St. Maria Goretti

Sometimes, the Church is so good! At the exact time that everybody is asking us where we got Lent and why do we do it, the Church gives us the answer right out of Scripture. Jesus went into the desert for forty days and forty nights. This was right after He was baptized. And this was right before He began His public ministry. This was an extremely important time for our Lord, as is evidenced by His temptation by the devil while He was there. My brothers and sisters, we have so much to learn from this story!

First of all, Jesus goes to the desert. He doesn’t go to the woods. He doesn’t go to the mountains. He doesn’t go to the beach. There’s not much to do in the desert. It is very good for prayer. There are less distractions. There aren’t many trees, and the few that are there you wouldn’t want to climb, unlike being in the woods. You can’t hike up the side of a desert and play in the snow, as you could in the mountains. And you can’t jump in the water and go for a swim in the desert, like you can at the beach. And yet, the desert is no picnic. Few of us would choose to go into the desert for forty days and forty nights, unless we had a really nice RV.

The desert is a perfect place to go on retreat. I’ve gone on retreat in the desert twice. You can learn a lot about God and about yourself in the desert. First of all, the desert is hot. And you guys know how much I love to be hot. It’s dry heat – Why do they say that? - It was a 108 degrees one day when I was on retreat, but it wasn’t supposed to feel 108 degrees because it was a “dry heat”. What is that? It was still really hot! And then it gets really cold at night. In the desert there’s always sand blowing everywhere. You go to the desert, and you are going to get sand in places that you didn’t even know you had. I think I was pulling sand out of my ears, nose, and toes for weeks after I got home from retreat. And then, at the retreat center, one of the first things they warned you about, was scorpions. In particular, they warned me about checking under the toilet seat before you go to the bathroom for scorpions. Now, I’m a native Hoosier. And in Indiana we have horseflies, and yellow jackets, and some pretty mean mosquitoes. But we don’t have any scorpions. We most especially don’t have any bugs that wait until you’re going to the bathroom to bite you. What kind of bug does that? God did NOT make scorpions, which just leaves the “other guy”. The desert is a place of challenge, a place of strengthening, and a place of purification. That’s why Jesus went there before He began His public ministry. That’s why many people go on retreat there today. And it is why we do Lent. My brothers and sisters, welcome to the desert of our liturgical year.

And let’s also not miss the fact that even Jesus was tempted in the desert. This was God come down to earth. This was the Messiah Who people had been waiting for, for hundreds of years! Jesus goes into the desert to pray, to get stronger, to get prepared for what His Father has in store, and Jesus is tempted by the devil even in the desert. If this happened to Jesus, do you really think we are going to “do Lent” and that we’re NOT going to be tempted? We can’t be naïve! Being naïve about Satan, about temptation, and about sin, is getting many souls sent to Hell. We need to wake up and recognize the battle between God and Satan that is going on around us every day. This Gospel story of Jesus in the desert is a unique glimpse into that battle. Even Jesus was tempted. How much more so will you and I be this Lent? Lent is a time for all of us to get stronger, to re-commit our lives to Jesus and His way. Our sacrifices, our prayers, our almsgiving, all of our efforts during Lent, turn this time in our lives into our deserts. We don’t need the heat, and the sand, and the scorpions to do Lent. All we really need is the desire to purify ourselves and recommit our lives to God. Unfortunately, during the rest of year, we don’t take the time to do these things. That’s what makes Lent so special. Jesus came out of that desert ready for what God had in store for Him. Wouldn’t it be great if you and I came out of Lent ready for everything that God has in store for us!

My brothers and sisters, Lent is a special opportunity. Let’s make the most out of this time. For so much of our world, this time is just like any other time. I really find it interesting that so many of our Protestant brothers and sisters have just recently rediscovered Lent. Some of those same people who used to make fun of us Catholics for “our” Lent, have now started to follow some of the same practices that we’ve done for centuries. I heard one Protestant minister on TV talking about Lent like he just invented it last week. He didn’t invent Lent. We didn’t invent Lent. God did. It was God Himself in that desert during that first Lent. Now it’s our turn. Let us find our own deserts. And let us draw closer to God, without distractions.

May God bless us during this Holy Season, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit… AMEN !!!

St. Maria Goretti… Pray for us !!!