(First Sunday of Lent (B): This homily was given at St. Pius X Church, Westerly, R.I. on February 16, 1997 by Fr. Raymond Suriani. Read Mark 1: 12-15 and Matthew 4: 1-11.)

"Confronting and conquering temptation."

In this life, we are called to imitate Jesus. The old Baltimore Catechism asked the question, "Why did God make me?" The answer was, "God made me to know Him, to love Him, to serve Him in this life; and to be happy with him forever in the next." In other words, "God made me to imitate Jesus: Jesus, who knew the Heavenly Father perfectly; Jesus, who loved the Heavenly Father completely; Jesus, who served the Heavenly Father faithfully throughout his earthly life." This, ultimately, is the meaning and purpose of our earthly existence.

In today’s gospel reading, from Mark 1, we’re given a very important insight concerning "how" to imitate our Lord. The insight can be expressed in two words: confront and conquer. If we truly desire to pattern our lives on that of Jesus Christ, our Savior, then we must make the daily effort to confront and conquer. Because that’s exactly what he did throughout his earthly life and ministry. And one of the best Scriptural examples of this phenomenon is found in today’s gospel story. There St. Mark tells us this: "The Spirit sent Jesus out toward the desert. He stayed in the wasteland forty days, put to the test there by Satan. He was with the wild beasts, and angels waited on him."

St. Mark, of course, gives us this story in summary form. St. Matthew and St. Luke both give us more details. Specifically, they tell us the three primary temptations that Satan threw at our Lord during this period of prayer and fasting. The first was the temptation to live his life by his emotions. Satan said to our Lord, "If you are the Son of God, command these stones to turn into bread." In other words, "Jesus, you’re hungry. You’ve been out here for a long time, and you are famished. Well, what are you waiting for? Don’t deny yourself any longer. Forget what the Father in heaven wants. You feel like eating, so do it." Jesus said, "Man does not live by bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God."

The next temptation was the temptation to sell his soul for a few minutes of fame. Satan took Jesus to the top of the temple in Jerusalem and he said, "If you’re the Son of God, then throw yourself down." In other words, "Jesus, forget the Heavenly Father’s will. If you want people to listen to you and take you seriously, then give them a good show! It says in the Bible that if you’re one of God’s special people, he won’t even let you stub your toe against a rock. So jump! The angels will catch you and everybody will say, ‘Wow, this guy is something else. He can fly!’" Jesus said, "You shall not put the Lord your God to the test."

Then we have the final temptation: the temptation that so many in today’s world have given into. (Even, I dare say, some who occupy the highest offices in our county at the present time.) This is the very attractive temptation to sell one’s soul for power. The devil said, "Jesus, look at all these kingdoms of the world. Impressive, aren’t they? Do you realize, Jesus, that you can be in charge of every one of them? All you have to do is bend your knee and worship me. That’s it." Jesus responded, "Away with you, Satan! Scripture has it, ‘You shall do homage to the Lord your God; him alone shall you adore.’"

My brothers and sisters, what Jesus does in this story can ultimately be summed up with those two words I mentioned a few moments ago: confront and conquer. First of all, Jesus confronts Satan. He confronts each and every temptation that comes his way. He doesn’t back off. He doesn’t run away. And he doesn’t compromise. Because, in the face of such evil, there can be no compromise.

But he also conquers. He confronts, and he conquers--decisively! And notice, he conquers with the truth of God’s Word. Jesus battles these clever, devious temptations by bringing God’s truth into the battle!

Which brings us, at last, to ourselves. As I said a few moments ago: In this life, we are called to imitate Jesus. Well, by now it should be clear . . Part of what it means to imitate Jesus Christ is to confront and conquer. With God’s truth, we are to confront and conquer the evils without, and the evils within. Jesus, of course, only had to face evils without, but we also have to face evils within, because we’re sinners.

First of all, the evils without--in other words, the evils that are outside of us. Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan wrote an article a couple of years ago which was entitled, "Defining Deviancy Down." His point in the article was that our modern world is lowering its moral standards more and more as time goes on. And so, certain behaviors, which would have been considered deviant and immoral only a few decades ago; these activities are now considered acceptable. (Abortion, pre-marital sex, active homosexuality, cheating, lying . . . the list goes on and on.) Can this trend change? Yes it can. Of course it can! But, we need to be clear about it: it will not change, unless we are willing to confront these evils--as Catholics--as Christians--as caring citizens. They will not just disappear on their own! If we say we want to be like Jesus, then we have to do what Jesus did. In a non-violent, respectable manner, we’ve got to openly confront these issues. We cannot sit back. We cannot be silent. Edmund Burke put it well many years ago when he said, "All that it takes for evil to triumph in the world is for good people to do nothing."

The importance of confronting evil in this way really came home to me the other day, as I was reading an article in the Providence Visitor--an article which dealt with the new federal welfare law. Here is some of what it says:

A little known section near the end of the new federal welfare law will provide up to $87.5 million a year over the next five years for education programs on sexual abstinence. It is one of several provisions in the welfare overhaul package aimed at decreasing out-of-wedlock births, especially among teens.

[Certain] lawmakers--including North Carolina Senator Faircloth, who introduced the provision in the Senate version of the welfare bill--crafted it specifically to exclude programs containing information about safe sex or contraceptives. "Teaching the social, psychological, and health gains to be realized by abstaining from sexual activity" must be the "exclusive purpose" of educational and motivational programs eligible for the grants, the law states.

I know we’re not supposed to say this during Lent, but "Hallelujah" anyway! This news give me hope. Because the fact is: only those programs which teach a clear, unambiguous message about chastity and abstinence--only those programs work. The others, in effect, not only teach young people to sin safely. They are also dismal failures. And the statistics bear this out. For example, one program that will benefit by this funding is called "Best Friends." It’s a character building program for teenage girls which includes a very clear abstinence message. In Washington, D.C., a recent study showed 1 percent annual pregnancy rate among the girls participating in "Best Friends." Among girls in the same age group who participate in so-called "safe sex" programs, the annual pregnancy rate is 26%.

But what I really want to focus on regarding this law is the simple fact that it would never, ever have become part of the Welfare Reform Bill, if people like Senator Faircloth had not been willing to confront the teenage pregnancy problem with the truth--the truth about chastity. Which is a truth that’s rooted in the Word of God! He, and his fellow lawmakers who supported this bill--they confronted and they conquered. And for that, we can thank God.

But it’s not only the evils without. As I said earlier, we are also to confront and conquer the evils within--the evils within us. We certainly have a great opportunity to do that during this season of Lent, by receiving the sacrament of Reconciliation. Hopefully, we all intend to go to Confession during these forty days--at least once. Preferably, more than once. If we are willing to confront our sins in this way and repent of them, then they will be conquered, through the power of the blood of Christ: the blood which washes us clean when the priest absolves us.

Along these lines, I was greatly inspired a couple of nights ago. So were some other people. One of the teenage girls who comes every week to our prayer-share group shared her personal testimony with us. She talked about her very heavy involvement with drugs and alcohol--and how these addictions led her into an immoral lifestyle. Then she shared the most important detail of all--how God helped her to overcome it; how God helped her to conquer it all. It was a very moving story. Some of the teenagers (and adults) who heard it were brought to tears.

Then, at the end of the meeting, all of us stretched out our hands and said a special prayer over this young girl, asking God to give her a special blessing. You see, it’s true--she has confronted her sins, and conquered them through God’s grace and forgiveness. But that’s not the end of the story. She still needs God’s grace every day, as we all do--in order to confront and conquer the sins that are still in her life, and in order to stay on the right road. Because, as we all know, it’s one thing to get on the right road in life; it’s quite another thing to stay there.

May all of us get there, and stay there--by confronting and conquering, each and every day--through the power of Jesus Christ.