Jesus gives us two great strategies for resisting temptation in today’s Gospel. The first, fasting, is the act of denying ourselves something we want so we will have the willpower to resist sin. Since fasting is widespread and well understood, I would like to focus on the second, scripture memorization. This practice allows us to fill our heads with holy thoughts to take the place of unholy thoughts.
The Spirit
led Jesus into the desert to prepare Him for His mission of salvation because
it is a place free of distraction—there is no choice but to be alone with our
thoughts, so whatever we have filled our minds with is what will keep us
company during “desert times.” We all experience desert times, and we need them
to come to know ourselves and see the areas in which we need to grow, but we
usually try to avoid them at all costs by playing music, surfing the internet,
or any number of other distractions. However, no matter how we try to fight it,
there will still be desert times—lying in bed waiting to fall asleep at night,
after hearing difficult news, or, at the least, when the radio in the car
breaks! Let’s take a lesson from Jesus who teaches us to go into the desert to
better hear the voice of God. Be warned, listening to God is risky business—he
might ask you to DO something!
If our
thoughts are our only companions when we find ourselves in the desert, and if
we can’t avoid the desert forever (and shouldn’t try to), we had better purify
our thoughts, right? Jews of Jesus’ day would have memorized most or all of
their scriptures (the Old Testament). That’s why He was able to recall the
passages He used to refute the devil’s temptations. Scripture memorization is a
great and powerful tool to force out unholy thoughts by asking God to replace
them with holy ones. Wouldn’t it be great if, the next time you were anxious
about the future, Jeremiah 29:11 popped into your head? (“For
I know well the plans I have in mind for you, says the Lord, plans for your
welfare and not for woe, so as to give you a future of hope.”) This is what
St. Paul is talking about in the second reading today when he says “The word is near you, in your mouth and in
your heart.” We don’t have to memorize the entire Bible, but there are
scripture verses in it which deal with every fear, sin, or struggle we’ll ever
encounter. A quick internet search will give you a few good ones to help with
whatever you struggle with. This
strategy is dyn-o-mite for those who struggle with purity!
- Michael LaPointe
- Michael LaPointe
