WORD ALIVE

There's an amusing story about a young man who was constantly bedeviled by sensual thoughts. Feeling guilty, he consulted a priest-friend.

"Don't worry," the priest assured him, "these thoughts popped out in our minds. They're not sinful but only enticements. But the moment you start entertaining them, they become sinful. Did you entertain them?"

The young man paused, then sheepishly replied: "Well, I didn’t entertain them, Father, but they seemed to entertain me!"
 

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Temptation is an ever-present reality in life. Even the Lord Jesus was tempted as the gospel this Sunday shows.  Read Luke 4,1-13. 

Jesus withdrew to the wilderness for a long retreat. There he encountered Satan who offered him the ultimate in power, money and material comforts Jesus was to acknowledge Satan as supreme being.  "All these I will give you if you will fall down and worship me,"  the devil said.  Jesus answered with an emphatic "No." 
 

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The struggle between Jesus and the devil  goes on within each of us, every day of our life.  

The devil does not always appear in the stereotype image of a horrible looking half-man, half-animal with horns and forked tail.  He could appear in the form of a well-dressed man with pleasing personality who incites us to cut corners or do evil like approving an anomalous contract, bribing people or stealing. 

The devil could be a smart, charming lady, like in the office, who seduces you to be unfaithful to your wife. It could be a glib-talking politician who promises to serve the people but has actually concealed, bad motives. 
 

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God’s grace will help us all right but we must also help ourselves. If one knows he’s weak,  he should avoid people that would lead him to fall. That is what is meant by “avoiding the occasion of sin.”
 

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We're now in the first Sunday of Lent. Lent is a season of testing and discipline. Sometimes we are attracted to be unfaithful, say, to our marital or religious vows, to drink excessively, to take revenge, to cheat or malign others.

Are we making the right choices against evil? Or, are we just drifting down supinely with the current? We pray that the Lord will give us a strong will to say NO to the alluring temptations.
 

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National Migrants’ Sunday falls on the 1st Sunday of Lent. It is timely and fitting because the theme of the Mass is about temptation.

One serious family problem among Filipino migrants is caused by the long separation of married couples.

A spouse working abroad, for instance, can succumb to the temptation of infidelity as a result of long separation. The spouse left behind can also fall to the same predicament.
 

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The migrant workers’ diligence and resilient religious faith, they have immensely strengthened the country’s economy through their dollar remittances.

One wonders if the dollars earned abroad are worth it when one’s family is in shambles. To paraphrase the Lord’s words: “What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world but suffers the loss of his own family.”
 

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We thank our OFWs for the enormous contributions they are rendering to our country. But we pray that God will help them surmount the moral and family problems they’re encountering in their pursuit for a better life.    
 

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Lenten Charity. The season of Lent calls us to do more acts of charity. One way is to assist needy seminarians under our "Adopt A Seminarian” scholarship program. Please donate any amount or sponsor a seminarian's schooling good for one school year. For inquiry, e-mail me at: [email protected].
 

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Family Tv Mass – is aired on TV5 One Sport Channel 59,  Free TV Ch. 41 at 6-7 a.m. every Sunday. 

“The Family that prays together stays together.”