The Sunday Sermon Archive

Dear Friend,

When St. John the Baptist baptized Jesus, the Holy Ghost came down from Heaven in the form of a dove. It was this same Spirit, The Holy Ghost, that then led Jesus into the desert. We should understand that with each of the Sacraments that we receive, we need to retire further away from the world. In Baptism, we renounce the devils and all their works. Baptism filled our souls with supernatural grace to prepare us and strengthen us for the spiritual battles that come to us throughout the rest of our lives. The graces are given to us to do battle, not to rest in leisure.

We see Catholic children prepare to receive the Sacraments of Holy Communion (Eucharist) or Confirmation. They study the Catechism and work hard, but there seems to be an impression that after receiving the Sacraments, they do not need to study or work on spiritual things; they are finished and can now rest. Many adults do not see the need to continue their religious studies because they learned all that in Grammar School.

Reaching the goal of receiving the various Sacraments is not the end but the beginning. The Sacramental Graces support us in the battles that we face day after day in this life. These Graces are not treasures that we simply lock safely away and then go on vacation.

We see that it is the Will of God that we enter into a spiritual desert (away from the world and its distractions) after we receive each of the Sacraments. God manifests His Will in His Spirit (The Holy Ghost), and it is this Holy Ghost that led Jesus into the desert. In our spiritual desert, we draw nearer to God and seek to learn His Holy Will.

The closer we draw to God and the further we leave the world and its distractions behind, the more enraged the devils become. We can then expect the devils to tempt us as they tempted Jesus. Temptations are not a sign of weakness or a lack of grace; on the contrary, they manifest just the opposite. The devils do not tempt or disturb those they already have eagerly running downhill into the depths of Hell. The devils tempt, harass and agitate those they are trying to bring down. The closer we draw to God, and the more we cooperate with His grace, the more we can expect the devils to be enraged against us and to assault us in ways we cannot even begin to imagine.

When Sacramental Graces strengthen us, we need not fear devils. God will not allow the devils to tempt us beyond the abilities that we now have if we cooperate with His Grace. The devils may cause us some pain as they did to Job in the Old Testament, but they can only do what God allows them to do. And if God allows it, He intends for us to be the better for it. Everything works for the good of those who love God. No matter how great an evil may be, God can and will make an even greater good come from it.

It is God's Holy Will that, this season of Lent and until the end of our lives here on earth, we strengthen ourselves with the graces of the Sacraments or at least the desire of them, and then draw ever nearer to Him and away from the world and the devils. However, we are warned that as the devils feel that they are losing their grip on our souls, they will increase their efforts to grasp and draw us back to them.

Lastly, we should consider that all the pleasures of this world have been created and given to us by God. Bread (food) is not evil. It is good. Pleasure, power, and wealth are not evils but truly good things God has bestowed upon some men. Evil and sin are the abuse or misuse of these gifts from God. When we pursue the pleasures and gifts of God in defiance of His Will or right reason, then we sin, and we are evil, not the things we were pursuing or desiring. When we listen to the suggestions and temptations of the devils, we refuse to hear and listen to the promptings of the Holy Ghost. This is where the sin is — the disordered love for or pursuit of things or pleasures.

We can legitimately pray for material things; we just need to always conform our prayer to the Will of God and not to our selfish wills or the wills of devils. In the Lord's Prayer (The Our Father), Jesus taught us to pray, "Give us this day our daily bread.” This is good. In today's Gospel reading, we see that the devil tempted Jesus to turn stones into bread because Jesus was hungry. It is not the bread that is evil, but instead following or even listening to the suggestions of the devils rather than the Will of God that is evil.

God is the Creator of all things visible and invisible. And all that He has created is good. Sin and evil are simply the disordered love for or abuse of the good things that God has created. May we learn to truly come to know and understand this lesson this holy Lenten season.

email: father@friarsminor.org Franciscan Benefactor Seraph Subscription Vocations Have you remembered God?

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