We have long known, that going to the desert for spiritual renewal, has been a powerful part of our Catholic Christian tradition.  The Desert Father, St. Anthony of the Desert went out in the desert to find God back in the Third and Fourth centuries, and, in the process, began monasticism.  Blessed Charles De Foucault went into the desert and became a saint in the last century.  We know that even before the time of the Christ, that going into the desert to find God, was a commonly held view.  After all, hadn’t both Abraham and Moses encountered God in the desert?  John the Baptist left every thing and followed God into the desert.  And then, as we heard in our Gospel today, Jesus, Himself, following His own Baptism, left everybody and every thing, and went out into the desert to pray for forty days and forty nights.  Very clearly, when you look at the Bible, and when you look at our Church’s history, the desert is seen as a special place of prayer, of conversion, and of getting closer to God.

       Knowing all of this, I’ve had the privilege of going on retreat in the desert on a couple of different occasions.  It’s a powerful experience.  The most difficult part of my going on retreat in the desert was that it was a little embarrassing to have to fly in to LasVegas to get to the retreat center in the desert.  Some of my friends and family thought I was really going out there just to go to Las Vegas to gamble and see some shows.  But I promise you, I really did go on retreat at this beautiful place outside of Las Vegas.  And we prayed and had Mass every day.  And I met with a spiritual director in the morning and at night.  And while I was there, I did notice the stark contrast between the glitzy, sin-crazed city that I flew into, and the simplicity of the desert, where holy men and women have gone to pray for centuries.  You see, life is simpler in the desert.  It’s very hot during the day and it can get very cold at night.  There aren’t a lot of distractions for the most part in the desert, especially the natural desert.  No phones, no TV, no computers, how could you NOT hear God speaking to you, right?  And that was true in the desert at the retreat center.  And yet, right there in desert, right down the highway from the place where we were praying, was Las Vegas, where, of course, there were temptations galore.  Las Vegas became the perfect reminder that no matter where we go to try and find God in our lives, the devil is never going to be too far way.  The desert is a great place to pray and grow in our Faith, but I thought that by going to the desert that I was giving the devil the slip, that he wouldn’t find me there, Las Vegas helped me to remember that the devil is always there just waiting for his chance, even when we are trying to do good.

        This is the same lesson that our Gospel is teaching us this weekend.  Jesus Himself goes into the desert to pray, and what happens?  He’s tempted by the devil.  And while it may not be Celine Dion and Wayne Newton, and the blackjack tables, the Gospel makes it very clear that Jesus was tempted by His physical appetites, and by His pride, and by the offer of power and prestige.  The devil can charm us with his lies anywhere.  The desert of Galilee, or the desert of Nevada, Las Vegas, Nevada or Westfield, Indiana, it’s all the same to the devil.  And remember here, Jesus was God.  And He still was tempted. Not only was He tempted, but He was tempted specifically while He was trying to pray, while He was trying to connect with His Father in Heaven, while He was trying to do something good, something positive, something holy.

         As we begin our Lenten season, if you come here today thinking that you are going to go into this Lent, and you are going to get closer to God, and grow in holiness, and become a better person, and if you so naively believe that the devil is just going to sit back AND let you get holy, let you get closer to God, and let you become a better person, then I’m here today to tell you that you are wrong.  And being naïve about this, is the first step in losing the battle.  If you are taking this Lent seriously, and I am hoping that each one of us is, then I promise you that you ARE going to be tempted this Lent.  My guess is that you already have been tempted even in these first few days of Lent.  “Oh don’t give that up!  It’s too hard.”  “It doesn’t matter if you eat meat on Friday.”  “You don’t need to say those extra prayers.  God’s got enough people praying to Him right now.”  I promise you the devil is going to tempt you, and play with your head, and tell you all kinds of lies, just to get you to fail.  Don’t fall for it.  See the temptations for what they are.  Even Jesus had to see beyond the lies of the devil, to the truth.  And if we have even a chance of being successful this Lent, it’s only going to happen if we do the same thing.   Jesus fought the devil and beat him bad.  If we’re going to have any chance, any chance, whether we’re in the desert, or Las Vegas, or Hamilton County, we’re going to need Jesus’ help this Lent.  Ask for it.  Pray for it.  He will help you.  He knows how to fight and win against temptations.  But Jesus isn’t going to fight for you if you aren’t willing to fight yourself.

      This Lent, all of us as Church go into the desert to get closer to God.  We might not go into a physical desert with sand, and scorpions, and cacti, but we go into a spiritual desert in preparation for Easter.  May Lent purify us.  May it help us to see and hear God in our lives.  And may it help us to fight and avoid temptations, wherever we may go.

God bless us on this First Sunday of Lent,  Father, Son, and Holy Spirit…AMEN !!!

St. Maria Goretti …Pray for us !!!