One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about the battle that goes on inside people.
He said, “My son, the battle is between two wolves inside us all. One is Evil – It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego. The other is Good – It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith.”
The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather: “Which wolf wins?” The old Cherokee simply replied, “The one you feed.”
In the gospel for the first Sunday of Lent we see Jesus in the desert allowing the devil to tempt him. The Lord goes to the desert to prepare for his public ministry, and the devil wants to do all he can to stop him. Yet Christ seizes this as an opportunity to resist the temptations so to be strengthened for his ministry and to gain the grace for us to overcome our own temptations.
Each day you and I are tempted to sin; no one is exempt. The Lenten season is an opportunity for us to be strengthened in our spiritual lives. This is the reason why we traditionally “give something up.” It’s not primarily so that we can lose weight, but so that we can unite ourselves to the sacrifice of Christ and thereby gain strength to resist temptation and grow in virtue. By uniting ourselves more closely to Christ through prayer, fasting and almsgiving, we receive Christ’s strength to grow in holiness. Through prayer, fasting and almsgiving, we “feed the good wolf” inside of us.
The great St. Augustine explains it best: “[Christ] made us one with him when he chose to be tempted by Satan. We have heard in the gospel how the Lord Jesus Christ was tempted by the devil in the wilderness. Certainly Christ was tempted by the devil. In Christ you were tempted, for Christ received his flesh from your nature, but by his own power gained salvation for you; he suffered death in your nature, but by his own power gained glory for you; therefore, he suffered temptation in your nature, but by his own power gained victory for you. If in Christ we have been tempted, in him we overcome the devil. Do you think only of Christ’s temptations and fail to think of his victory? See yourself as tempted in him, and see yourself as victorious in him. He could have kept the devil from himself; but if he were not tempted he could not teach you how to triumph over temptation.”
Lent is the time to claim our victory in Christ. Whatever your struggles or temptations may be, Jesus wants to give you his strength to triumph over them. Believe that!
Father Michael Najim is Spiritual Director of Our Lady of Providence Seminary, Providence, as well as Catholic Chaplain at LaSalle Academy, Providence.
