What’s the remedy for a cold? Chicken Soup. The remedy for sin? Jesus!

On the first Sunday of Lent the Gospel is about Jesus spending forty days in the desert and being tempted by the devil. 

 

Father Vince started off the homily asking what are remedies for some common maladies we all suffer.  A few examples:

Cold & chicken soup

Headache & aspirin

Body ache & hot bath

Sore throat & gargling with salt water

Then Father Vince asked what’s the remedy for sin:  A personal relationship with Jesus.

Jesus encountered temptation to sin through the devil’s temptation in the desert – the deadly sins of gluttony, greed, and pride.  Jesus resisted the devil’s temptation and the devil left, for a time.

We are all tempted by the devil and are threatened by these deadly sins, as well as the sins of envy, wrath, sloth, and lust.  What is a remedy to resist the temptation of these sins: a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

Our first ancestors, Adam and Eve, were tempted by the devil in the story from Genesis by these same sins: gluttony, greed, and pride.  They gave in to sin by eating the fruit of the tree that God had forbidden.  Jesus reverses the effect of their sin by overcoming death through another tree, the tree in the shape of a cross.

This past week many of us were surprised by the resignation of Pope Benedict.  Pope Benedict worked over the last eight years to battle the problem in the world of people who no longer have faith in God by teaching the basics of our faith through encyclicals on Faith Hope, Love & also writing three books to help us know the person of Jesus.  Pope Benedict had laid the groundwork, but he must have discerned in prayer that it was time for another pope to carry the Church forward to bring the remedy for sin, Jesus Christ, to the world.

In response to Father Vince’s homily it may be a good to follow the Lenten discipline of prayer and to reflect on some of Pope Benedict’s encyclicals on faith, hope, love, and books on the person of Jesus.   The Knights of Columbus have published a prayer, written by their chaplain, Archbishop William Lori of Baltimore, for Pope Benedict XVI and the future Pope of our Church.  This would be a great addition to a Lenten prayer routine.   You can find the prayer and make a pledge to pray this at www.prayerforthechurch.com. It’s also possible to send Pope Benedict a message on Twitter that you are praying for him and Church.  Pope Benedict’s encyclicals on faith, hope, and love are accessible on the Vatican web site.  Finally if you are interested in reading Pope Benedict’s books on Jesus of Nazareth you can find them at Ignatius press.   These books would be a great addition to your personal library.   I just received the book "Jesus of Nazareth: Holy Week" this past Christmas, and will be reading it over Lent.

I’ll pray for all of us that we deepen our relationship with Christ over Lent as a remedy to combat sin.  May you have a blessed Lenten season preparing for the resurrection of Christ at Easter.