ENEMY TRIO
March 11, 2023
Lent? How? I need a M-A-P to show the way –
Here it is – M ortify, give A lms and P ray.
Lent is certainly a good time of year to take stock of a classic trio of enemies of the human soul bent upon sending souls down to Hell, namely the world, the flesh and the Devil. What is of special interest is in how many different forms, places and times the three of them appear, which certainly suggests that they are real. They appear as a trio in the Old and New Testaments, in Our Lord’s own temptations and in the lives of His followers, both religious and secular.
Old Testament: at the very beginning of mankind, at the Fall of Adam and Eve (Gen. III, 1–7), the trio is there in the cunning words of the Devil tempting Eve. Flesh – the Devil tempts Eve to eat of the apple which God had forbidden them to eat, but which looked so attractive. World – when Eve objects that God warned them they would die if they ate of it, the Devil replies with a hallmark lie, “You will not die.” Your happy existence in this world will continuewithout interruption, as it has been in the Garden of Eden. Devil – with another lie he appeals to Eve’s vanity and pride: “You will be like gods.” The trio marks original sin.
Our Lord: at His temptation in the desert, the trio is clearly present (Mt.IV, 1–12). Flesh – the Devil tempts Our Lord firstly to change desert stones into bread, because He has been fasting for 40 days and His stomach must be crying out for something to eat. World – then the Devil tempts Him to perform some stupendous miracle to impress the crowds of this world, just as a free jump from the top of a building would impress sports fans. At last the Devil offers Him global political power which is his to offer, if only Our Lord will bow down and adore him. Our Lord drives the Devil away with quotes from Scripture.
New Testament: In St John’s First Epistle to the early Christians, the Apostle beloved of Our Lord refers clearly to the same trio: “If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not within Him. For all that is in the world, Flesh the lust of the flesh, and World the lust of the eyes and Devil the pride of life, is not of the Father but is of the world” (I Jn.II, 15, 16). The “lust of the eyes” is the desire of the soul to enjoy all the glories of this world, like that of tourists, greedy for all the sights to be seen in their guidebook.
Remedy of Christian religious: Many Christians belonging to religious Orders or Congregations, at least before Vatican II, used to swear a triple oath to practise until death three virtues, in which again the trio is clearly seen; poverty, chastity, obedience. Against the World, poverty; against the Flesh, chastity; against the pride of the Devil, obedience. To have to obey any authority or command coming from above is always humbling. Only those who are already humble do not feel the humiliation. The temptation to revolt is always there. And last, but not least, we come to the trio of –
Remedies for lay-folk in Lent: good resolutions for Lent can also be divided into three, according to the trio: against my Flesh, some mortification. It need not be heavy, but it does need to be something and it does need to be directed against the desires of the flesh. In the morning for instance, water to wash cold or at the most, tepid. At table, anything to eat or drink which is pleasant but not strictly necessary, for instance sugar or wine. For God’s purpose, given how He knows my weakness, the mere gesture can be enough, especially if my steady practice of the little gesture proves that my will is involved, and not just feelings.
Against my worldliness, or love of this World, some almsgiving. Again, the gesture need not be heroic, nor need I impoverish myself or my family, but God will see and reward anything which I start and maintain in order to share with anybody in need some of what He has given me, that my family or I do not strictly need.
Finally against my Pride of life, some extra habit of prayer which will always humble me before God. Five Mysteries of the Rosary, faithfully every day? Or use the motivation of Lent to start on fifteen Mysteries? The Rosary is certainly a humble prayer. To start it out of fear after the bombs start falling will still be good, but to start it out of faith before the bombs fall is better.
Kyrie eleison.
Topic: Eleison Comments - ENEMY TRIO (no. 817) (Read 464 times)