1st Sunday of Lent, Cycle B
February 27, 2012
St. Jane Frances De Chantal, Riviera Beach
Faith, Hope and Love Amidst the Forces of Evil
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
NORMANDY
Last summer I was on a parish trip to France and we visited the beaches of Normandy where D-Day took place.
To physically stand on the five beaches where 6,000 Allied ships dropped soldiers, to hear the accounts of their valiant efforts at breaking through the Nazi Sea Wall, to imagine the thousands of troops who died – all filled us with the very real force of evil in our world.
But it was the American Cemetery at Normandy and the 9,500 crosses or Stars of David, in long straight lines facing east to America, over the remains of each dead soldier, that moved me the most.
Standing still in silence amidst the thousands of white marble crosses, I was overwhelmed at the cost and energy of extinguishing the evils of Nazism that these soldiers were caught up in.
I was aware of the great forces of evil that are much bigger than me and are at work in the world outside ourselves.
LENT AND THESE FORCES
Many of us have had this awareness of evil forces greater than ourselves.
There are these powers in the world that just seem to catch us up and swirl around us. Often we can live oblivious, unaware of all of this, but then comes the Season of Lent.
Lent makes us aware that much of life is a complicated dance between good and evil, between light and darkness. Much of life is a conflict between charity, justice, and peace, on the one hand and self-absorption, greed, and hostility on the other.
JESUS AND THESE FORCES
Jesus makes an intentional choice to confront these very forces.
Today’s gospel says: “The Spirit drove Jesus out into the desert, and he remained in the desert for forty days, tempted by Satan.” So Jesus is in the desert wrestling with the same forces of darkness that we wrestle with in everyday life.
He confronts the same choices that we must confront. And the Lenten lesson is that what we choose will shape our soul.
The choices we make – when forces beyond our control are all around us – these choices, shape who we are as persons.
- So Jesus chooses Faith in the Father instead of faith in the ways of the world.
- Jesus chooses Trust when darkness seems overwhelming.
- And he chooses sacrificial acts of Love in the face of insult and anger.
WE AND THESE FORCES
The Lenten season brings everything home by reminding us that we must make the same choices in the face of the conflicting forces surrounding us.
And in such moments, Jesus calls us to choose Faith.
No question, life can be difficult, stressful, and trying, but Jesus invites us to believe in a Higher Power that he calls the Father’s love and to be anchored and empowered there.
He wants us to make contact with God through the Eucharist and to make this a priority over shopping, sports, and even studies.
Jesus invites us to make time for private prayer and reflection to deepen our intimacy with him. He calls us to show and give this faith to someone we meet each day.
And Jesus calls us to choose Hope.
There are so many problems in our world today. There is:
- Great tension between different cultures, religions, and races
- Poverty for 3 of the 7 billion inhabitants of this earth
- Economic problems that are challenging our greatest minds
But with all of this, the power of hope lies not in what is around us, but in what is within us.
The power of Hope lies in God’s presence and God’s assurance of his presence with us and with all people today and always. Jesus calls us to give this Hope to at least one person today.
And finally Jesus calls us to choose Love.
There is so much demonization today of those who are different from us or who disagree with us.
And there is so much insensitivity for the life of the unborn or the life of those dying from starvation on the other side of the planet. But with all of this, the power of Love flows from the presence of the One who is Love itself.
This power of Love leads us to seek understanding, to build bridges, to find common ground and seek the common good – of our country and of our world. Jesus calls us to extend this Love to at least one person today.
CONCLUSION
So, there are indeed forces bigger than us and we have choices to make. We feel them globally and we need to act on them locally – in our home, neighborhood, and place of work.
Lent makes us aware of these choices and reminds us that our choices will shape who we become as persons.
And those choices will have eternal consequences.
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