DAILY HOMILIES #pray at all times

Some Pharisees told Jesus to flee Jerusalem to protect himself from Herod. Recall that, as a child, God sent an angel in a dream to warn Joseph to take Jesus and Mary and flee to Egypt. Jesus did not flee from Herod again because He knew His time had come. On the other hand, Jesus did not need to run because He knew Herod wasn’t the one to kill Him.

Just as every sin begins with a temptation, the struggle against sin starts with knowing how to deal with temptations. Hence, on this first Sunday of Lent, our Gospel passage narrates how Jesus overcame temptations in the wilderness. In the three temptations of Jesus Christ, we find the three categories of sins which are: “…the lust of the flesh (turning stones to bread), the lust of the eyes (bowing to Satan to gain the riches of the world) and the pride of life (jumping from the pinnacle of the temple to gain the praise and admiration of all)” (1 John 2:16).