JAVA/WITH/JOE

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Most of us don’t look forward to Lent. We have to give things up. We have to follow rules and observe restrictions. We like dessert and feel guilty eating it during this season.

Here at Ten Ten, we think the general attitude about Lent should be different - it isn’t just about restriction, it’s about liberation! It isn’t just about fasting, it’s about freedom!

Let me explain…

You’ll hear in the readings at Mass this coming Sunday about Jesus being tempted in the desert. He could have worldly pleasure, symbolized in the turning of stones to bread. He could have power, represented in the control of all the marvelous kingdoms on the Earth. He could have honor and fame, comfort, and all the rest thrown in, too. But, ultimately, what we He have to do? Reject his very purpose. Turn from God and worship Satan.

Jesus knew what many of us forget: the devil wants to cause disorder in our lives. Literally, he wants our priorities to be out of order. His goal is to make sure God is not the center of our lives, not the one we worship, not the one whom we trust.

We entertain those same temptations. We like power, but most of us can’t control a kingdom. However, we can control our friends. We can manipulate our coworkers. We can have power over our spouse. We like pleasure, so whether in public or in private, we give in to the same old things time and time again, even though they never fulfill us. We want glory, so we gossip about others to lift ourselves up.

Every day, but perhaps especially during Lent, we are called to resist those temptations. Even things that aren’t bad in themselves can still be harmful if we place them above God. And what happens when we give in to all of the other desires in life? Our desire for God get’s buried underneath them.

So, as we’re beginning this Lenten season, let us embrace it with joy - for God calls us to go into the desert, and everything He calls us to is for our ultimate good. Let us willingly leave behind some of our usual comforts, so that the desire for God can rise up in our minds and hearts again, not be squished down beneath all of the many pleasures we enjoy.

Let’s chat again next Wednesday. Go get some ashes!

Dom and Joe  

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