First Sunday of Lent

Lent begins with the Spirit leading Jesus into the desert for forty days to be tempted by the devil. Luke tells us that Jesus was filled with the Holy Spirit and that it was the Spirit that led Jesus into the desert to be tempted. What am I to make of this in my life? Do I allow the Spirit to lead me? And to what kind of desert experience does the Spirit lead me? How am I tempted by the devil? The three classic temptations are to comfort (possessions), prestige, and power. All of these lead to pride. I need therefore to simplify my life, to use these forty days to seek to have less, to be humble, and to ask the Holy Spirit to fill me with His gifts during these forty days of Lent so that I may truly follow Jesus. As one spiritual director used to tell me, “The spiritual life is simple, but not easy.”