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satan

First Sunday of Lent

March 10, 2025 by Holy Name Monastery Leave a Comment

We all think we understand what temptation is.  Imagine this: there’s a little boy in a grocery store who walks by an open pack of chocolate-peanut butter cookies. A clerk notices him eye the cookies.  “Son, what are you doing there?” “Nothing,” replied the boy. “It looks to me like you’re trying to steal a cookie.” “No,” said the boy, “I’m trying not to.”  That’s temptation!

We understand that temptation leads to trouble.  Such was the plight of the man that I read about in Reader’s Digest. The man told this on himself.  He was shopping with his wife in the mall when a shapely young woman in a short, form-fitting dress walked by.  He followed her with his eyes.  Without looking up from the item she was examining his wife asked, “Was it worth the trouble you are in?”  That’s the trouble with temptation!

How many of us have shrugged and said, “The devil made me do it!” and used that as an excuse when caught doing something we weren’t supposed to?  It’s a convenient defense.  But there’s one problem: the devil can’t MAKE us do anything.  He may be clever, but he’s not all powerful.  It may feel that way, however, when we’re dangling on temptation’s hook, because the devil has a tried and true strategy for luring us into his net.  First, he lays out the bait like a skilled fisherman.  The devil has been following our clues and noting our habits and social media hangouts.  Then  a custom-made lure appears right in front of our noses.

Now comes the appeal.  We can’t be made to bite, but you know what happens when we catch a glimpse of the tantalizing bait like (maybe a snapshot promo on TV).  We’re drawn in, we linger over it. We toy with the idea and roll it over in our minds until it consumes our imagination.  We just HAVE to know what the gossip tidbit was we overheard.  Now the struggle really begins.  Our conscience jabs us in the ribs, the red flags go up, the warning sirens go off but that invitation looks so delightful.  What do we do?

Notice how Luke ends his report – the devil departed for a time. We know what happened to Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. The depth of Jesus’ trust in God is shown most fully when He rejects the temptation to turn away from his God-given mission.  Christ let Satan make us of all his evil conniving forces and defeated him at every angle until the devil got discouraged and left “for a time.”

Benedict knew this dynamic, didn’t he?  Remember in chapter 43 where he warns if the monastic comes late for chapel?!  Even though ashamed, she should still come inside lest she be tempted to return to bed and sleep, or worse, settle down outside and engage in idle talk, thereby giving occasion to the Evil One.  Latecomers should come inside so that they will not lose everything and may amend in the future.  Either we will resist or yield. We will swim away or swallow the temptation whole.  When you give in you know the feeling of emptiness and the pain that sticks in your throat or gut.  But, be alert when you do resist – be ready for the temptation to come from a different direction.  However, when you do resist you will know a feeling of blessed freedom.

You may have learned this little ditty of a prayer as a child.  It’s still a good one for nightly protection. I liken it to a child’s compline (evening prayer).

“Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John,
Bless this bed that I lie on.
Before I close my eyes in sleep,
I give my soul to Christ to keep.

Four corners to my bed,
Four angels ’round my head,
One to watch, one to pray,
And two to bear my soul away.

I go by sea, I go by land,
The Lord made me with his right hand,
If any danger come to me,
Sweet Jesus Christ, deliver me.

You are the branch, I am the flower,
I pray God send me a happy hour,

And if I die before I wake,
I pray the Lord my soul to take.

~Reflection by Sister Roberta Bailey, OSB

 

 

May you each have a spirituality enriching LENT 2025 experience! 

 

 

First Reading:   Deuteronomy 26:4-10         Second Reading:  Romans 10:8-13
Gospel:   Luke 4:1-13

 

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Filed Under: Blog, Front Page, Homily Tagged With: devil, First Sunday of Lent, for a time, Jesus, Lent, Luke, Prayer, satan, temptation

1st Sunday of Lent

March 7, 2022 by Holy Name Monastery Leave a Comment

WHO LIVES HERE?

Imagine, please, if you will, there’s this young boy in Publix who’s wandered away from his mom.  He spies a pack of Oreo cookies with an unsealed edge.  You can almost see his wheels churning; the tip of his tongue trying not to lick his lips.  The nearby stock boy notices him eying the cookies and moves closer.  “What are you doing there?”  “Nothing.”  “It looks to me like you’re planning to steal a cookie or two.”  “No….  That’s just it, I’m trying not to.”

We all know that temptations can lead to trouble, sometimes even when we don’t give in.  Such was the plight of the man that I read about in Reader’s digest.  This man wrote that he was shopping in the mall with his wife when a shapely young woman is a short, form-fitting dress walked by.  He followed her with his eyes.  Without looking up from the item she was examining his wife asked, “Was it worth the trouble you are in?”

We know we can’t just shrug and say: “The devil made me do it!”  The devil can’t MAKE us do anything.  The devil may be clever, but not all powerful.  It may feel that way, however, when we’re dangling on temptation’s hook, because the devil has a tried and true strategy for luring us into the net.  First, lay out the bait like a fisherman luring a big fish.  Observe the prey’s habits and hangouts; drop a custom-made lure right in front of our noses.

If we don’t bite, then, comes the appeal.  What happens when we catch a glimpse, or hear a snatch, of tantalizing bait?  We’re drawn in, we linger over it, we toy with the idea, roll it over in our minds until it consumes our imagination.  We just HAVE to know what the gossip tidbit was that we only overheard part of.  Now the struggle really begins.  Our conscience jabs us in the ribs, the SOS flags go up and the red light begins blinking and warning sirens go off in our heads.  The invitation is so delightful!  What are we to do?

Notice how Luke ends his report in our gospel – the devil departs for a time.  We know Satan kept track of Jesus and returned to Him in the Garden of Gethsemane.  The depth of Jesus’ trust in God is shown most fully when He rejects the temptations to turn away from His God-given mission.  Christ let Satan try all his evil forces, and defeated him on every angle until the devil got discouraged and left “for a time.”

Benedict knew about this, didn’t he?  Remember in chapter 43 he warns if the monastic comes late for chapel, even though ashamed, she should still come into chapel lest she be tempted to return to bed and sleep.  Or worse he says, “settle down outside on the bench outside the chapel and engage in idle talk, thereby giving occasion to the Evil One.  She should come inside the chapel so that she will not lose everything and may amend in the future.

Either we will resist temptation or we’ll yield, swim away or swallow the temptation whole.  When you give in, you know the feeling of emptiness and the pain that clings around your heart.  But, be alert when you do resist – be ready for the temptation to come full force from a different direction.  Somebody else will open the gossip trap asking if you know why so and so said such and such.  Or you know it’s prayer time, but you’ll just finish reading this one chapter.

When you feel good that you’ve resisted and you renew your resolve to be your best self, be ready.  It seems there are three general kinds of temptations that our adversary will use.  We may be caught off guard to notice new tempting wiles on the heels of a spiritual high point in our life.  Our halos may shine on Ash Wednesday; we curb every negative thought.  But that was on a day of silence and prayer.  What happens the next day?

You’ve probably noticed that temptation may come at a time of physical weakness due to illness or lack of sleep.  And, when we’re alone we are more susceptible to temptation.  Be prepared for a major attack.  Consider the rise in domestic violence during COVID shut-downs.  Remember, Jesus experienced the devil’s temptation following his 40-day fast alone in the desert; just after his baptism and the Father’s affirmation: “This is my beloved Son.”

The one thing common to all three of the temptations described in the Gospel is that Satan attempted to distract Jesus from his mission and to destroy his relationship with his Heavenly Father.  You may have to fight the battle more than once to win it.  Don’t give up!  There is truth in the story of what Martin Luther said when he was asked how he overcame the devil.  “When the devil comes knocking at the door of my heart, asking who lives here, Jesus comes to the door says: Martin Luther used to live here, but he has moved out.  Now I live here.”

 

~ Reflection by Sister Roberta Bailey, OSB, Prioress

 

First Reading:  Deuteronomy 26:4-10     Second Reading:  Romans 10:8-13
Gospel:  Luke 4:1-13
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Filed Under: Front Page, Homily Tagged With: 1st Sunday of Lent, God, Heavenly Father, Jesus, monastic, satan, temptation, Who lives Here

Trying Not To

February 15, 2016 by Holy Name Monastery Leave a Comment

boy-eating-cookieI think we all understand what temptation is.   Imagine there’s a little boy in a grocery store who walks by an open pack of peanut butter cookies. The clerk notices him eye the cookies.  “What are you doing there?” “Nothing,” replied the boy. “It looks to me like you’re trying to steal a cookie.” “No,” said the boy, “I’m trying not to.” That’s temptation!

We understand that temptation leads to trouble.  Such was the plight of the man that I read about in Reader’s digest.  This man said he was shopping in the mall with his wife when a shapely young woman is a short, form-fitting dress walked by.  He followed her with his eyes.  Without looking up from the item she was examining his wife asked, “Was it worth the trouble you are in?”  That’s the trouble with temptation.

How many of us have shrugged and said, “The devil made me do it!” and used that as an excuse when caught doing something we weren’t supposed to?  It’s a convenient defense.  But there’s one problem: the devil can’t MAKE us do anything.  He may be clever, but he’s not all powerful.  It may feel that way, however, when we’re dangling on temptation’s hook, because the devil has a tried and true strategy for luring us into his net.  First, he lays out the bait.  He knows us like a skilled fisherman knows fish.  He notes our habits, observes our hangouts; then he drops a custom-made lure right in front of our noses.

Then, comes the appeal.  He can’t make us bite, but he does know what happens when we catch a glimpse of the tantalizing bait … like the snapshot promo on TV.  We’re drawn in, we linger over it, we toy with the idea, roll it over in our minds until it consumes our imagination … we just HAVE to know what the gossip tid-bit was we overheard is all about.

Now the struggle really begins.  Our conscience jabs us in the ribs, the red flags go up, the warning sirens go off but the invitation looks so delightful.  What do we do?

Benedict knew about this, didn’t he?  Remember in chapter 43 where he warns if the monastic comes late for chapel, if though ashamed, she should still come inside lest she be tempted to return to bed and sleep.  Or, worse he says, settle down outside and engage in idle talk, thereby giving occasion to the Evil One.  They should come inside so that they will not lose everything and may amend in the future.”

Either we will resist or yield, swim away or swallow the temptation whole.  When you give in you know the feeling of emptiness and the pain that sticks in your neck.  But, be alert when you do resist – be ready for the temptation to come from a different direction.  However, when you’ve resisted you will know a feeling of freedom that envelopes you.

It seems there are three general kinds of temptations that our adversary still uses. He often tries to work his wiles on the heels of a spiritual high point in our life.  Or it may come at a time of physical weakness, or when we’re are alone and are more susceptible to temptation – then be prepared for a major attack.    Jesus experienced the devil’s temptation, just after his baptism and the Father’s affirmation; when he was hungry following his 40-day fast, when he was alone in the desert.  Thus he could sympathize, no, –  empathize with us,

This Gospel lesson alerts us to the dangers – the allurement of the devil – to be tempted to be independent – like a two-year-old’s “I’ll do it myself.”  Or we may give into temptation to take the easy way out.  It will be less suffering, no struggle, no sacrifice … why work to conquer our self-will when the world could be handed to you on a silver platter – give you a free ride?

The one thing common to all three of the temptations described is that Satan attempted to distract Jesus from his mission and to destroy his relationship with his Heavenly Father.  You may have to fight the battle more than once to win it.  Don’t give up!  There is truth in the story of what Martin Luther said when he was asked how he overcame the devil.  “When the devil comes knocking at the door of my heart, asking who lives there,” Jesus comes to the door says: “Martin Luther used to live here, but he has moved out.  Now I live here.”  When Christ fills our lives Satan just has no entrance.

You may have learned this little ditty of a prayer as a child.  It’s still a good one for nightly protection:  I liken it to a child’s compline (evening prayer) –

“Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John,
Bless this bed that I lie on.
Before I close my eyes in sleep,
I give my soul to Christ to keep.

Four corners to my bed,
Four angels ’round my head,
One to watch, one to pray,
And two to bear my soul away.

I go by sea, I go by land,
The Lord made me with his right hand,
If any danger come to me,
Sweet Jesus Christ, deliver me.

For he’s the branch and I’m the flower,
Pray God send me a happy hour,
And if I die before I wake,
I pray the Lord my soul to take.

 

Continue Reading

Filed Under: Homily, Prayer Tagged With: Benedict, devil, Jesus, Lent, Prayer, satan, temptation

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