- 2 weeks ago
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00:20Let us pray.
00:22Praise, honour and glory be to you, O Christ, who for our sake gave yourself up into the service of
00:31your parents and to teach us true humility carried by your mother into the temple and there redeemed with the
00:39offerings of the poor when the righteous Simeon and the prophetess Anna, gladdened by your presence, gave glorious witness concerning
00:47you.
00:49May the slightest breath of vanity never affect my innermost soul. May all arrogance be ever cast down. May all
00:57longing for the praise of men be extinguished. May all wantonness of self-conceit be quenched within me.
01:04Give me grace, O Lord, to flee any honour, to hate distinction and to submit myself with readiness to all
01:11men for your sake.
01:14Praise, honour and glory be to you, O Christ, who as a little child did with your tender mother suffer
01:22persecution and did not refuse to be carried as an exile fleeing into Egypt.
01:28Give me grace amidst the storms of adversity and the blasts of persecution and misfortune, to fly for refuge to
01:37you alone, to seek you, to call upon you.
01:41Grant that I may receive all things with gladness at your hands, may endure all things in meekness of heart,
01:48and may cleave with thanksgiving without wavering to you.
01:53Praise, honour and glory be to you, O Christ, who, when you remained behind in the temple, your mother sought
02:01for sorrowing, and at length with joy found you sitting in the midst of the doctors, hearing and asking them
02:07questions.
02:09May you so give and communicate yourself to me, that I may never be separated from you, and never be
02:16without the comfort of your blessed friendship.
02:19Drive sloth from my heart, dispel any dullness that is displeasing in your sight.
02:27Grant me perfect devotion, and such an ardent thirst after piety, that my soul may be so affected and possessed
02:35by it, as never to feel satisfied with worshipping you.
02:40Praise, honour and glory be to you, who gave yourself up, to live in concealment for thirty years, to be
02:48reputed by the Jews the son of Joseph the carpenter, and be subject to the commands of your mother and
02:54the same Joseph.
02:56May your grace, I beg you, root out and thoroughly pluck up, from the innermost recesses of my heart, any
03:04ambition and seeking of glory, that I may become belittled in my own eyes, and may love to be unknown
03:12and considered of no account, submitting myself to all and obeying them for your honour.
03:20Praise, honour and glory be to you, O Christ, who did not refuse to come to the River Jordan, and
03:26be baptised there by your servant John.
03:31May you thoroughly cleanse me by your merits in this life, that freed from all vices and sins, I may
03:39be filled with the love of you, and long for my heavenly country.
03:44Make me, I beg you, before my soul quits this body, pleasing to you in all things, that, departing from
03:53this life, I may be for ever in heaven with you, to see you, to enjoy you, and to praise
03:59your holy name for ever and ever.
04:03Praise, honour and glory be to you, O Christ, who for our sake dwelt in the wilderness, amongst the wild
04:11beasts, and fasted and watched in prayer for forty days and forty nights, permitting yourself to be tempted by the
04:18devil, whom you overcame when angels came and ministered to you.
04:24Grant me grace to discipline, overcome and bring into subjection my sinful flesh, with its evil affections.
04:34Give me grace to be instant in prayer and all other spiritual exercises, and grant that with your continual help,
04:42I may completely overcome sins of gluttony, and may escape the snares and schemes of the devil.
04:51Let no temptations, I beg you, defile me, nor separate me from you, but may they rather purify me, and
05:00unite and join me with you.
05:03Praise, honour and glory be to you, O Christ, who gave himself up to preach repentance, to call to you
05:11disciples, and from them choose the twelve apostles, to be the special heralds of the faith,
05:17gathering together, gathering together, gathering together the children of God that were scattered abroad.
05:21Draw me after you, and powerfully excite my heart to love you.
05:28Do not permit me to neglect the grace with which you called me, but make me ready to despise the
05:34world and all perishable things, following you, taking your humility and charity as my example.
05:40Give me grace to look for you alone, and with earnest longing to sigh continually after you. Amen.
05:54O Lord, open our lips, and our mouths shall sing your praise.
06:06O be joyful in the Lord, holy man, serve the Lord with gladness, and come in all his presence with
06:21a talk.
06:22O Lord, open our lips, and our hearts with a talk.
06:40O Lord, open our lips, and our hearts with a talk.
06:52We thank God to him and speak to the Lord of his name.
07:02For the Lord is gracious, his mercy is everlasting,
07:11and his truth endures from generation to generation.
07:24Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost,
07:35as it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be,
07:44world without end. Amen.
07:53Amen.
08:02The earth is the lost, and all that therein is,
08:10for comforts of the world and faith as well therein.
08:16For he hath planted it upon the sea, and he hath held it upon the farms.
08:27Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord?
08:32Oh, who shall rise up in this holy place?
08:38Even he that hath clean hands and a pure heart, and that hath not lift up his mind unto vanity,
08:50nor sworn to deceive his neighbor, he shall receive a blessing from the Lord,
09:01and righteousness from the God of his salvation.
09:06This is the generation of them that seek him, even of them that seek my faith of Jacob.
09:19Lift up your heads, O ye gates, and we lift up here the dusting doors,
09:29and the king of glory shall come in.
09:34Who is the king of glory?
09:38It is the most, far and mighty, even the Lord's mighty in battle.
09:48Lift up your heads, O ye gates, and we lift up the everlasting force,
09:57and the king of glory shall come in.
10:03Who is the king of glory?
10:07Even the Lord of hosts, he is the king of glory.
10:16Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost.
10:27As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be,
10:36world's without end.
10:51A reading from the Gospel according to Saint Luke, chapter 4.
10:57Then Jesus, being full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan River,
11:02and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness,
11:05where, for forty days, he endured temptation from the devil.
11:11He ate nothing during those days, and when they were completed, he was famished.
11:17The devil said to him,
11:19If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become bread.
11:24Jesus answered him,
11:26It is written, man does not live by bread alone.
11:32Then the devil led him up into a high place,
11:34and showed him in a flash all the kingdoms of the world.
11:38He said to him,
11:39To you I will grant this whole realm,
11:42and the glory that goes along with it.
11:44For it has been relinquished to me,
11:47and I can give it to anyone I wish.
11:50So then, if you will worship me, all this will be yours.
11:55Jesus answered him,
11:57It is written,
11:58You are to worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.
12:04Then the devil brought him to Jerusalem,
12:06and had him stand on the highest point of the temple,
12:09and said to him,
12:11If you are the Son of God,
12:13throw yourself down from here,
12:15for it is written,
12:17He will command his angels concerning you
12:22to protect you,
12:24and with their hands,
12:25they will lift you up,
12:27so that he will not strike your foot against a stone.
12:31Jesus answered him,
12:33You are not to put the Lord your God to the test,
12:39So when the devil had completed these temptations,
12:42he departed from him,
12:43until a more opportune time.
12:47This is the word of the Lord.
12:50Thanks be to God.
12:56This is one of the more mysterious,
13:00but perhaps most suggestive passages
13:03in the entire history of the Christ.
13:08Without attempting to indicate all the points presented for reflection,
13:14let us consider that the temptation is necessary
13:17to the perfecting of Jesus as the Saviour of sinners.
13:22He is led by the Spirit into the wilderness,
13:25led for the purpose of being tried for the devil.
13:28In the solitudes and the simplicities of the life in Nazareth,
13:32he had not known,
13:34and could not have known,
13:36this kind of triumph.
13:39Now is to come the first distinct experience
13:41of the devil's power.
13:45God, may we so say,
13:47carried him away from the scene of baptism,
13:49and opened the heavens,
13:50and the divine voice,
13:51and presented him to Satan,
13:54the prince of the power of the air.
13:59This is my beloved Son.
14:01Put forth your hand and touch him.
14:05Is this not, perhaps, a little strange?
14:10It is a very real link of communion
14:12between the Lord and the life to be set
14:14by sin and evil.
14:17By thy fasting and temptation,
14:20good Lord, deliver me.
14:24See, it is in a part,
14:25an essential part of that,
14:27in the making of Jesus to us,
14:29wisdom, righteousness,
14:32sanctification and redemption.
14:35Let us not overlook
14:37that the Son of God was shown
14:39that he might destroy the works of the devil.
14:43And now begins the great pitched battle
14:45between the kingdoms of light and darkness.
14:48The wilderness time is the girding of the sword
14:51on the thigh of the most mighty.
14:55We should not think of the temptation
14:57as an isolated experience.
15:00For at the end of the temptation,
15:02the devil departed from him
15:04for only a season,
15:05or until a season.
15:08He had been conquered,
15:09but he was not finished.
15:11He was not done with the conqueror.
15:13He only abided a better opportunity.
15:17The whole earthly ministry
15:19was a conflict with that hell
15:20which had all but dominated
15:22over the world of man
15:23for eight years gone by.
15:27And the conflict was concluded in victory
15:29only when the head was bowed on the cross.
15:34Through death,
15:35he destroyed him that had the power of death,
15:37that is, the devil.
15:40Ah, truly there is an infinite maul
15:43lying behind
15:44all that is recorded.
15:49But temptation is necessary
15:51to human perfection.
15:53The hour of the leading
15:55into the wilderness is striking.
15:59St. Luke amplifies the account
16:01given by the earlier evangelist.
16:04St. Mark connects it,
16:06connects the event with the baptism
16:07and that which accompanied it.
16:11The former tells us
16:12of what is subjective,
16:14of the conscious plenitude
16:15of life and power.
16:17Jesus, being full
16:18of the Holy Ghost,
16:19is led.
16:21When the sense of the mighty force
16:22is strong within him,
16:24when the chords of the heart
16:25are vibrating in response
16:27to the voice from heaven,
16:29when the soul feels threatened
16:31until it enters
16:32on the great mission
16:33given to it.
16:34When he is ready,
16:36look,
16:37here comes this summons
16:38to the wilderness,
16:40this forcible taking
16:41of the anointed man,
16:43with the anointing
16:44still fresh and full
16:45to the dreary deaded place,
16:47over whose surface
16:48the wild beasts roam.
16:52But is this not
16:54a way of God?
16:57Was not Saul of Tarsus
16:59in the morning of his life
17:00been Jesus sent
17:01for three years
17:02to Arabia?
17:04Is not strength gathered?
17:06Is not character completed
17:07through contact,
17:09direct and personal,
17:10with the forces
17:11alike of good and evil?
17:15He who is made
17:16in all things
17:17to be like his brethren
17:18must have in that
17:20his human history
17:21which corresponds
17:23to facts
17:23and the necessities
17:24of ours.
17:27And the wilderness
17:28with its struggle,
17:29its assaults
17:30on faith
17:31and obedience,
17:32its glimpse
17:33into the outer darkness,
17:34its resistance
17:35of the devil,
17:36is a necessity
17:37in the education
17:39of the man
17:40as the son of God.
17:45The temptations
17:46of Christ recorded
17:47are a mirror
17:48of the temptations
17:49of his brethren.
17:52Mark the word
17:53recorded.
17:54St Luke tells us
17:56that Jesus was led
17:57during 40 days
17:58tempted by the devil.
18:01What the 40 days
18:02meant remain untold.
18:05Perhaps
18:06it could not be expressed
18:07in a language
18:08that would be intelligible
18:09to us.
18:11It was only at the end
18:12that the divine event
18:14becomes human enough
18:15to be made to appear.
18:18Until then,
18:19the lower wants
18:20were in a condition
18:21of suspense.
18:23The hunger
18:23is the first sign
18:25of his coming back
18:26to us.
18:28Then the part
18:29of the temptation
18:29which we can understand
18:31begins.
18:33It will be remembered
18:34that we are dealing
18:35with a narrative
18:36of real transactions.
18:38It is not a poem
18:39nor a parable.
18:41Whether the acts
18:43were purely subjective
18:44consisting only
18:45of suggestions
18:46to the inner
18:46spiritual sense
18:47is a dreadful point.
18:50But there was
18:52a veritable
18:52attempting
18:53in the manner
18:54described
18:55that we are
18:56regarding
18:57a chronical
18:58of events
18:59cannot be doubted.
19:03nor is it
19:04a mere likeness
19:05of temptation
19:05that is set
19:06before us.
19:07The gospel story
19:08would be nothing
19:09to the heart
19:10if we conceived
19:11of it as a series
19:12of visions
19:13which in no
19:14distinct way
19:15touched the citadel
19:16of the Lord's heart.
19:18It was not to him
19:19what temptation
19:20is to us.
19:21The contact
19:22of the soul
19:23with some hour
19:24and power
19:24of darkness.
19:26If it is asked
19:28how can this be
19:29if Jesus was
19:30without sin
19:32that it be
19:33remembered
19:34that sin
19:35does not consist
19:36of an impression
19:37of what is evil.
19:38It consists
19:39in yielding
19:40to the impression
19:41in receiving it
19:43and acting upon it.
19:45The sacred writers
19:46are careful
19:47to note
19:47that all suggestions
19:48come
19:48not from the soul
19:50but to the soul
19:51or from a lying spirit
19:53outside the personality.
19:56When we speak
19:57of sinlessness
19:58we do not mean
19:59that enticements
20:00to sin
20:00can never present
20:01themselves
20:02nor be felt
20:03as enticements.
20:05We mean
20:06that they are never
20:06yielded to
20:07or consented to
20:09and that there is
20:10a will
20:10so perfectly
20:11loyal to the Father
20:12that the wrong
20:13and the unchildlike
20:14are never in
20:16the purpose
20:16of Jesus.
20:19Note the three points
20:20or regions
20:21of the temptation
20:22recorded.
20:23The order
20:24is slightly different
20:25in the accounts
20:25of Matthew
20:26and Luke.
20:28that which is third
20:29is the one
20:30that is second
20:30in the other
20:32reminding us
20:33that too much stress
20:33is not to be laid
20:34on the sequence
20:36of the events
20:36of the story.
20:39The first trial
20:40had reference
20:41to the urgent need.
20:42It came in the form
20:43of subtle insinuation.
20:45Son of God,
20:46you are hungry.
20:47Why not use your power
20:48to satisfy the wants
20:49of your nature?
20:52You have no bread.
20:54You cannot buy bread.
20:55So why not
20:55bid these stones
20:56become bread?
20:59So plausible
21:00and so true
21:01that the deception
21:03can scarcely
21:04be discerned.
21:06It is addressed
21:07to the man
21:08on the most pressing
21:09side of his human
21:10necessity.
21:12And Jesus
21:13meets it on
21:14as a man.
21:16Man's only life
21:18is not that
21:19by bread
21:20but by every word
21:22which proceeds
21:22out of the mouth
21:23of God.
21:25God's word
21:26made the stone
21:28a stone.
21:29He would not say
21:30the stone
21:30is a lip.
21:32He must be throughout
21:33in harmony
21:34with the eternal word
21:35and will.
21:38And how subtle
21:39is the second attack.
21:41Adhering to
21:42St. Matthew's order
21:43you are full of
21:44confidence in your God.
21:46You trust him
21:47to the utmost.
21:49So put your faith
21:50to the proof.
21:51The Jews expect
21:53that their Messiah
21:53will descend
21:54from the close.
21:56Ah,
21:57let us go to the top
21:58of yonder temple.
21:59Cast yourself down
22:00from them.
22:01Do something striking
22:02for you know
22:03it is written.
22:03He will give
22:04his angels
22:05charge over you.
22:08How plausible
22:09the appeal
22:09to the Son of God
22:10on the side
22:11of his faith
22:12and once more
22:14repelled
22:14by the counterthrust.
22:15The counter-scripture
22:17You shall not try
22:19to the uttermost
22:20the Lord your God
22:21claiming a miraculous
22:22help for what is
22:23born of human
22:24pride and rashness.
22:28Mark the tact
22:29and the audacity
22:30in the final assault
22:31which the enemy makes.
22:33The love of power
22:35that which is at once
22:37the strength
22:38and weakness
22:38of every level mind
22:39shall be the wedge.
22:43Son of God
22:44look down
22:44on the kingdoms
22:45of the world
22:45and the glory
22:46of them.
22:48You are seeking
22:49the sovereignty
22:50of man.
22:50I can give it
22:51to you.
22:53The force is yours.
22:54Use it
22:55at my instigation.
22:57The dominion
22:58of love
22:58is one of toil
22:59and pain.
23:00Take what I offer.
23:02Think what blessings
23:03to the world
23:03will at once
23:04be secure.
23:06The only condition
23:07is to fall down
23:08and worship me.
23:09Am I not
23:10the real king
23:11of the world?
23:14This is truly
23:15the very climax
23:16of devilry
23:17and the temptation
23:19can go no further.
23:21Then Jesus said
23:22Get you behind me
23:24Satan.
23:26It is the battle
23:27of man
23:28that is portrayed
23:29in man's law.
23:32For both he
23:32that sanctifies
23:33and they that are
23:34sanctified
23:35are all one.
23:37Here is the tempter
23:39who tempts us
23:40adapting the form
23:41of his solicitations
23:42to our tempers,
23:44our endowments
23:45and our circumstances.
23:47Here are the characteristics
23:49of his approaches,
23:50his doubts,
23:51his ifs.
23:52If is a devil word
23:54which more
23:55better than any other
23:57loosens the hold
23:59of faith.
24:01His quotations
24:02from scripture
24:02when it suits
24:03his purpose
24:04to do so.
24:05His three great
24:07heads of temptation.
24:09That which seeks us
24:11through bodily need
24:13or fleshly appetite.
24:15That which seeks us
24:16through even our
24:17purer and higher
24:18instincts
24:19and that which
24:20would draw us
24:21into the net
24:21by stirring up
24:22the pride of life.
24:25Ah, there is no
24:26sleeping with this
24:27tempter.
24:28Watch and pray
24:29yet you enter
24:31into temptation.
24:36But the victory
24:37of Christ
24:38is our encouragement.
24:41Blessed is the
24:42assurance contained
24:43in these words
24:44Get you behind
24:45me, Satan.
24:48The devil is behind
24:49Jesus,
24:50the captain
24:50of our salvation.
24:53What is our
24:54position towards
24:55our captain?
24:56Apart from him?
24:58Ah, we may tremble
24:59with him,
25:01in him.
25:02He is between us
25:04and Satan.
25:05We can do all
25:06things through
25:07him strengthening.
25:08Be in good cheer,
25:10for I have
25:11overcome.
25:15In a way,
25:16it's reassuring
25:17to read of Jesus
25:17being tempted
25:18because it shows
25:20him as being
25:20like us.
25:22However,
25:23there remains
25:23a massive difference
25:24because Jesus
25:25did not succumb
25:26to temptation
25:27as we would,
25:29but told the
25:30devil to get
25:31lost.
25:33In the final
25:34verse, though,
25:35we learn that
25:35the devil had
25:36merely gone to
25:37bite his
25:37time.
25:38He would be
25:39back, coming
25:41for another
25:42year.
25:43And we need
25:44to remember
25:44that regardless
25:45of how we
25:46grow spiritually,
25:47we too will
25:48always be under
25:49attack and not
25:50always openly.
25:53Sometimes,
25:54and especially
25:54as we get
25:55more mature
25:56in our faith,
25:56more often
25:57than not,
25:59temptation is
26:00subtle,
26:01crafty,
26:02and as we
26:03have seen,
26:04initially,
26:05innocuous
26:06and very
26:06deceptive.
26:08It can
26:08involve just
26:09one tiny
26:10sin,
26:10just something
26:11so small
26:12that perhaps
26:12we do not
26:13really appreciate
26:13it at the
26:14time.
26:15But maybe
26:16we feel bad
26:17about it
26:18soon afterwards.
26:19And the
26:19devil has
26:20then had
26:21a foothold
26:21in our life.
26:22And unless
26:23we go quickly
26:24for repentance
26:24and forgiveness,
26:25he will
26:26follow up
26:27the game
26:27with a bigger
26:28offensive
26:29that could
26:30have us
26:30wringing.
26:35we are
26:36told that
26:36Jesus went
26:37into the
26:37desert in
26:38the company
26:38of the
26:39Holy Spirit.
26:40We are
26:41not told
26:41what he
26:42did when
26:42he went
26:42there,
26:43but it
26:43can safely
26:44be assumed
26:44that he
26:45spent time
26:45in prayer,
26:46meditation
26:46and communion
26:47with his
26:48Father.
26:50He was
26:51not alone
26:51and when
26:52the attack
26:52came he
26:53was prepared
26:53and he
26:54had the
26:55support of
26:55the Holy
26:56Spirit.
26:58For us
26:59it is
26:59important
27:00also
27:00to have
27:01the fellowship
27:02of other
27:02Christians
27:02in our
27:03lives,
27:03for when
27:04we are
27:05alone
27:05it is
27:05easy
27:06for us
27:06to be
27:06led off
27:07the
27:07truth
27:07bar,
27:08onto a
27:08side
27:09road
27:09away
27:09from
27:10the
27:10truth
27:10and
27:11to
27:11quickly
27:11become
27:12lost.
27:15The passage
27:16also serves
27:16to remind
27:17us that
27:18we are
27:18always
27:18under
27:19attack,
27:20especially
27:21after a
27:21spiritual
27:22high as
27:23Jesus
27:23was
27:24here.
27:25No
27:26sooner
27:26had he
27:27been
27:27baptised
27:27and
27:28received
27:28his
27:28Father's
27:29blessing
27:29than
27:30we
27:30read
27:30of
27:30his
27:31temptation.
27:33I
27:34can
27:34remember
27:34many
27:35years
27:35ago
27:35when
27:35I
27:35was
27:35a
27:36student
27:36going
27:37to
27:37a
27:37wonderful
27:37service
27:38one
27:38Saturday
27:39afternoon
27:40and
27:40then
27:41spending
27:41the
27:41rest
27:41of
27:41the
27:41weekend
27:42in
27:42fellowship
27:42with
27:43a
27:43number
27:43of
27:43Christian
27:44friends
27:44I
27:45had
27:45known
27:46since
27:46I
27:46was
27:47at
27:47school.
27:49I
27:49travelled
27:49back
27:50to
27:50college
27:50on the
27:50Monday
27:51morning
27:51and
27:51no
27:52sooner
27:52had I
27:52stepped
27:52off
27:53the
27:53bus
27:54than
27:55the
27:55devil
27:55hit
27:55me
27:55so
27:56hard
27:56I
27:57was
27:57left
27:57wondering
27:58what
27:58had
27:59happened.
28:01So let
28:02us be
28:02alert
28:02always
28:03and let
28:04us pray
28:04for the
28:05spiritual
28:05strength
28:06to
28:07withstand
28:07the
28:08expected
28:09and
28:09oncoming
28:10attack
28:10time
28:12and
28:12time
28:12again
28:14relentlessly.
28:20Let
28:20us
28:20pray.
28:22O
28:23Lord
28:23we
28:23beseech
28:24you
28:24grant
28:25your
28:25people
28:25grace
28:26to
28:26withstand
28:27the
28:27temptations
28:28of the
28:28world
28:28the
28:29flesh
28:29and
28:30the
28:30devil
28:31and
28:32with
28:32pure
28:32hearts
28:33and
28:33minds
28:34follow
28:34you
28:35the
28:35only
28:35God
28:36through
28:37Jesus
28:37Christ
28:38our
28:38Lord
28:38Amen
28:44May
28:45the
28:45Lord
28:46bless
28:46us
28:46and
28:47keep
28:47us
28:47from
28:47all
28:48evil
28:48bringing
28:49us
28:50to
28:50everlasting
28:51life
28:52Amen
28:59You