(First Sunday of Lent: Genesis 2:7-9 & 3:1-7; Romans 5:12-19; Matthew 4:1-11)
Jesus quotes Deuteronomy 8:3. The context of those words is worth noting: “The Lord let you be afflicted with hunger [in the desert] … in order to show you that not by bread alone does one live, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of the Lord.”
There are two places in her message where Our Lady of La Salette echoes this thought. First she speaks of a “great famine” that is about to ravage much of Europe. Later she complains that her people eat meat all during Lent.
Today, abstinence from meat is no longer universally required of Catholics except on Ash Wednesday, Good Friday, and the Fridays of Lent. But the challenge is still there. Mary’s point is not about a rule that has been broken, but about the meaning of Lent.
The story of the Temptation of Jesus makes it clear: if we are not nourished by God’s Word, the life we live is but a shadow, a shell of what it might be. If we do not place our hope in God’s Grace which, as St. Paul writes, “overflows for the many,” even our deepest hopes cannot achieve their fullness.
The serpent held out a false hope to Adam and Eve, and they brought sin and all its effects into the world. The devil held out false hopes to Jesus, but Jesus was not deceived.
He does not deny the importance of bread. But bread is not enough. Psychology tells us that merely feeding a child is not sufficient for the child’s well-being. Human relationships are more essential still.
The season of Lent, and the Beautiful Lady, both remind us of our need for a healthy relationship with God. Of course, material needs cannot and must not be ignored, but in another place in Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus tells us: “Seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given you besides” (Mt 6: 33).
It is a good sign that Ash Wednesday, which is not a Holy Day of Obligation, is among the days that have the highest Mass attendance. Its meaning may even change from year to year. That’s a good thing, too.