Temptation is common to everyone. It can be as benign as thinking about having “seconds” on dessert. Or, it can be extremely serious – with damaging consequences such as a destroyed a marriage, a ...

“Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. He fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was famished. The tempter came and said to him, 'If you ...

We are now in the liturgical season of Lent, the 40-day period for us to explore and strengthen our faith and prepare to celebrate Jesus’ death and resurrection. As we embark on our Lenten journey, ...

In both Luke’s and Matthew’s Gospels, Jesus begins his public life with a retreat into the desert. In the Judaic tradition, the desert is the place where one encounters God. Jesus goes into the desert ...

Sunday, Feb. 21, is the First Sunday of Lent. Mass Readings: Genesis 9:8-15; Psalm 25:4-5, 6-7, 8-9; 1 Peter 3:18-22; Mark 1:12-15. The readings have two themes: On the one hand, at the start of Lent, ...

Have you ever noticed that Jesus begins and ends his public ministry in the wilderness? These deserts are the geographical bookends of the greatest story ever told. In today’s Gospel we have Jesus in ...

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Lent’s 40 days of preparation for baptism and discipleship are modeled on Jesus’ postbaptismal test in the wilderness. Reading about Jesus’ struggle with the devil opens up some potential directions ...

This Sunday is the first Sunday of Lent, and we read about events that occurred at the very beginning of Jesus’ ministry. Following his baptism, Jesus spent 40 days in the wilderness—his own, personal ...