Reflection - 73

When I read the passage of St. Luke chapter 4 verses 1 on wards, I came up with beautiful thought related with the consecrated people because it is the passage of the temptation of Jesus, Jesus is tempted by Satan. Do you think that Satan came near to Jesus with 2 horns in his head and with a tail and put forward something to do? No dear brothers, do not take this passage literally.  There we can see the types of denial, when he could say no to a silly loaf of bread, he actually says no to the pleasures of the body. For us these pleasures starts from the food to sex pleasures. Then again he got temptations of kingdom of worlds, when he says no all kingdoms of world he actually denied the possessions of life. Then the last temptation is about the concern of angels, when he denied the caring of the angels he says no the thirst for power.

 So dear brothers pleasure, possession, power these three things are the main temptations which we are facing as a religious. Actually these are the deeds of Satan which we get all these temptations. So also we are oriented in these temptations. All of us are centred to any one of these problems. That is why we have the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience; these vows are related to these temptations.

I know some brothers saying like these I want to become an engineer or a doctor in the church.  I would like to them as business oriented people. So dear brothers remember one thing church is not mere an institution to do your business and politics. If you need to do all these things, get out of the church and do it. Dear brothers, remember one think cash making is not our business rather soul making. Earn souls for the kingdom of God that should be our business. In gospel we can see Jesus with short tempered in once in his life, that is at the time of cleansing of the church. So Jesus also does not like the businesses in the church.

So my dear brothers, Jesus himself gives the solution for all these things after he got tempted Jesus said to Satan that the importance of bible reading, observance of commandments and put your trust in the lord. So try to practice all these things and ponder over it.  

Bro. Sam Varghese