We begin another Lent. Once more we enter the desert, joining Jesus as he prays and fasts for 40 days. Jesus is the new Adam who overturns the disobedience of our first parents by conquering victoriously over the temptations of the devil. Christ is now our head; we are members of his Body. We can now share in his victory, freely participating in our own small way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jesus urges us to let our \u201cyes\u201d mean \u201cyes\u201d and our \u201cno\u201d mean \u201cno\u201d (Matthew 5:37). And he shows us how. He conquers Satan decisively. There is no wavering in his \u201cyes!\u201d to his Father\u2019s will, nor in his \u201cno!\u201d to Satan\u2019s whisperings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The human story is often otherwise. Remember Eve in the\ngarden. Rather than a firm \u201cno!\u201d she dialogues with the devil. Little by\nlittle, he twists the truth and lures her into disobedience. Adam, meanwhile,\ndoes not even put up resistance! He cowers away from the confrontation with evil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We are true children of Adam and Eve. If we do not swiftly call upon Jesus and fight temptation, it only increases. We\u2019ve all seen the \u201cdevil on the shoulder\u201d shtick. The poor angel on the opposite shoulder never seems to have a chance. That is why it is so important not to waver in our \u201cno!\u201d The devil has no power over human freedom authentically exercised. If we firmly resist, he will flee (James 4:7). Joining with Jesus, \u00a0we rediscover the powerful depths of our human freedom. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In manifold ways we struggle to say \u201cno!\u201d with full freedom\n\u2013 \u201cno\u201d to the food we do not need, \u201cno\u201d to the snooze button, \u201cno\u201d to spending\nmoney we don\u2019t have, \u201cno\u201d to letting our eyes and our heart wander in lust, or \u201cno\u201d\nto gossip and fault-finding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you\u2019re like me, you have been waging some of those wars for years with seemingly no progress. Like the apostle Paul, the good that I desire I do not do, and the evil that I hate I do (Romans 7:19).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Praise God, I\u2019ve had some breakthroughs in recent years.\nSome battles that once felt impossible have become manageable and even winnable\n\u2013 with the assistance of God and others. As I continue my journey down the path\nof conversion, I am discovering that\n\u201cyes\u201d and \u201cno\u201d extend far deeper than the mere moment of temptation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I have found quite helpful the book entitled Boundaries<\/em> (by Henry Cloud and John\nTownsend). They explore this theme of \u201cyes\u201d and \u201cno\u201d at many levels. For example,\nit was eye-opening for me to see how easy it is to feel responsible for other\npeople\u2019s burdens, other people\u2019s reactions, and other people\u2019s emotions. It\u2019s\nchallenging enough to be responsible for my own! I don\u2019t need to add a weight\nthat is not mine to carry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In theory, we are totally free to say \u201cno\u201d gently and firmly, without becoming apologetic or defensive, without battling through guilt. Sometimes we feel guilty when we are doing the right thing! We often need others to remind us and encourage us to hold firm and be truly free in our \u201cno.\u201d Without fraternal support, we can easily become susceptible to blaming and shaming. Whether in words (How could you\u2026?<\/em>) or in glowering glances of disapproval, the disappointment of others can feel utterly impossible to bear. In our instinct to survive, our brain tells us that we need to do something about these negative reactions, or else\u2026or else what? The truth tells us otherwise. We are free to say \u201cno.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Lord has also\nconvicted me about my lack of freedom in saying \u201cyes!\u201d Like many of you,\nsometimes my \u201cyes\u201d was more about avoiding false guilt and shame \u2013 rather than fulfilling\na deep desire for goodness and justice. Then enters the resentment or bitterness\nor anger at being manipulated, the moments of feeling trapped or overwhelmed,\nthe pity parties \u2013 all the fun stuff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In contrast to our stunted \u00a0and stumbling assent, the \u201cyes!\u201d of Jesus is free and wholehearted. He boldly declares, \u201cNo one takes my life from me; I lay it down freely\u201d (John 10:18). There is no \u201cI have to\u2026,\u201d no avoidance of conflict, no people pleasing. He freely says \u201cyes!\u201d and freely says \u201cno!\u201d He does so in human flesh and with a human will. He thereby opens up the possibility of our doing the same.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lent is a time to enter the desert with Jesus, where he\nhelps us to engage the age-old disciplines of fasting, almsgiving, and prayer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Effective fasting can come in many forms: giving up drinking, talking less, eating simpler foods, cutting out social media, etc. Jesus tells us we must deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow him. Self-denial is a wonderful way to exercise our \u201cno\u201d muscles. If we learn to say \u201cno\u201d freely and habitually in smaller matters, we can learn to do it in the more challenging and complex situations that I have been describing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Almsgiving can also take on many forms. It includes works of mercy such as visiting the sick or \u00a0imprisoned, working in a food pantry, doing chores for an elderly neighbor, volunteering in our parish, etc. If done well, these works of charity help us exercise our \u201cyes\u201d muscles freely and wholeheartedly in love.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Prayer, when authentically pursued, builds us up in communion. In healthy relationship with God and with each other, the old lies of our heart can be cast out. The truth of Jesus can set us free. God\u2019s grace is a gift from on high to be received, not by isolated individuals, but by members of one body. That is the beauty of Lent. Individuals engage in penance, yes, but overall we do so together as one Body of Christ, as one faith community. By sharing in his desert vigil and by sharing in his passion and death, we also come to share in the glorious freedom of his resurrection.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" We begin another Lent. Once more we enter the desert, joining Jesus as he prays and fasts for 40 days. Jesus is the new Adam who overturns the disobedience of our first parents by conquering victoriously over the temptations of the devil. Christ is now our head; we are members of his Body. We can … <\/p>\n