John Bergsma has a good post up today, worth reading in it's entirety. I'm going to start you out here, then follow the link...
The Temptation, Kings, Nuns and Priests
The Gospel reading for the first Sunday of Lent is the temptation of Christ in the desert according to Luke.
Christ is tempted in three ways: through his physical desires (hunger for food), through his eyes (being shown all the glory of the kingdoms of the world), and through the temptation to pride (to stage a magnificent stunt that would win him fame throughout the nation).
This threefold temptation of Christ corresponds to St. John’s warning about the “lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, and the pride of life” in 1 John 2:15. This threefold categorization has been known in the Church as the “threefold concupiscence,” the unholy Trinity of temptation.
Eve was tempted in the same way. She saw that the fruit was “good for food, pleasing to the eye, and to be desired to make one wise.” “Good for food” is lust of the flesh. “Pleasing to the eye” is lust of the eye. “Desired to make one wise” is a temptation to pride—Eve wants to be wise like God.
Thousands of years later, the king of Israel was commanded by Moses to restrain himself from the temptations of the threefold concupiscence. Deut 17:16-17 forbids the Israelite king from multiplying horses (military might), women (sensual pleasure), and gold/silver (greed/avarice) for himself. These three items correspond to lust of the flesh (women), lust of the eyes (gold), and pride (self-aggrandizing military build-up).
Continue reading: The Temptation, Kings, Nuns and Priests at The Sacred Page
Also, Michael Barber discusses Lent, from a biblical point of view with Patrick Coffin at Catholic Answers Live. It took place just before Ash Wednesay, but is great to listen to any time during this season. I'm listening to it now.
Audio: Michael Barber discuss Lent at Catholic Answers
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The obedient are not held captive by Holy Mother Church; it is the disobedient who are held captive by the world!
