{"id":1321,"date":"2011-03-07T10:50:49","date_gmt":"2011-03-07T16:50:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/marccardaronella.com\/?p=1321"},"modified":"2011-11-03T15:34:44","modified_gmt":"2011-11-03T21:34:44","slug":"what-you-learn-about-yourself-in-the-desert","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/marccardaronella.com\/blog\/2011\/03\/07\/what-you-learn-about-yourself-in-the-desert\/","title":{"rendered":"What You Learn About Yourself in the Desert"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
YOU thought Lent was tough? Look what happened to St. Anthony!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Have you ever been pushed to the limits of your abilities? Tested beyond your reserves? That’s what happened to Jesus in the desert!<\/p>\n

The readings on that First Sunday of Lent are always on the temptation of Jesus. In the desert,\u00a0Jesus confronts Satan after 40 days of fasting. He’s weak, he’s at his limit and he’s tested.<\/p>\n

Why do we read this every year before Lent? What’s\u00a0the Church trying to teach us?<\/p>\n

What’s up\u00a0with the desert?<\/h2>\n

In the Bible, the desert is a place of testing.<\/strong> Moses and the Israelites were tested there for 40 years. There were pushed to their limits–taken to the edge.<\/p>\n

Survival was hard. There was no food or water except what God gave them.<\/p>\n

They learned\u00a0about themselves in the desert–what they were made of. How strong they were. How weak they were…mostly weak!<\/p>\n

God needed them to have this knowledge of themselves. They were haughty and self-sufficient. They needed to learn to rely on him. That was the only way they\u00a0could physically survive in\u00a0the desert and spiritually survive in life.<\/p>\n

St. Anthony and the demons<\/h2>\n

In the year 385, St. Anthony went into the desert and did battle with\u00a0demons. The painting above shows him being tormented and beaten by them.<\/p>\n

No doubt some of these demons were real. But some were internal.<\/p>\n

In the desert, Anthony confronted himself. <\/strong>The demons that tormented him were his own weaknesses and temptations to turn from God. How devoted, how loving, how disciplined, how strong was he at his weakest, when he was pushed to the limits?<\/p>\n

The testing God gives in the desert is not for himself. He knows what you’re made of.\u00a0It’s for you! You need to know about yourself.<\/p>\n

My Desert Experience<\/h2>\n

I had my own desert experience in the Navy.\u00a0In the high desert of California, I went through SERE. That stands for Search Evasion Rescue and Escape. Military pilots and aircrew go through this training. It teaches how to avoid capture after being shot down and how to survive being a prisoner of war.<\/p>\n

For days I was in a survival situation with no food or shelter, evading capture. Eventually I was put in the prison camp. This was a total immersion experience. Everything was very real and there was no joking\u00a0around.<\/p>\n

Cold, tired, hungry, mistreated and stuffed in a tiny cell, I was taken to the edge. That’s where you\u00a0really come to know and understand yourself–at the edge. <\/strong><\/p>\n

I learned learned exactly what I was made of–how brave I was, how well I could handle interrogation, how much I was willing to risk mistreatment to stand up for what was right. Sometimes I did well. Other times, not so well.<\/p>\n

Most importantly, I became aware of my strengths and my weaknesses, and with that knowledge, I was much better prepared if the real thing came along.<\/p>\n

What the Church teaches us during Lent<\/h2>\n

During Lent, you enter into the desert\u00a0with Jesus to be tested.<\/strong> In denying yourself with a Lenten penance, you’re taken a little closer to the edge. You learn\u00a0about yourself there–what you’re made of.<\/p>\n

How strong or weak is your devotion? Are you able to carry out your penance or do you cut corners? Do you avoid temptation or easily give and rationalize your decisions.<\/p>\n

Most importantly, what do you learn about yourself?<\/p>\n

Catechetical Takeaway<\/h2>\n

Lent is like the entire Christian life in miniature. To live as a Christian, you’ll have to deny yourself some things. You will be tempted. You will confront your weaknesses. How will you handle them?<\/p>\n

During Lent, we take up small sacrifices and deny ourselves in little ways \u00a0so we can be prepared when the big things come.<\/p>\n

To grow in the interior life, you\u00a0have to be aware of what’s\u00a0going on inside. You\u00a0have to learn about and\u00a0understand yourself. In learning we’re able to grow.\u00a0You can’t fix what you don’t know is broken.<\/p>\n

Don’t think badly\u00a0about yourself if you fail. You’re human! You’re\u00a0going to fail! What counts is that you fix it and move on, knowing you’re prepared for bigger trails down the road.<\/p>\n

    \n
  • Have you ever been taken to the edge? <\/strong><\/li>\n
  • What did\u00a0you learn about yourself? <\/strong><\/li>\n
  • What\u00a0have you learned\u00a0about yourself in the past by doing penance?<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    In Lent, we enter into the desert with Jesus. This is a place of testing and learning about yourself. 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