This column is the bishop’s communication with the faithful of the Diocese of Madison. Any wider circulation reaches beyond the intention of the bishop. |
Dear Friends,
And so, we begin Lent. It strikes me as though yesterday was Labor Day and yet, here we are. There was the possibility that Ash Wednesday might be overshadowed for some by the blissful celebration of St. Valentine’s Day.
However, a far more sinister overshadowing overtook them both. Once again, wonderful young people, with their whole lives ahead of them, were meaninglessly and horrendously slaughtered and injured. So many family lives were changed forever, and not for the better.
Sadness really hung around this St. Valentine’s Day. Deep sadness. And, if any good was to come from this sadness, I hope that it awakened our consciousness to Lent and to our own mortality and need for both repentance and salvation.
Confrontation with the devil
This past Sunday we heard that the Holy Spirit drove Jesus out into the desert, to be tempted by the devil (Mk 1:12-15). He drove Jesus out, into a face-to-face confrontation with him who is pure evil. This confrontation was therefore necessary for the sinless, only begotten Son of God.
And as we begin Lent, that tells us, in a way, that this confrontation with the devil is what Lent is all about. For while Jesus has the ultimate victory over the devil in the life to come, in this world the devil maintains his camp, and so we too must confront him.