As we know from the Gospel proclaimed every Lent, Jesus was driven into the desert by the Holy Spirit to be tempted by the devil. (Matt. 4:1; Mk 1:12; Lk 4:1)
St Francis de Sales gave a lengthy homily on this Gospel to encourage the faithful to battle their own temptations.
St Francis de Sales said, “I doubt not that many prefer the end of today’s Gospel to its beginning. It is said there that after Our Lord had overcome His enemy and rejected his temptations, angels came and brought Him heavenly food. What joy to find oneself with the Savior at this delicious feast!
My dear friends, we shall never be capable of keeping company with him in His consolations, nor be invited to His heavenly banquet, if we are not sharers of His labors and sufferings. He fasted forty days, but the angels brought Him something to eat only at the end of that time.
These forty days symbolize the life of the Christian, of each one of us. If we do not struggle, we shall not be victorious. Let us fear neither the temptation nor the tempter, for if we make use of the shield of faith and the armor of truth, they will have no power whatsoever over us.
And let us not entertain the hope of being or wishing to be saints in three months! Shun both spiritual avarice and the ambition which causes so much disorder in our hearts. Remain firm in steadfast resolution to serve God generously and as perfectly as possible in this life, so that after this life we will go to enjoy Him forever.”
(St Francis de Sales, Sermon for 1st Sunday of Lent, 1622)
Reflection: How have I been tempted this Lent thus far?
What points from St. Francis de Sales encourages me in my own struggle?