In her wisdom, the Church gives us this reading at the beginning of Lent because Jesus is giving us an example of what the season of Lent is meant to be for us. Lent is a time to remember the reality of our life on earth. In the way that Lent prepares us for Easter, our life on earth is meant to prepare us for heaven—the eternal Easter. We are battling against evil in the desert of this world, with the hope of the resurrection on the other side. Lent draws us into this reality and prepares us for this battle.
Up Next in Opening the Word
-
8th Sunday in Ordinary Time—February ...
It's fitting that this Gospel begins with the admonition reminding us that we cannot serve two masters (God and money) and then delves into Jesus's teaching on worry, because money is often at the top of our worry list. We worry about how to get money if we don't have enough, and we worry about h...
-
1st Sunday of Lent (Year C)
At the start of Lent we are invited to once again be strengthened in the Holy Spirit and in the Word of God. We are strengthened so that we may face the temptations of Satan each day just as Jesus did for us while he prayed and fasted in the desert. What tactics does Satan use to try to get you t...
-
2nd Sunday of Lent—February 25, 2018
If you have ever been hiking in the mountains, you'll know what a false summit is: when you reach a peak that appeared to be the pinnacle of the mountain but see that the true summit is even higher. False summits can cause hikers to give up, despairing of ever reaching their goal.
This experien...
6 Comments