From the Friars: The Father of Lies

Imagine you are at the zoo and suddenly you hear an announcement over the loudspeaker that a lion has just escaped from his cage. Would you not experience a rush of fear and immediate thoughts of how to protect yourself from this danger. St. Peter tells us: “stay sober and alert, you opponent the devil is prowling like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Resist him, solid in your faith.” (1Pt 5:8-9)

In today’s Gospel, on this First Sunday of Lent, Jesus goes into the desert for 40 days and is tempted by the devil. Elsewhere, Our Lord calls Satan “a liar and the father of lies, a murderer from the beginning.” (Jn8) In the book of Genesis, he is called “the most cunning of all creatures.” (Gen 3:1) Today, Jesus reminds us of a very real danger from a very real enemy, but also that He himself has overcome the devil, and in Him there is nothing to fear.

We can see the cunning, the subtle deceptiveness, of the evil one in the temptations that he proposes to Our Lord. “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” Why not? Jesus has been fasting for 40 days. He is very hungry. He has the power, why not use it? But He Who is All-knowing knows exactly what the devil is up to. He wants Jesus to put his earthly needs and desires first, above the spiritual needs that we have. Our Lord replies by quoting Deuteronomy: “one does not live on bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” (Dt 8:3) He understands perfectly that physical hunger is real but it is meant to teach us about a much deeper, and infinitely more important, need to be fed with God’s Word, which ultimately means God Himself.

We are all tempted every day to put the earthly over the spiritual, in countless different ways. For example, see how much effort has gone into fighting the covid pandemic, and how many billions, or trillions of dollars are spent on preserving our physical health. This is important but also see how, in comparison, relatively little effort goes into preserving our spiritual health and growing in holiness. Jesus tells us in the Sermon on the Mount: “Seek first the Kingdom of God, and all these things will be added to you.“(Mt6:33) Thanks be to God for this holy time of grace where we have the opportunity to begin again, to go to the desert with Jesus to learn from Him how to put our relationship with our Father in Heaven above all else in our lives.

God bless you.

— Fr. Peter