1st Sunday of Lent 6 March 2022 Sermon

 1^st Sunday of Lent 6 March 2022 Commands

Why is it so hard to obey God's commands? It is the result of original sin and the general disorder that has flowed from that.

It can be summed up as Wanting Everything Now. Wanting too much and too soon, and often the wrong thing as well.

Our desires have been distorted and we have been trying ever since to get them back in the right shape.

God's commands can seem very onerous if we have various desires raging inside us.

But if we can bring our desires into order then those same commands become easy to obey.

My yoke is easy and My burden light said Our Lord. (Mt 11,28-30)

Our Lord shows us the way in His humanity by redefining all the devil’s intentions and straightening them out.

Yes, He could turn stones to bread but better still to live on spiritual food. Our Lord purified and elevated each temptation, moving from physical satisfaction and material gain to spiritual unity with God. Live on  His word, do not tempt Him, adore Him.

In short, put God first and all else will fall into place.

In this state of things we will find it progressively easier to obey the various commands and their application in daily life.

We will not steal because we have enough, and we respect others’ needs.

We will not commit adultery because we understand God's purposes for marriage and family, and can adapt to that.

We want what He wants. His way is the best way. Anything else amounts to worshipping false gods and cannot deliver lasting happiness.

We cannot have complete order all at once, but we do what we can to be free of our own sin, confessing it humbly and gratefully receiving God's mercy.

It is important to use the right names for things. Sins are given euphemistic names like errors of judgment, poor choices, peccadillos, mistakes etc

Call it sin. Be direct like Our Lord was with Satan. It is easier to resist a sin if we name it correctly.

All the time we ask for the help we need to bring our desires and passions under control

Our Lenten penance is one part of that process. We deny ourselves things to which we are entitled, to reverse the times we took what was not ours to take - forbidden fruit.

We understand that there is more involved than keeping rules but it is a start.

We see beneath each rule or command the value that is represented there.

If we obey the law anyway, even if we do not fully understand it, that will enable us to go deeper into what is really at stake, and it will be easier for us to see how it all fits in.

We might say there are certain sins that are so embedded we cannot remove them.

Think of it this way There are certain sins we would not commit, like stealing a car.

It is not part of our world to do that, or even think of it.

We can apply the same logic to the sins we would think of, and move them to the unthinkable side. Thus we no longer do those things we are always confessing.

Long-term Catholics might feel aggrieved at having to be good for so long, but it is more happiness to keep God's commands than to break them.

With wisdom we will come to see from God's point of view, and the burdens really do become light.

Let us use this Lent as a time of special effort to uproot persistent sins. We can do it if only we look to the true God and not false ones.