Fr Marco Lazzaron
ith Ash Wednesday, Lent, the period of preparation for Easter, officially began. It is 40 days of prayer, penance, and renewed passion for life, for holiness, and for the conversion of one’s heart to the Lord.
The Gospel of this first Sunday of Lent each year offers us the account of Jesus’ temptations in the desert and how He faced and overcame them. Jesus withdraws for 40 days into a place of complete solitude to pray and prepare for His mission. At the end of these 40 days of fasting, penance, and prayer, the Lord is tempted by Satan through three absurd and impossible proposals. Food, strength, and power sum up the devil’s attempt to influence Christ’s actions.
1. “Turn these stones into bread” to which Jesus answers: “Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God”. The first attempt is to destabilize the human and spiritual life of the Divine Master by focusing on food and physical needs.
2. The second attempt is to make Him demonstrate His divine power, and once again Jesus responds by bringing the devil back to reality.
3. The third and final attempt is to convince Jesus that He can possess everything if He submits to the power of evil. Even in this last case, Jesus responds with the strength of His divinity and drives the tempter away.
What these temptations mean for us as Christians is clear: Jesus conquers evil and triumphs over the one who seeks the destruction of humanity by making it live in sin and wrongdoing. In this Lent 2026, which we began celebrating last Wednesday, let us ask the Lord to keep us far from every temptation and to help us live in holiness, in harmony, and in peace with God, with those around us, and with ourselves.
Lent is a journey of conversion that we are called to undertake, as the ashes we received last Wednesday reminded us when the priest said: “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return,” or “Repent and believe in the Gospel”.
Lent is certainly a time of conversion, a time to remind ourselves that we are not eternal, but are journeying toward heaven. This journey can be secured through a holy and meaningful life. May this time of Lent help us to undertake in the most joyful and happy way the most important journey toward heaven, thus responding to God’s call to holiness and eternity. Amen.