“Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.” Those are the concluding words of the Our Father, a prayer we pray at every Mass, in the Rosary, and in our daily prayers. In the Gospel for today’s Mass (Matthew 4:1-11) we have St. Matthew’s account of Jesus being tempted by the devil after 40 days of prayer in the desert. Obviously Jesus did not accept the prompting of the devil to use His miraculous powers to do what would entertain and make Him popular. The inner strength, faith, and love of Jesus enabled Him to not only resist temptation, but, even more, to begin His pubic ministry by healing the sick, preaching the Good News, raising the dead, and showering divine love and wisdom on all who encountered Him and were in His presence.

There are many choices we have in our lives. Sometimes we agonize over a decision weighing the pros and cons and at other times we readily jump in with both feet. For past weeks we have been inviting everyone in the parish to our upcoming parish retreat which will take place on next Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday in our church from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM each night. This retreat has been in the planning stage for the past four months. We have formed a committee to put it together along with those who are giving the retreat. The retreat team is coming from the Franciscan University in Steubenville, Ohio. I have been very impressed and enthused by the people we are working with from there and look forward meeting the team they are sending to give the retreat.

To be truly wise is not to be the smartest person in the world. To be truly wise is to know we do not know or understand everything, but we do know where the source of wisdom is. In the second reading at Mass today (1 Corinthians 2:6-10) we have these words of St. Paul: “We speak a wisdom to those who are mature, not a wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age who are passing away. Rather, we speak God's wisdom, mysterious, hidden, which God predetermined before the ages for our glory, and which none of the rulers of this age knew; for, if they had known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.” God’s wisdom is simple and profound at the same time. As we look to our parish mission, the first evening will open up our understanding of God’s love for each one of us. We all know and say God loves us but do we really understand what that means for ourselves and all people?

The old Baltimore catechism asked, “Why did God make you?” The answer: “God made me to know him, to love him, and to serve him in this world and to be happy with him forever in the next.” First and foremost God created the world and created us in His very own image simply because He loves us and wants to share His life and love with us in this world and forever with Him in heaven. One of the thoughts we grapple with is why God loves me personally. We know we are not perfect, have said and done stupid and sinful things, and are not always as attentive and focused at Mass and in prayer as we would like to be and want to be. It is easy to trust we are lovable when we do and say good things. But we must never think we are unlovable to God. As I have written over and over again, the words of St. Paul in Romans 5:8 are perfectly to the point: “While we were still sinners Christ died for us.” When we were estranged from God and not giving Him our time, attention, love ,and gratitude He never gave up loving us. That is why He came Himself in the person of Jesus.