Resisting the Seemingly Irresistible

Adapted from: http://www.theworkofgod.org/devotns/euchrist/HolyMass/gospels.asp?key=47

Jesus is the Eternal Word, the Son of God. In His spiritual nature He is pure Spirit. He was also the Son of Mary, conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit in the womb of my Virgin Mother, therefore He has shared our human nature and for the sake of our salvation He became man.

Jesus represented the whole human race in His spiritual struggle with the powerful enemy of souls so that we all would learn a lesson and always draw our wisdom and strength from Him. The three enemies of the soul are the flesh, the world and the devil. He tempted me as he tempts everyone but I overcame his temptations. You can also overcome the same way I did.

To the weakness of the flesh, the devil tempted me with bread in order to interrupt my self-denial, my reply to him was “Human beings live not on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.” I have taught you everything you need to know, my word will be your wisdom and your strength. Deny yourselves and you will have total self-control against temptation.

The devil tempted Jesus to worship him in exchange for power, glory and riches, Jesus replied, “You must do homage to the Lord, Him alone must you serve.” The first commandment calls to worship God with all our heart, mind, soul and strength, but many people neglect God and worship the false gods of the world, thus becoming victims of the devil.

The devil tempted Jesus to throw Himself from a pinnacle of the temple, to which, He replied, “You shall not tempt the Lord your God”. Every time we sin, we are doing just that. We are forgetting the damage we are doing to our own souls, we are putting the Lord to the test. Let us not put Our Lord to the test, avoid sin, do what is good and we will be given the necessary graces to conquer temptations when they come.