Bishops' Schedules: Bishop Robert C. Morlino Sunday, March 19, 2006 11:00 a.m. -- Preside and Preach at the Celebration of the Eucharist, Bishop's Stational Mass, St. Patrick Church, Madison 4:00 p.m. -- Preside and Preach at the Sacrament of Confirmation, St. Bernard Parish, Middleton Wednesday, March 22, 2006 11:00 a.m. -- Preside and Preach at the Sacrament of Confirmation, Oaklawn Academy, Edgerton Thursday, March 23, 2006 2:00 p.m. -- Attend Capitol Neighborhood, Inc., Meeting on Cathedral, St. Patrick Parish, Madison 5:00 p.m. -- Speak to Vatican Exhibit Tour Group, Schoenstatt International Shrine, Waukesha Bishop William H. Bullock Sunday, March 19, 2006 11:00 a.m. -- Concelebrate at the Celebration of the Eucharist, Mass of Thanksgiving for Sisters of Nazareth, Nazareth House, Stoughton Monday, March 20, 2006 12:00 noon -- Preside and Preach at the Celebration of the Eucharist, Bishop O'Connor Catholic Pastoral Center, Madison Thursday, March 23, 2006 7:00 p.m. -- Participate in Sacrament of Reconciliation, Holy Mother of Consolation Parish, Oregon Bishop George O. Wirz Sunday, March 19, 2006 11:00 a.m. -- Preside and Preach at the Celebration of the Eucharist, Mass of Thanksgiving for Sisters of Nazareth, Nazareth House, Stoughton Wednesday, March 22, 2006 7:30 p.m. -- Preside and Preach at the Sacrament of Confirmation, St. Charles Borromeo Parish, Cassville Thursday, March 23, 2006 7:00 p.m. -- Participate in Sacrament of Reconciliation, Holy Mother of Consolation Parish, Oregon

Lent: It's a time for spiritual combat, self-examination

		Under the Gospel Book + Bishop Robert C. Morlino

Following are portions of Bishop Morlino's homily at the Rite of Election at St. Albert the Great Parish, Sun Prairie, on March 5, 2006. The rest of the homily will be published in the March 23 issue of the Catholic Herald:

Those of you who are to be signed up today in the Book of the Elect, the Catechumens, and those of you who are continuing your journey toward full initiation into the Catholic Church, those of you who are Candidates, are specially chosen according to that Gospel reading that we just heard. Jesus is saying to you, "I don't call you servants anymore, because the servant doesn't know what's on the Master's mind. I call you friends."

Called to friendship with Christ

The Father has chosen you to share everything that He has given us in Christ, those of you who are Catechumens, those of you who are Candidates, all of us here, have been specially chosen. We don't want to walk away from that ever. Jesus Christ has called you to friendship with Him, which is the greatest gift that our God can give anyone.

Jesus Christ has called you to the fullness of the truth as it resides in the Catholic Church, unworthy though we are of that gift. It's hard to say it but you dear Candidates and Catechumens, and all of us are called to be elite, very special friends of Jesus Christ, though we remember immediately that from those to whom much is given, much is expected. When we think about it seriously, when we think about all that is expected of us, we cannot slip into elitism.

The very fact that we're called to be elite winds up humbling us, because we know how much will be expected of us and it's daunting to think about whether any of us can ever measure up to that. I know certainly that I can't. There is a special place for those of us who can't measure up someday. It's called Purgatory. Some of us will see one another there.

That's the first point; let's not shrink back from celebrating the gift that we have to be the Elect, to be an elite presence of Jesus Christ in the world, but a presence that is humble, a presence never sliding into elitism because if we do that, then Purgatory will just last longer.

Lent is a time of spiritual combat

The second point is about Lent. Pope Benedict said very recently that Lent is a time of spiritual combat. And you Catechumens are going to be baptized; Candidates and Catechumens are going to be confirmed and receive the Eucharist. We used to say in the old days, that Confirmation makes you a soldier of Christ and for a variety of reasons we don't talk that way so much anymore but it's true. Confirmation is the reception of the Holy Spirit unto strength so that you're up to the spiritual combat of Lent and of everyday life.

And what is that spiritual combat about, who is it that we're fighting? We heard about him in this morning's Gospel, Satan, the devil. The Holy Spirit drove Jesus out into the desert to encounter the devil. Jesus was and is God, but in His human nature, Satan was even a challenge to Him, in His human nature.

We have to be careful because sometimes nowadays we are tempted to think that Satan is a myth, that the devil doesn't really exist. And of course, the great triumph of the devil occurs when, because he is a liar and the father of lies, he convinces us that he doesn't exist. Then we don't even realize that we're in spiritual combat, we're in spiritual battle. We don't know what's happening.

When Satan is clever enough to convince us that he doesn't exist, that's his victory because then he can have his way with you and me. Satan is so real that he was a challenge to Jesus Christ Himself in His human nature and you and I would be very foolish to think that Satan is not going to be a challenge to us. Satan has a plan to destroy you and me, both in this world and for all eternity. He has a superhuman intelligence and a superhuman will. He's much more clever than you and I could ever be.

St. Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Jesuits says so clearly and so truthfully, "Your father has an enemy." Satan is the ultimate terrorist; he makes Osama bin Laden look like a first grader and he's got the ultimate weapon of mass destruction, which is death. And that's what he uses against you and me.

It would be terribly naïve for you or me to think that Satan is some kind of a myth, when he challenged Jesus Christ himself in the desert for 40 days. And if Jesus Christ in His human nature was helped by the ministry of angels, wouldn't it be foolish for you or for me to think that this is a myth and let's just forget about it? The spiritual combat of Lent is real, the spiritual combat of life is even more real, and it goes on every day. St. Ignatius teaches us clearly that if Satan tempts us, if we give Satan five seconds to check out the temptation, we lose, guaranteed. We're no match for Satan.

When we face up to Satan, the only thing that can help us is the resurrection power of Jesus Christ which is decisive against Satan because Satan made a choice when he was created. He made a choice right then and there to reject the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. He lives outside of time; he's a bad angel, a fallen angel. To reject the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit is to destroy yourself.

That's why the victory of Christ over Satan is guaranteed, because when Satan chose to reject the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, he chose definitively and finally his own self-destruction. And whenever we get involved with Satan, it can never turn out to our good. Satan can never do anything but destroy and in the end his definitive choice against the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit will bring about his own self-destruction. He wants to take as many of us along with him as possible. So this spiritual combat of Lent and of everyday life is very serious business. Our Father has an enemy and Lent is a time for us to deal with that enemy.

Lent is a time for real self-examination

And the third point is, "How does that enemy, how does Satan attack?" Lots of ways. He knows your weaknesses and he knows mine. It's a tailor made plan. He's got a superhuman intelligence; he knows just how to trip you up. We need to examine ourselves during Lent - that's what Lent is all about. We need to examine ourselves and say, "Where are those places, where are those weaknesses where Satan will trip me up?" We've got to be careful because if Satan knows me better than I know myself, and there is a good chance that he might, then I'm in trouble.

So Lent is a time for real self-examination. Where are those weaknesses where Satan is going to trip me up? We've got to give time and prayer to that. We can't be simple minded about Lent. It's Lent again - I'll give up chocolate. I just found out recently that dark chocolate is good for me. I look forward to it everyday. I have it at about nine o'clock at night, a little piece of dark chocolate with almonds; they're good for me, too. I don't even have to give that up.

But that would be a typical tactic of Satan; while I give up chocolate, I won't spend any more time in prayer, I won't look at my life, I won't try to see where Satan might bring me down. If you decide to do something for Lent that's the wrong thing, that won't really help in your battle against Satan; Satan will actually help you do it every day.

Dear Lord, please give every one of us the grace to take up our mission, and if we get a bloody nose along the way, give us the grace to take it and keep smiling. Praised be Jesus Christ!