The use of this short reading from Mark for the First Sunday of Lent is of very ancient origin. It introduces the struggle against Satan that we are to share with Christ during the Lenten season. As Jesus will say later, “No one can enter a strong man’s house … unless he first binds the strong man.” Jesus combats the evil that tries to take the world—his house—from him. If our “house” is to become a temple of the Holy Spirit, the influence of evil must be swept away. The Lenten disciplines of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving are meant to do this under the influence of God’s grace.

Jesus, by fasting and praying in the desert, repeats, completes, and perfects all the purifications of the past. He is the new Adam, the new Noah, the new Moses, and the new Israel. Jesus does perfectly what these others had done imperfectly and shows us, as members of His Body, how to overcome sin. When Jesus returns from the desert, he invites us to join him with the words that could be considered the primary theme of Lent: “This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.”

Welcome Back! I hope everyone had a restful week off.  We are now in the holy season of Lent. The students will be conducting Corporal Works of Mercy and good deeds to help them prepare for Easter.

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