By Esther Dutra, Fiat Ventures
First Sunday of Lent
First Sunday of Lent… how are your Lenten promises going? At this point, you should be going full speed, right? “This year will be different”. “I will fast every Wednesday and Friday”. “I will not have a sip of coffee”. “No chocolate at all”. “I will pray four rosaries”. “No social media”. “I won’t say bad things about people that annoy me”. “I won’t complain-at all”. “I won’t yell at my kids”. “I will be more patient”. That is all good. Truly. The desire to do better, to be better, to love God more, that’s beautiful!
But remember: Lent is not a 100-meter sprint. It’s a marathon. You have to stay focused every day, or you won’t make it to the end with the same strength you had at the beginning. And Lent is not only about giving something up. It’s also about adding something (extra time with Jesus), and about almsgiving, helping those in need. Maybe it’s time to clean out your closet and give some things away. It’s cold outside. What’s clogging your closet (and maybe even your mind, because there’s no empty space left) could be exactly what someone else needs to stay warm. I say that because I definitely have a lot in my closet that I don’t use anymore, and I’ll be working on cleaning that up this weekend to give away.
The Church gives us three pillars during Lent: prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. And when you look at the Gospel from this Sunday: Jesus being tempted in the desert. You realize something powerful. These three pillars are not random. They are the response to the three temptations Christ faced.
The first temptation is about appetite. Jesus has been fasting for forty days. He is hungry. Satan tempts Him to turn stones into bread. In other words: take care of yourself first. Satisfy your hunger. Choose comfort. Jesus answers, “Man shall not live by bread alone.” That is fasting. Every time we say no to something, coffee, sweets, scrolling, complaining, we are training our hearts not to be controlled by cravings. Fasting reminds us that our deepest hunger is not physical. It is spiritual.
The second temptation is about pride. Satan tells Jesus to throw Himself from the temple so that angels will save Him. It’s a temptation to demand proof, to force God’s hand, to seek recognition. Jesus refuses: “You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.” This is where prayer transforms us. Real prayer is not about controlling God; it is about surrendering to Him. My spiritual director always reminds me of that, as a very organized person I like to have all my prayers listed and follow that, but he always reminds me that Jesus knows me better and I should leave it up to Him to decide my prayer life! It humbles us. It teaches us trust instead of testing, dependence instead of performance. This is hard!
The third temptation is about power and glory. Satan offers Jesus all the kingdoms of the world: success without suffering, authority without the Cross. It’s the shortcut. Jesus responds, “You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only shall you serve.” This is where almsgiving comes in. When we give away money, time, or possessions, we loosen our attachment to power and control. We admit that everything we have is a gift. Giving breaks the illusion that security comes from what we own.
So, when we practice prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, we are not just checking off Lenten boxes. We are stepping into the same battle Jesus fought in the desert. Actually it’s much easier than it was for Him, but we’re following His path and trying our best to be united with Him in His sufferings! We are training our hearts.
And if your Lent hasn’t been perfect so far, that’s okay. This is a marathon. The goal isn’t to be flawless in the first week. The goal is faithfulness over forty days. If you slipped, start again. If you haven’t cleaned the closet yet, do it this weekend. If you haven’t prayed as much as you hoped, begin tonight. Lent isn’t about proving how strong we are. It’s about realizing how much we need Jesus, and walking with Him, one steady step at a time, all the way to Easter.
We can do this! Have a blessed Lent, brothers and sisters!