At that time, Jesus was led into the desert by the Spirit, to be tempted by the devil. And after fasting forty days and forty nights, He was hungry. And the tempter came and said to Him, If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become loaves of bread. But He answered and said, It is written, ‘Not by bread alone does man live, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.’ Then the devil took Him into the holy city and set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down; for it is written, ‘He has given His angels charge concerning You; and upon their hands they shall bear You up, lest You dash Your foot against a stone.’ Jesus said to him, It is written further, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’ Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them. And he said to Him, All these things will I give You, if You will fall down and worship me. Then Jesus said to him, Begone, Satan, for it is written, ‘The Lord your God shall you worship and Him only shall you serve.’ Then the devil left Him; and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.

Matt 4:1-11

He goes into the desert, climbs a mountain, and begins to pray.

His focus in on prayer. Speaking, listening, through scorching hot days and freezing cold nights. Hunger and thirst start out life as nagging voices, but eventually manipulate how you think, how you feel. Why would anyone do this?

Fasting, as a tool, does two things. It helps one focus on the things of the spirit. But it also makes basic temptations more powerful, and can be an invitation to be tested.

When I followed another spiritual path, I would go out into the wilderness in the spring and fast for four days and three nights, no food or water. Not much movement or motion either. It wasn’t easy; your body rebels against you, hunger and thirst eventually disappear but are always in the back of your mind, nagging. Your body says it needs to leave this little space you’ve created for yourself to be still within, but your mind and spirit try to focus, try to pray. I wasn’t good at it. I slept most of the first fast, the second I left, found water, drank it, and returned, only to realize that the thirst I was feeling could not be satisfied with mere water from a stream. The third time, I experienced something frightening. In the midst of the early morning of my last day, voices came into my little tent, started talking to me, talking me into crying out in pain, anguish. I cried out “I can’t take the pain any more, please make it stop.”

My spiritual journey returned after many years to the Christian way that I’d learned as a child, then to new ways I’m happy to say I’m still learning as an adult Catholic. Even as a bishop, I still am learning and sometimes feel that those around me know far more than I do!

In making sacrifice of this world, we are opening ourselves to be tested. We shouldn’t be afraid of these–often we don’t know we’re being tempted until many years afterwards, only then does it make sense what happened.

Knowing this, Jesus fasts beyond what we understand possible. Something Divine is keeping His body alive, focusing, praying. Then, as his fast is about to break, old scratch shows up and tries to tempt Him in three ways.

Jesus no doubt is struggling with intense hunger and thirst. While that physical challenge exists, Satan is blind to the reality of Christ’s nature, much as we are often unaware of the Divine Presence in our own lives. Satan tries three times to tempt Jesus, each time failing, until finally Christ banishes him, “Begone, Satan!” Angels then come and minister to Him.

There will be moments in our prayer life where we experience these temptations, usually small, and seemingly insignificant. “I can pick it up tomorrow, I don’t need to worry about it tonight.” Then avoiding the practice becomes the practice, and we drift into spiritual coldness. It’s challenging as a working priest to find the time I’d like, and often I need to include prayer as part of my day, quietly, constantly. But I try and make time each morning and each evening to stand in prayer, in gratitude, before the Blessed Sacrament, to have even that small moment in time where I am with Jesus, present, real.

Take the small moments during your day, even five or ten minutes, and just be in silence, internally. Be still. Know God.