Good morning good people may the Lord give you peace and health.
It is 13th February 2024. We reflect on James 1:12-18 and Mark 8:14-21.
Who or What makes us to be tempted?
We feel tempted so frequently that we feel so deeply blessed.
We are the fountains of the temptations that unleash the power of a river to destroy oneself and others.
God does not tempt us at all but surely God puts us repeatedly testing our worth.
Temptation leads us to sin and to move away from God and therefore God cannot tempt us anyway. The inclination to sin comes from right within and spills over to us and others.
One is the unquenchable desire deep within each one of us and another source of our temptation is the people we relate and the things that we accumulate offer a false hope of replacing God.
We need to be alert at all times. Losing focus and alertness surely leads us to be tempted. The first reading comes at a point where we are about to enter the most important and personal time of conversion which begins with Ash Wednesday.
It is going to be so tempting tomorrow as it falls the Valentine’s Day.
Which day takes precedence in our kicking start a new liturgical time that has the power to pull us near God. St. James invites us to overcome the temptations rather than pass on the blame game on people and things.
We need to recognize and acknowledge our temptation and pinpoint the wrong desire that promises pleasures that lead us away from God and use people as the object of pleasure.
To put an end to the moments of temptation, we need to recall, recollect, and remember those situations and the people who made us fall into such situations.
We need to make an effort to shun those people and things that lead us to actions that we regret for so long.
We need to accelerate our personal time with God and discern the operation of the Holy Spirit to deal with the temptation.
“Blessed is anyone who endures temptation. Such a one has stood the test and will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.” (James 1:12).
The responsorial Psalm acclaims, “Happy are they whom you teach, O Lord.” (Ps.93:12).
Jesus warns us all sternly, “Keep your eyes open; be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod.” (Mk.8:15).
We need to be alert and focused in dealing with the foolishness and indoctrination of strange teachings that blind our minds to the extent we become secular and selective in worshiping God in truth and spirit.
It is the breaking of the Bread at the Altar that clears our minds from the wrong frame of mind.
May the Lord help us to recognize the temptations that come along the way and to live a holy life that pleases God.
May you have a good day.