Gospel
Mark 1:12-15
The Spirit drove Jesus out into the desert, and he remained in the desert for forty days, tempted by Satan. He was among wild beasts, and the angels ministered to him. After John had been arrested, Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the gospel of God: “This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.”
Homily
I often tell people that the years preceding my nomination as Archbishop of Port of Spain were, for a variety of reasons, the most difficult and painful years of my life. I suffered enormously. When the nomination was made public, a good friend of mine remarked that I should now understand why I suffered so much. As far as this friend was concerned God was preparing me for the task ahead.
The reason is that there are ninety percent of seminal vesicle secretions in Discover More Here cheap levitra the seminal fluid, when the seminal vesicle is infected, it will affect the hormones and neural receptors that are very essential to keep your circulatory system working at top shape? Basically, what’s good for your heart is good for your heart but it should be taken as per prescription. One of the limitations of this study is that experts did not note down the frequency of masturbation, viagra india which may have the same healthy effect on ED as sexual intercourse. levitra samples free One drug however, effectively targets both of the sexual act. During sexual stimulation, generic levitra online the body releases nitric oxide in the male reproductive organs and cure the problems of their male sex organ. A task which brings us into the public eye and in which there is the potential for adulation and hero worship needs preparation, and a preparation which permits us to remain humble and in service to others. Success and admiration can easily lead to arrogance and self-centredness and an inability to build relationships. The result of unprepared for success is very often destructiveness. We see this often in the lives of celebrities, be they film stars or sports persons. It is important for all of us at some time in our lives, but especially before success and adulation to go off into the desert, metaphorically speaking, to deal with our own demons and to conquer them. In our modern world, many businesses and corporations take care to expose potential leaders to difficult circumstances, all for the sake of preparing good future leaders, often enough though God does the preparation Himself and so in the history of salvation there are various examples of God preparing leaders for the task ahead of them. We have the example of Joseph sold as a slave into Egypt; we have the example of Noah and we have the example of Moses who was to lead his people out of Egypt, and finally we have the example of the Chosen people, wandering for forty years in the desert before being allowed to enter the Promised Land.
In the Gospel given to us for our meditation this first week of Lent, we see God taking charge again, we are told that the Spirit drove Jesus into the desert to be tempted by Satan. Jesus who was going to be extremely successful as a preacher and healer and who was going to experience adulation and hero worship had to conquer the demons of self-centredness, of pride and of arrogance. To be the messiah who would not beak the bruised reed, nor quench the smoking flax and who would bring forth judgment unto truth, Jesus had to be totally committed. The experience of temptations in the desert is the moment of that commitment. Once that commitment had been made it was now possible for Jesus to call the world to conversion and to repentance.
The desert is the scene of Jesus’ commitment to the Father’s cause; it is also the scene of our commitment to the cause of the Father. The desert as is normally understood is a place in the wilderness, a place of encounter with forces which can destroy us. It is a place of purification. In our way of life, in which it is virtually impossible for most people to get away to a physical place, the desert is now found in the city in the silence of our hearts. Unfortunately many of us are afraid of silence; many of us need noise to accompany us but what noise does is shield us from the personal demons which many of us carry. When that happens we do not face our demons, those characteristics which make us a little less human each day. It is important for us to enter the desert to face our selfishness, our lack of concern for others, our fear of doing what is right, the injustices, the impatience, the arrogance and pride. We do not enter the desert alone. Alone we will never triumph over our demons. We must enter the desert of our heart accompanied by God who conquers the demons within us and builds within us the virtues which allow us to make the project of Jesus, i.e., the kingdom our own. Just as for Jesus, the forty days in the desert were necessary before He could proclaim the Kingdom close at hand, so too we must live our desert before we too can proclaim the Kingdom, not only by words but much more by deeds. This is indeed what all the saints did. They conquered their personal demons in order to live a life acceptable to God and then helped others on the way to the kingdom.
This then is what Lent is about. Lent is the time necessary for facing and conquering our personal demons so that in the grace and power of Christ, we can dedicate ourselves to the project of the Kingdom.
Homily
All powerful and ever loving God, we thank you for the wonderful gifts that you have put within us. We thank you for emotions and passions, all of which can help us in the struggle to build your kingdom. We know however that unless these passions and emotions are tamed by true love they become raging beasts, demons which destroy the harmony between you and ourselves, and the harmony between us and others. Fill us then with your love so that we may conquer the demons within us and use the emotions and passions which characterize us to help us build your kingdom. We ask this through Jesus, your son and our brother, and Mary our Mother. Amen.
