First Sunday in Lent: Help in Temptation
by VP
Posted on Sunday February 22, 2026 at 04:00AM in Sunday Sermons
Christ in the Desert Served by the Angels (1631–1681) by Jean Baptiste de Champaigne
"Behold angels came and ministered to Him.”—MATT. iv. 16.
1. We are sure to be tempted.
2. We forget to cry for help.
3. Our Lord suffered Himself to be tempted for our instruction and encouragement.
4. Angels ready and faithful to assist us.
5. Let us imitate St. Antony's defense.
"THE Gospel tells us today how our divine Lord suffered Himself to be
tempted by the devil. It was for our sake that He did so. Each one of
us, that we may be worthy to win heaven, must be tried, and assaulted,
and pass through the conflict. We must face this fact: we shall be tempted by the devil. It is not within anyone's power
to escape temptation. The misery of it may wellnigh overwhelm us. Our
self-love will be crushed, for we did not think that we were so vile as
the specters of temptations around us would make us think. We find
oftentimes that, when we have resolved to do our best, temptations are
the most importunate. Yes, it is true, we are tempted by the devil.
In our misery, when thus tempted and tried, how often do we make a great
mistake. We have not the sense of children. In fear and danger,
children cry for help: we forget! There is One near us, with His angels,
ready to minister to us; only waiting to be invoked, "Lord, save us, or
we perish." "Wherefore it behoved Him in all things to be made like
unto His brethren, that He might become a merciful and faithful
high-priest before God, that He might be a propitiation for the sins of
the people. For in that, wherein He Himself hath suffered and been
tempted, He is able to succor them also that are tempted " (Heb. ii. 17,
18). "For we have not a high-priest Who cannot have compassion on our
infirmities; but One tempted in all things as we are, without sin" (Heb.
iv. 15).
Our Blessed Lord accepted the ministration of angels after His
temptation to teach us that we are not alone in our misery and our
danger. To be tempted is not a sin; but to trust to ourselves to be able
to resist and overcome is presumptuous. Pride goeth before a fall. To
come out of the conflict unscathed needs help, and help is at hand if we
humbly invoke it. The angels are our guardians to assist us in our
struggle with their fallen brethren. If the fallen angels hate us
because we are Christ's, the good angels are anxious to shield us from
evil and ruin for that very same reason. A prayer can summon them to the
rescue. To forget their assistance, to venture to stand alone and
defend ourselves single-handed from evil, is to imperil our souls. We
are bound to pray for help in grave temptation. To fall into sin is our
own fault; always our own fault. We could have been saved from the sin,
if we had prayed for assistance. The angels are with us wherever we go
through life; in every occurrence, in every danger they are at hand. Our
passage through the temptations of life is not a forlorn hope; we have
our leaders, our friends, our guardians around us. But alas! how often
are they forgotten and ignored. Temptations seduce us. Careless souls
even love the danger; foolishly disregarding the imminent and eternal
consequences.
With what an occupation have the ministering angels been entrusted by
God! They first have to arouse us to be afraid of evil; to wish to
escape it. Instead of fearing sin, we turn a deaf ear to the
remonstrances which the angels prompt our consciences to urge upon us.
We are reluctant to turn from the evil suggestion; the wicked companion;
the occasions that we know will be our ruin. It is not that the angels
are remiss in their endeavors; it is all our own fault yielding to our
sinful desires, clinging to bad habits that will be our eternal ruin.
Pray that the angels may not grow weary of us, and that their divine
Master may not recall them from their rejected ministrations. How
faithful they have been to us! They are interested in us and devoted to
us, because we are destined to be their brethren for all eternity. They
rejoice over every soul they can save, for each one is another soul
redeemed by the precious Blood of our Lord, and rescued from eternal
loss.
This life is a time of trial and temptation; but to be forewarned is to
be forearmed. We must not cowardly give way, though we have to face the
combat, for we are not alone. Remember we can instantly summon
assistance. Imitate the great St. Antony, the model of those who are
tempted. He tells us that his weapons were the sign of the holy Cross
and the most holy name of Jesus. That sacred name, that blessed sign,
would bring us instant help. "God is faithful, Who will not suffer you
to be tempted above that which you are able" (I Cor. x. 13). He will
send His angels to defend you, to drive away the enemies of your soul.
Temptations would be robbed of their terror, they would be vanquished,
if we only remembered to invoke and trust. We must learn this lesson in
life: the lesson to remember and pray; for as death approaches,
temptations may be more powerful and deadly. The good habit of prayer
will then spring to our rescue. The angels will redouble their
vigilance. Not only our own prayers, but the prayers of the Church for
the dying will be our safeguard. The priest before he anoints us bids
the evil spirits to be banished, and the angel of peace to stand by us;
and he prays the Almighty Father to send His holy angel from heaven to
guard and protect and defend. Happy indeed will be the death of one who
has trusted in the angels in the days of his warfare. He will have
endured temptation bravely; his fidelity will have been proved, and his
consolation then will be that the angels will come forth to meet him,
and bear his soul to receive the crown of life." Short Sermons on the Epistles & Gospels of the Sundays of the Year By Fr. Francis Paulinus Hickey 1922 (First Sunday in Lent)
Day 5. Lent with the Cure d'Ars: Homily on the Gospel for the First Sunday in Lent
by VP
Posted on Sunday February 22, 2026 at 04:00AM in Lenten Sermons
"Our Divine Lord, having been our model in every thing, would be our model in temptation also. For this end He allowed Himself to be led into the desert.The good soldier has no fear of the battle, and so a good Christian ought to have no fear of temptation. All soldiers are good in garrison: on the field of battle we see the difference between the brave and the cowardly.
The greatest of all temptations is to have none. We may almost say that we are happy in having temptations; it is the moment of the spiritual harvest, when we lay up stores for heaven. It is like the time of harvest, when we rise very early, and take a great deal of trouble; but we do not complain, because we gather in a great deal.
The devil tempts only those souls that wish to abandon sin and those that are in a state of grace. The others belong to him: he has no need to tempt them.
A saint, passing one day before a convent, saw a quantity of devils tormenting the religious, without being able to succeed in seducing them. He passed afterwards by a town, and saw a single one sitting down with his arms across, and guiding the whole population. Then, the saint asked him how he came to be alone in a great town, while there were so many tormenting a handful of religious. The devil answered him that he was quite enough for the town, because he tempted those who were already inclined to hatred, impurity, drunkenness, and it was done in a moment; while with the religious, it was more difficult. The army of devils occupied in tempting them lost their time and their trouble; they could gain no ground. So they waited till others should come, who might grow weary of the austerity of the rule.
In a monastery, during the Holy Sacrifice, one of the brothers saw devils prowling round those good religious. He saw one in particular stamping on the head of a monk, and another advancing and receding by turns. After Mass, this brother asked the two religious what had occupied their minds during Office. The first said he had thought of a floor he wanted to have made in the convent; and the second said that the devil had come to attack him, but he had always tried to drive him away. This is what all good Christians do; and, therefore, temptation is to them a source of merit.
The most ordinary temptations are pride and impurity. One of the best means by which we can resist them is a life of activity for the glory of God. Many people give themselves up to idleness and indulgence; so it is not surprising that the devil has them in his power.
A religious complained to his superior of being violently tempted. The superior ordered the gardener and the cook to call him every moment. Some time after, he asked him how he was getting on. "O father," he said, "I have no time now to be tempted !" If we were penetrated with the holy presence of God, we should find it easy to resist the enemy. With this thought, God sees thee! we should never sin.
There was once a good saint - I think it was St. Teresa - who complained to our Lord after having been tempted, and said to Him, "Where wert Thou then, O my most loving Jesus, during that horrible tempest?" Our Lord answered her, "I was in the midst of thy heart, taking pleasure in seeing thee fight against it."
At the moment of temptation we must firmly renew our baptismal promises. . . . Now listen well to that. When you are tempted, offer to the good God the merit of that temptation, to obtain the opposite virtue. If you are tempted to pride, offer the temptation to obtain humility; that of immodest thoughts, to obtain purity; or charity, if it is against your neighbor. Offer also the temptation to obtain the conversion of sinners; that spites the devil and puts him to flight, because the temptation is turned against himself: yes, after that he will be sure to leave you alone.
A Christian ought always to be ready for battle. As in time of war sentinels are always placed here and there to see if the enemy is approaching, so we ought to be always on our guard to see if the enemy is not laying snares for us, and if he is not coming to surprise us. One of two things: a Christian either rules his inclinations, or his inclinations rule him; there is no medium. It is like two men taking each other by the collar to try which is the strongest - one will throw the other down. One will almost always end by overthrowing the other; and when he has him on the ground, with his foot upon his neck, he does not care much for him: he has the upper hand. So with our passions; the struggle is seldom equal, either we guide our passions, or they guide us.
My brethren, how sad it is to let ourselves be led by our passions! A Christian is noble; he ought to command his vassals like a noble. Our vassals are our passions. A shepherd was asked what he was. He answered, that he was a king. Over whom do you reign? Over my subjects. And who are your subjects? My inclinations. This shepherd was quite right in saying that he was a king.
We are in this world like a ship upon the sea. What causes the waves? The storm. In this world the wind is always blowing. Our passions raise a tempest in our soul; and these struggles will gain us heaven.
We must not imagine that there is any place on the earth where we could
escape from this war. We shall find the devil everywhere; and everywhere he will try to deprive us of heaven. But everywhere and always we
may be the conquerors. It is not like other battles, in which one of
two parties is always beaten; in this, if we choose, with the grace of
God, which is never refused us, we may always triumph.
When we think all is lost, we have only to cry out, "O Lord, save us; we
perish!" For our Lord is there, close to us, looking at us with
complacency, and saying to us with a smile: "In truth thou lovest Me; I
see that thou lovest Me." It is indeed by battles against hell, and by
resistance to temptations, that we give God proofs of our love.
How many souls, unknown in the world, will one day be seen enriched by these victories of every moment! The good God will say to these souls, "Come, ye blessed of My Father, enter into the joy of your Master."
Our guardian angel is always there by our side, pen in hand, to write down our victories. We must say every morning,"Come, my soul, let us labor to obtain heaven. This evening our battles will be over." And in the evening, "Tomorrow, my soul, all the troubles of life will perhaps be over for thee."
We have not yet suffered like the martyrs. Ask them if they are sorry now... The good God does not require so much from us. There are some people who are upset by a single word. One little humiliation capsizes the ship... Courage my brethren, courage! When the last day comes, you will say, "Happy struggles, that have purchased heaven!"
Let us then fight generously. When once the devil sees that he has no power over us, he will leave us in peace. This is the way he usually treats sinners who are returning to God; he lets them taste the sweetness of the first moments of their conversion, because he knows very well that he would gain nothing; they are too fervent. He waits a few months, till their first ardor has passed away; then he begins to make them neglect prayer and the Sacraments; he attacks them with divers temptations; then come the battles, and then indeed is the time to ask for strength, and not to let ourselves be overcome. Some people are so weak that when they are a little tempted, they give way, like soft paper. If we were always marching forward like good soldiers, we should raise our hearts to God when war or temptation come upon us, and take courage. But we linger behind; we say, "Provided I am saved, that is all I want. I do not wish to be a saint." If you are not a saint, you will be lost, there is no medium - you must be one or the other; mind that.
All those who will one day possess heaven will be saints. The souls in purgatory are saints, because they have no mortal sins; they have only to be purified, and they are friends of the good God. Let us work hard, my children; the day will come that we shall find we have not done at all too much to gain heaven."Source: The Spirit of the Cure d'Ars by l'abbe Monnin, p.133, 1865.
Prayer for Lent: O Lord who, for our sake, didst fast forty days and forty nights; give us grace to use such abstinence that, our flesh being subdued to the spirit, we may worthily lament and acknowledge our wretchedness, and may obtain perfect remission and forgiveness of Thee, the God of all mercy, who livest and reignest with the Father and Holy Ghost, one God, world without end. Amen
Source: Lent with the Cure d'Ars Compiled by the CAPGSt. Peter's Chair at Antioch.
by VP
Posted on Sunday February 22, 2026 at 12:00AM in Saints
"A DAY in memory of St. Peter's fixing his episcopal see at Antioch; where, as St. Luke informs us, the followers of Christ were first called Christians. It was just that the prince of the apostles should take this city under his particular care and inspection, which was then the capital of the East, and in which the faith took so early and deep root. St. Chrysos tom says that St. Peter made a long stay at Antioch. St. Gregory the Great, that he was seven years bishop of that Church. St. Leo says that we ought to celebrate the chair of St. Peter with no less joy than the day of his martyrdom, for as in this he was exalted to a throne of glory in heaven, so by the former he was installed head of the Church on earth.
On this festival, adore and thank the divine goodness for the establishment and propagation of his Church; and earnestly pray that in his mercy he would preserve the same and extend it, that his name may be glorified by all nations and by all hearts to the boundaries of the earth. The Church of Christ is his spiritual kingdom. He not only founded it, but continues to govern it, and by his spirit to animate its members to the end of the world as its visible head; though he has left St. Peter and his successors as a visible head for its exterior government.
Give thanks on this day for the propagation of the gospel among the Gentiles; and pray that it may be still more and more enlarged, for the enlightening all those who sit in darkness, and know not God. Pray in particular for the people of the East. Pray for all the prelates in Christ's Church, that as they succeed the apostles, they may be animated with an apostolic spirit in renouncing the world and its ways, and applying themselves wholly to the good of their flock. Pray that none may be admitted to that dignity, but such as are truly qualified for the charge, and called by God, as the apostles were. Pray likewise for the peace and unity of the Church, for the remedying all abuses, and that there may be one pastor and one fold." The Catholic Year by Fr. John Gother
