Temptation

Grace: To trust Jesus when we are tempted
Scriptures: Matt 4:1-11; Gen 2:6-9 and 3:1-7; Mt 6:7-15

Temptations tend to come to us in the areas of our weakness. They are a gift. They are permitted in order to show us where we are weak. They reveal the need for deeper conversion. It's like the finger of God pointing to a place in the heart where He wants to reign. He's not testing you to see how strong you, he's showing you where He wants you to grow.

"This first Sunday of Lent shows us that Satan's tactics never change.He lives to foster doubt and thereby distort reality...Using the goodness inherent in nature, Satan deceives the couple about the scope of human freedom...
...The season of Lent is about bending our will. It is about opening ourselves to the truth of reality, our own and that of creation. Lent is a time when, like St. Therese, we can shatter the deception of Satan by holding fast to the righteousness of Christ. Lent is a time for seeing that all of creation is good for guiding us to a greater knowledge of God."
--(from The Little Way of Lent, p. 13-14, by Fr. Gary Caster

"If we are to overcome temptation we will have to repeat confidently over and over again the petition in the Our Father: and lead us not into temptation; grant us the strength to remain strong when faced with temptation. Since it is Our Lord himself who puts such a petition on our lips, it would be good for us to repeat it continually..." --from In Conversation With God, vol. 2, p.30