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* G * O * A * N * E * T **** C * L * A * S * S * I * F * I * E * D * S *
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Flat for Sale: Mapuca, Goa (Ansabhat) - 10 min walk to Mapuca Market
2 Bedroom-Living-Dining-Kitchen-Bath-Balcony-Terrazo Floors
Great Investment - Winter Getaway
Asking Canadian $ 31,500/- or Indian Rs 10 lakhs
Contact Rosario Fernandes - [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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21-Feb-2007
Dear Friend,
While praying the Our Father we pray do not to lead us into temptation and
put us to the test. But our experience shows that we are constantly tempted
almost on a daily basis. We dont like to be tested because it might show up
our weaknesses. But Jesus too was tempted frequently. We need not fear
temptation. With his word and Spirit we can emerge victorious. Have an
energized Lenten weekend! Fr. Jude
Sunday Reflections: First Sunday of Lent Led into temptation! 25-Feb-2007
Readings: Deuteronomy 26: 4-10; Romans. 10:8- 13; Luke 4:1-13;
Todays first reading from Deuteronomy traces the broad outline of Salvation
History itself. From the period of the Patriarchs, wandering Arameans: Joseph
goes down to Egypt. From the time of slavery in Egypt: Moses leads the chosen
people. From the period of the desert and the Judges: Joshua leads the Hebrews
into the Promised Land. During this long history there mare many temptations
and the chosen people often fall; in the desert Jesus is going to overcome all
temptation. In directives from God through Moses to the Israelites, Deuteronomy
laid down the practice for approaching God: correct words, and gestures. The
words form a creed that sums up what God has done for the Israelites. The
gestures are to praise God in temptation and in good times.
Everything for our good
A king and his minister went into the jungle to hunt. A tiger attacked him
and in the fight the king lost his finger. He was in agony, but the minister
said, Everything is for our good. At this the king got very angry and pushed
him in a shallow dry well. Falling into the well, the minister uttered,
Everything is for our good. After a while the king was caught by tribal
people. They intended to sacrifice him, but on second thought left him free.
Then the king came to the minister, rescued him from the well and asked him,
Why did you say Everything is for our good when I pushed you into the well?
The minister replied, Your majesty was saved because of the loss of a finger,
for the sacrificial victim should not have any blemish. And if I had not been
pushed into the well, they would have sacrificed me. Temptations, failures
are for our good as well.
G. Francis Xavier in Inspiring Stories
In his letter to the Romans Paul affirms that in the desert Jesus lived by
the word of God and spoke the word of God convinced that His Father would save
him from the tempter. We Christians will be saved in the same way, if we
confess with our lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in our heart that God
raised him up from the dead. This way of salvation is open to all persons. God
makes no distinction between Jew and Greek, all belong to him, and all who
invoke the help of God will receive his grace and be saved.
Todays Gospel speaks of the temptations Jesus had to undergo during his
forty days in the desert, in fact it was the spirit that led Jesus into the
wilderness to be tempted. But the Spirit did not abandon him there but provided
him with the strength to fight temptation and the evil one. Jesus was tempted
not once but three times. The first temptation is to selfishness. Rely on your
relationship with God to get what you want and need for survival. We too are
tempted to use religion to get God to take care of us, to serve us and our
mundane needs. Jesus will not give in to this temptation of baiting God. God
knows his needs and Jesus affirms his trust in God. The second temptation is
the urge to use and expand ones power to control as many things as possible,
Jesus is clear that the kingdom of God is not about controlling and
manipulating other for gaining power. Jesus lives under no sign of power, but
he lives under the sign of the cross, the sign of obedience. Jesus
refuses to claim any power or use power for his own needs. The third and last
temptation is in claiming a privileged and special relationship with God, a
special closeness which will not allow him to be harmed. We too are tempted to
use our relationship with God to save us from pain and suffering. But Jesus
prefers to be the suffering servant of Yahweh. Jesus makes it clear that while
our relationship with God will not save us from pain, it does save us from
inhumanity and from perpetuating violence on others. These are the temptation
of Jesus and ours too and we have to fight them with steadfastness and with
trust in Gods word and Gods spirit. After these temptations the Devil left
Jesus but would come again at the appointed time. We are never completely free
from temptation, Satan never sleeps.
Wrong Reasons
In his play Murder in the Cathedral, playwright T.S. Eliot describes how St.
Thomas Becket struggles with the threat of martyrdom. He is not afraid to die
because of the sufferings of martyrdom, but because he may not be properly
motivated. As he defends the Church of England against King Henry II, Thomas
wonders whether he is doing this out of pride. Nothing would be more tragic,
he says, than to do the right thing for the wrong reason; to do what is noble
for reasons of vanity. The temptations that faced Thomas Becket are similar to
those that confronted Jesus in todays gospel. Thomas prayed that he might not
do a good thing become a martyr for the wrong reason out of vanity. We too
would do well during Lent to pray for the following: first, that we seek always
what is best, and not substitute what is only good; second, that we seeks Gods
ends by using Gods means; third, that we put our faith in God and not force
his hand.
Albert Cylwicki in His Word Resounds
The life of every Christian is marked to some extent by the experience of
radical temptation. The cult of money, political power exercised with contempt
for the rights of man, the relegation of religion to the role of mere
instrument of human ambition: these are some of the deceits used by the tempter
who is never so evil as when he lets men believe that he does not exist. Like
the son of man in the wilderness, in this prelude to the great crisis of
Gethsemane, we must cry out to him: Enough of your deceits. Glenstal Bible
Missal
Alone
Years ago, explorer Richard Byrd spent the winter alone in the South Pole.
For four and a half months he lived in total darkness, buried beneath the snow
in a tiny room. The temperature in that room often dipped to 50 degrees below
zero. Why did Byrd choose to live by himself during those months of total
darkness? He answers that in his book Alone. He says he did it because he
wanted to get away from every thing. After the first month of solitude, Byrd
discovered something good happening. He discovered that you can live much
more deeply and profoundly if you keep life simple and dont clutter it with a
lot of materials things. Byrd returned from his room a changed man. Byrd
belongs to that long line of persons who have gone off for a period of time to
take inventory of themselves and their lives. Moses did it, Elijah did it; John
the Baptist did it. And so it doesnt surprise us that Jesus did it too.
Mark Link in Sunday Homilies
In moments of temptations may we find our strength in God!
Fr. Jude Botelho
www.netforlife.net
PS. The stories, incidents and anecdotes used in the reflections have been
collected over the years from books as well as from sources over the net and
from e-mails received. Every effort is made to acknowledge authors whenever
possible. If you send in stories or illustrations I would be grateful if you
could quote the source as well so that they can be acknowledged if used in
these reflections. These reflections are also available on my web site
www.netforlife.net Thank you.
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