize more and more that we must rely more on His grace, and less on our “merits” as we journey to His heart. May we focus more on His goodness, love, and mercy. “You shall not put the Lord, your God to the test.”

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A young priest came to me for confession last week. I was so touched by his honesty, humility, and sincere desire to be at peace with God. I remember how I made my general confession before my ordination in 1980, and the words my confessor told me: “Remember, Jerry, that there is no sinner without a future; and there is no saint without a past.” It has been 42 years since then. I am still holding on to God’s faithfulness, love, and mercy, and always will.

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Every morning, when I go out of my room, my dog Bruce greets me joyfully, smiling and with his tail wagging. He is there the whole night, waiting for me to come out. It reminds me so much of the faithfulness of our Lord, the God who waits for us, no matter how long, no matter how far we go away from Him. Often, I forget Bruce, but he is always at my beck and call, all day and night, just as we often forget the Lord, or just set Him aside.

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“The devil is like a raging dog on a chain; outside the limit of the chain he can bite no one, so keep your distance. If you get too close, you will get caught.” (Padre Pio)

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Amidst wars, violence, and corruption, let us not fall into the temptation of hopelessness! “You must not lose hope in humanity. Humanity is an ocean: if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty.” (Mahatma Gandhi)

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A moment with Lord:

Lord, lead us not into temptation, and restrain us, too, from coming near it. Amen.

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