Why Does Lent Begin in the Desert with Jesus and the Devil? by Gayle Somers
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By Gayle Somers, Catholic Exchange, March 4, 2022
Gayle Somers is a member of St. Thomas the Apostle parish in Phoenix and has been writing and leading parish Bible studies since 1996. ..
On the first Sunday in Lent, we find ourselves in the desert with Jesus and the devil. Why must our Lenten journey begin here?
Gospel (Read Lk. 4:1-13)
St. Luke tells us that after His baptism in the Jordan River, Jesus “was led by the Spirit into the desert for forty days, to be tempted by the devil.” We immediately sense that Jesus is on a mission. The first action of His public ministry is to retreat from the public and, in a solitary place, face God’s primordial enemy. Why?
Knowledge of salvation history helps us answer this question. In the Garden of Eden, a place of sublime delight, God’s enemy was allowed to tempt Adam and Eve to let their trust in God’s Fatherhood die (see CCC397). When they believed the serpent’s lies rather than God, they decided to disobey Him. We know the tragic consequence of that disobedience. …
