Filled with the Holy Spirit, Jesus returned from the Jordan
and was led by the Spirit into the desert for forty days,
to be tempted by the devil.
He ate nothing during those days,
and when they were over he was hungry.
The devil said to him,
“If you are the Son of God,
command this stone to become bread.”
Jesus answered him,
“It is written, One does not live on bread alone.”
Then he took him up and showed him
all the kingdoms of the world in a single instant.
The devil said to him,
“I shall give to you all this power and glory;
for it has been handed over to me,
and I may give it to whomever I wish.
All this will be yours, if you worship me.”
Jesus said to him in reply,
“It is written
You shall worship the Lord, your God,
and him alone shall you serve.”
Then he led him to Jerusalem,
made him stand on the parapet of the temple, and said to him,
“If you are the Son of God,
throw yourself down from here, for it is written:
He will command his angels concerning you, to guard you,
and:
With their hands they will support you,
lest you dash your foot against a stone.”
Jesus said to him in reply,
“It also says,
You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test.”
When the devil had finished every temptation,
he departed from him for a time.
Amen! May God grant each and everyone of you great blessings each and every day! He is Here! Amen!
Lent is also a wonderful time to meditate on the seven dolors of our Blessed Mother.
Ever notice how common the number 7 is? Seven basic colors (ROY G BIV), notes on a scale (do re mi…), days of the week, 7th Heaven, deadly sins…?
Seven is understood as the number of completion by Christians of all denominations.
And 12 half notes, another common Christian number
Don’t forget the 12 days of Christmas…..’-)
Twelve disciples. Twelve loaves and two fishes.
(dolors) That’s a new word for me. Seven dolors (griefs).
Thank you Menagerie.
That selfsame Holy Spirit is freely available to all mankind.
“Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbor :
For We are members One of another.
Be ye angry, and sin not :
Let not the sun go down on your wrath :
Neither give place to the devil.”
Eph 4:25-27
“So submit to {the authority of} God.
Resist the devil {stand firm against him} and he will flee from you.”
James 4:7
Best to all
In God We Trust
Trust God
Fear not
As for me and my house, we serve the Lord….here I am Lord…Let there be Peace.
God Bless all the Treepers…and the whole world.
🙏❤️
I love lent. It’s such a strong reminder of how inadequate we are to save ourselves. And to be grateful for the unimaginable pain Jesus went thru for us. God is so good. 🙏🏼
Lord God on this first Sunday in Lent, we remember the trials and temptations of your son Jesus Christ in his journey through the wilderness, and how he triumphed over all.
In our prayers we think of the difficult journeys in life encountered by so many people in the world.
We pray that in their different times of need, they may find discernment to see their way ahead, and strength to overcome whatever problems they face.
We pray that faith may be deepened in this period of Lent, and all may walk in the light of the Lord.
Lord in your mercy – hear our prayer.
Amen
Reasons Why You Should Not Observe Lent
Every year, like clockwork, Ash Wednesday rolls around and kicks off the Roman Catholic tradition of Lent—a six-week-long spectacle of public piety where everyone puts on their best “mourning over sin” performance. And, of course, it’s not just the Catholics anymore. Eastern Orthodox, Anglicans, Lutherans, and Methodists have kept it alive, while more and more mainline Protestants and even Evangelicals have eagerly jumped on the bandwagon, desperate for a taste of ritualistic virtue-signaling.
At its core, Lent is about fasting—or at least, that’s what people claim. Traditionally, it involved abstaining from meat, but modernity has turned it into an anything-goes buffet of meaningless self-denial. Give up coffee? Social media? Chocolate? Sure, why not—because nothing says “spiritual discipline” like abstaining from caramel macchiatos while posting about it on Instagram.
Here are a few reasons Christians shouldn’t bother with Lent:
1.) Fasting is not corporate or a public spectacle, and Scripture warns against making it one. Jesus made it clear that fasting was a private matter between the believer and God. But Lent is the exact opposite: a public, church-wide, showy season where everyone is pressured into performing acts of abstinence for collective approval.
“And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” — Matthew 6:16-18
But what does mainstream Christianity do? It turns fasting into a corporate spectacle. Fasting, biblically, is an intensely personal discipline designed to draw us closer to God. It should not be a programmed event that churches pressure their members into observing.
2.) Fasting doesn’t earn you favor with God. Many Lent observers have convinced themselves that their participation somehow earns them spiritual credit—as if giving up meat or television is a form of penance. This idea is especially rampant in Roman Catholicism but has crept into Evangelical circles as well. Yet, Scripture explicitly refutes the notion that human works—especially ritualistic ones—can turn away God’s wrath.
“You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace.” — Galatians 5:4
The only way to be right with God is through the finished work of Christ. Not through some seasonal religious performance.
“So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” — John 8:36
3.) The modern practice of Lent is completely unbiblical. When Scripture speaks of fasting, it refers to the intentional denial of something essential—usually food—for the purpose of drawing closer to God. Yet Lent has turned this into a trivialized exercise in selective self-deprivation. Giving up desserts? Skipping Netflix? That’s not biblical fasting. That’s dieting with a religious excuse.
Jesus never commanded His disciples to pick a luxury and abstain from it for six weeks based on the church calendar. True fasting is meant to direct focus entirely on God, not on some personal challenge to prove your willpower.
4.) Lent is a tradition of men, not a command from God. Nowhere in Scripture is there a mandate to observe Lent. While there’s nothing inherently sinful about setting aside specific days for reflection, the moment it becomes a compulsory ritual—or worse, a means to gain favor with God—it becomes idolatry.
“See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.” — Colossians 2:8
Jesus Himself rebuked the Pharisees for prioritizing their traditions over God’s Word. And yet, many churches today pressure believers into practicing Lent as though it were a biblical requirement.
5.) Spiritual disciplines should be a lifestyle, not a seasonal event. Prayer, fasting, and spiritual reflection are not meant to be confined to a specific season dictated by church tradition. If your faithfulness to these disciplines is dictated by the turn of the calendar rather than by the Spirit of God, you might want to rethink your priorities.
We are called to be steadfast in prayer and devotion at all times.
“Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.” — Colossians 4:2
If you need the rhythm of Lent to remind you to pray, fast, or seek the Lord, then the real problem isn’t what you’re giving up—it’s what you were neglecting the rest of the year.
“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” — Galatians 2:20
In the end, Lent is little more than a religious placebo—a man-made tradition dressed up as devotion. If you’re serious about honoring God, forget about seasonal self-denial and live every day in submission to Christ.
https://disntr.com/2025/03/06/reasons-why-you-should-not-observe-lent/
https://www.cbu.edu/news/lent-101-what-it-is-and-why-it-matters/
Honestly, if you feel so strongly about not observing Lent, why on earth would you feel the need to post such a long comment on Menagerie’s weekly Lent posting? Why not pass on the post and just ignore it if it’s something you choose not to recognize?
If you feel that it’s as you say, “virtue signaling”, why would you feel the need to be critical of the folks who believe this means something to them? I guess the only “perfect” Christian I know if is Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. You’re telling us that we’re all “doing it wrong” and we need to be more like you.
And why would you assume that Christians don’t live every day in submission to Christ?
This is a post for readers who are joined in solidarity with other Christians who want to make an extra effort to recognize The Way this blessed time of the year before Easter.
I truly don’t understand.
I understand; I live with a bunch of obstinate contrarians. I might even be one, myself.
It’s all okay. Do Lent, or don’t do Lent.
And thank you Menagerie for sharing your seasonal joys at the Treehouse
MTeresa, this Presbyterian boy agrees with you fully.
So, where in the Bible did Christ command us to observe Lent? In which of the gospels did he say, “I’m going to be murdered in 4 weeks, and I want you to memorialize my death by observing something Lent, which I shall describe to you.”? In which of their epistles did Paul, Peter, James, or John talk about Lent?
I received the indwelling HS winter of ’72-’73. Learned a thing or two since then. Much of it learned the hard way. The very hard way, sadly. Believe me when I say, the spiritual law of Deuteronomy’s blessing and curses is as alive now as it was when it was written, about 1500-1700 BC, depending on which scholar you read.
Listen “Sour”, I don’t have any kind of a theology degree (I suppose you do?), just my love for my Catholic faith. I’m tolerant of others who practice Christianity in their own way. I may not agree with them, but it’s their free will to practice their faith as they see fit. I don’t need to convert anyone. Only God almighty can do that.
I have no idea what “indwelling” means.
Menagerie posted a reading from the book of Luke. If it contributed to something positive in your day, I’d say she hit the nail on the head (it did for me).
If it prompted you and others to post some extremist form of negativity, or to post comments critical of how people reacted to it, than I can tell you really need people praying for you which I will do today.
God bless you.
Thank you!
What was the very first command of God to man, that was later broken, causing a bit of a problem?
Fasting has always been practiced within the Christian Church, only in modern times have some heterodox Christians abandoned it. If you knew the reason for fasting (hint, it is a spiritual tool like prayer and alms giving) rather than your assumption of what it means, you might not be against it.
14 Then came to him the disciples of John, saying, Why do we and the Pharisees fast oft, but thy disciples fast not?
15 And Jesus said unto them, Can the children of the bridechamber mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them? but the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken from them, and then shall they fast.
Precisely, after Ascension c.f. v15ff above, and the birth of the Church at Pentecost, the Church has fasted.
Lent is a tradition, a discipline and tool for refocusing, disciplining and tuning our body, soul and spirit more closely to GOD.
It’s not and never has been a Commandment or a Law – for Christians. Lent follows the pattern of the Old Testament seasons of the year – Yom Kippur, Succoth, etc. It’s a way of unifying and teaching the faith to a body of believers.
A willing seeking GOD during the 40 days of Lent can be an enrichment of one’s spiritual life and help one to grow, overcome, repent, confess, return to GOD more fervently and faithfully.
Very good and honest description. Thanks for sharing.
Everything you said is a twisted version of what Catholicism teaches. I have nothing but disdain for you who arrogantly would tell us how wrong we are by forming your conclusion first, and then setting out to prove it with your own sources who never have actually investigated the source of the teachings, or gone to any Catholic apologists to seek to understand.
I bet it would scare you out of your knickers to actually go to original sources, read the ancient writings of the Fathers of the Church, go to a Lenten service, talk to a knowledgeable Catholic, Lutheran, or Episcopalian who observes Lenten practices.
If I want to learn to play guitar, I’m going to go take lessons from an accomplished teacher, not learn from someone who has an extra one and a vague idea of how you begin. Or listen to piccolo player who hates all stringed instruments.
I challenge you to explore what you think you know, and be fair and thorough about it. When I want to understand any other faith, and I do, frequently, I go to their most respected and accomplished teachers, preachers, writers, and then compare that in depth to the Bible.
Reading prewritten condemnations of something you want to disagree with is not research. It’s not even thinking, it’s just a smug, pride filled occasion to smirk at someone.
People who disagree and debate about faith, or anything else, are to be admired when they come together in good will, prepared with sound research, able to examine all sides together with respect. You fall short in reason, preparation, and good intent.
“I bet it would scare you out of your knickers to actually go to original sources, read the ancient writings of the Fathers of the Church”
————————————
What are the names of the “Fathers of The Church”?
Where did you read their “ancient writings”?
What are the “ancient writings” called?
What are the “original sources” of which you speak?
Please post the “ancient writings” so we can be disabused of our misunderstanding of Jesus’ statement “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man enters unto Heaven but by Me”.
Thank you.
Perhaps this might offer assistance:
https://earlychristianwritings.com/churchfathers.html
-“The following are early church fathers and apologists of the first and second centuries.
The first eight or nine documents are also known as the Apostolic Fathers.
The writers known as the church fathers represent the ancient orthodox church as opposed to other elements of ancient Christianity such as Gnosticism.
These are the church fathers and apologists that can be read on the Early Christian writings website.”
This blog is not an apologetics blog. If you sincerely want to learn more, google it. And learn that you don’t have to put your stamp of approval on every post. I will have a post every Sunday during Lent, and posts for Holy Week and Easter. If you choose to use that to argue with people who just want to share and deepen their faith, you’ll be blocked.
Here is a link to get you started.
https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/
Do your own homework. Do you think she has hours to give you for free to do something you’re too lazy to do? If it’s important enough for you, you’ll do it.
Lazy too?
Thank you Menagerie!!!
Amen sir.
Today is the Sunday of Orthodoxy when we celebrate the decision made by the 7th (and 9th) Ecumenical Council.
Next Sunday the Church celebrates St. Gregory Palamas.
It would benefit you (and everyone) to research the early Church from an Orthodox perspective.
Lent is not a performance as you noted. It’s prideful and arrogant to presume it’s observed and practiced as you claim, especially given the untruths you’re using to support it. You don’t know the hearts and minds of those who practice this devotion.
Jesus didn’t go into the wilderness to fast, pray and face temptation as a mere performance for God. We’re all called to be holy by following and imitating Christ. As the Gospels point out, we are to identify with Jesus. Always. Because of our sinfulness we continually need to repent, pray and rely on God’s mercy and ask for forgiveness. As Catholics, this is part of our daily devotions taught throughout the liturgical year not just during Lent.
We look upon Lent as the holiest of the liturgical year. It’s a time of deep contemplation and devotion to our Lord. Thus, our hearts, minds and bodies desire spiritually and physically to give up self and become one with Jesus’ sacrifice for 40 days in preparation for Holy Week and His Resurrection. We humbly and earnestly submit and deny ourselves for the reparation of our sins, to draw closer to our Lord. As Saint Paul wrote, “It is no longer I who lives, but Christ who lives in me.” Jesus does not turn away anyone seeking to be united with Him. It’s not what we say, but what we do that pleases the Lord. One can quote scripture forward and backward but faith without action is dead.
Because the mystery of Christ unfolds throughout the year it is carried out harmoniously through our Catholic faith with reverent participation based on Scripture and Apostolic Tradition for 2000 yrs.
I pray the Holy Spirit opens your heart to try and understand the fullness of faith Catholics believe in is from the written and spoken tradition of Jesus handed down to his Apostles that He commanded them to teach.
Well said!
“We’re all called to be holy by following and imitating Christ.”
—————————————–
Partly right, partly wrong. He says, “Be holy, for I am holy”. But we’re not called to imitate Him. We’re called on a much deeper level to participate with him in daily understanding we died on the cross with him, were buried with him, raised with him, and are now, in God’s eyes, seated with Him in Heaven. And to participate as He commanded, by daily carrying our cross and abandoning all we have, own, and are, to His care, for he says, “Take no care for tomorrow, for tomorrow will take care of itself. Let the day’s on trouble be sufficient for the day.”
The short paperback Bone of His Bone is the best book describing the Christian life as a full depth participation rather than a skin deep imitation. Get the one with the purple cover, it’s the original. The others have been (uggh!) watered down. Indeed, God described Adam as “flesh of my flesh”. Are we not also bone of His bone, having been born again, indwelt with His spirit, and baptized in water as he commanded and taught Zaccharias?
Spoken like a true Protestant. Notice the root word protest. Every time I turn around the protestors are protesting something or another Protestant denomination is forming. It seems you/they cannot exist without criticizing others, particularly Catholics. Boring.
ESPECIALLY Catholics!
Some almsgiving, prayer, and fasting should be done in a corporate capacity. This is striving together as the Church, and since all do it together, as a unity, there is no room for individualism or boasting. There is no opportunity for hypocrisy, as there is no private practice to be publicized.
Sound wisdom from the Bible, especially Col 2:28, “See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition….and not according to Christ.”
Which Roman emperor was it that ‘accepted’ Christianity in order to receive the political support of Christians, while at the same time marrying heathen practices into the faith? Sort of like how LBJ shanghaied and captured black Americans by using welfare.
Many if not most of modern traditions just can’t be found between the covers of God’s word. Take Christ’s mother, Mary, for example. Nowhere at no time did Jesus ever command or intimate that anyone should pray to his earthly mother for forgiveness of sins, blessings of heaven, or entry to heaven. Yet millions, perhaps billions, are spiritually slothy enough to believe prayer to Christ’s mom is a Biblical act of worship.
And “sainthood”. Paul’s letters to the seven churches continually call the members “saints”. We thus see that no man devised ceremony, pomp, or titles are the basis of sainthood, but only a sincere acceptance of Christ as Lord of one’s life, to sit on the throne of the believer’s life; of whom such believers, “….died and was buried with Christ, and if buried with him, also raised with him to new life…”
And yet we have saint so-and-so and saint little-miss-too-much, and a whole host of others whom the real saints in heaven (“….and Peter saw him talking to Moses and Elijah…”, thus indicating that some saints were already in heaven, not in the grave waiting to be awakened “with a shout”) must be sadly shaking their heads at the spectacle of men declaring other men whom know not Jesus, to be saints.
Are you aware that Protestant interpretations (ALL translations are interpretations) of the Bible uses traditions when the context is negative and teachings when it is positive?
Holy Tradition is the work of the Holy Spirit manifest in the life of The Church, it is not a human tradition.
I’m fairly certain that only Protestants with Romaphobia believe that prayer (asking) to the Theotokos (Mary) is worship. Christians ask for the prayers of the Saints just as we ask our brothers and sisters in Christ for prayers, for there is no difference as we are all part of His body.
The prayer of a righteous man avails much.
I doubt Jesus would be upset that people prayed to his Earthly mother. I am sure she communicates with Jesus while she’s in Heaven which is probably bad news for you.
How about you get off your high horse?
Why post on a site that doesn’t share your beliefs?
Contemplation, meditation from The Collects for the First Sunday of Lent:
“O Lord, who for our sake didst fast forty days and forty nights; give us grace to use such abstinence, that, our flesh being subdued to the Spirit, we may ever obey thy godly motions in righteousness and true holiness, to thy honor and glory, who livest and reignest with the Father and the Holy Ghost, one God, world without end. Amen.
The keynote is self-discipline via voluntary exercises of self restraint as in “the good I would, I do not; and the evil that I would not, that I do.” – in order to recognize our own self delusions of doing the right things when in reality they are far from the right actions where only in hindsight we silently say to ourselves ‘oops’.
Wells Cathedral
Here’s another recording of that marvelous hymn, one that is more visually interesting:
Thank you, Yinzer.
I looked for it with an actual video of the Wells Cathedral Choir, but I couldn’t find one.
Thank you so much.
Thank you, Lord, that a victorious Christian life can be the norm – even in the midst of this chaotic malevolent world. Fill me anew with Your Spirit, and shine through me today.
A. W. Tozer
Mornings with Tozer.
Two scriptures have an added phrase – “but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.”
Matthew 4:3-4: The tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become bread.” 4 But he answered, “It is written, ‘Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
Jesus is quoting Deuteronomy 8:3 – “So he humbled you by making you hungry and then feeding you with unfamiliar manna. He did this to teach you that humankind cannot live by bread alone, but also by everything that comes from the Lord’s mouth.”
The additional statement encourages us to seek GOD’s word as a very basic vital necessity – as ‘the bread of sincerity and truth’ and as miraculous kind of spiritual food – manna, food for our souls.
The NET Bible translation gives extensive notes, but a Study Bible will do the same.
My Biblical illeteracy is a regret. Thanks for helping me out a little.
Many think reading the Bible is impossibly hard. Find a good study Bible, start with asking the Holy Spirit to lead you into understanding every time you read, and then just read. Will you discover a pearl of great price every time? No, but you’ll learn, and God himself with bring you along. It will be addicting, I warn you.
I also recommend the Bible in a Year podcast, which breaks things up into a daily chunk, and provides excellent teaching and commentary. Believe it or not, at the end,of a year, you’ll have listened to the whole Bible, and learned the amazing story of God’s creation of his people and his passionate love of us.
I second Bible in a Year podcast. It’s free
https://media.ascensionpress.com/category/ascension-podcasts/bibleinayear/
Nothing replaces the actual Bible, but if you want a good book that gives you some excellent context and insight into every book, try Unlocking the Bible by David Pawson. He also has many YT video sessions where he discusses each book too. One of the things he said about the Bible is, understand it’s not a book, it’s a library. Hope that helps. I’ve never heard anyone BTW, say: I wish I hadn’t read it so much. I have heard a lot of people say: I haven’t read it enough.
In The Orthodox Church the first Sunday of Great Lent commemorates the defeat of the heretical iconoclasts.
hymns for the day:
Troparion — Tone 2
We venerate Your most pure image, O Good One, / and ask forgiveness of our transgressions, O Christ God. / Of Your own will You were pleased to ascend the Cross in the flesh / to deliver Your creatures from bondage to the enemy. / Therefore with thanksgiving we cry aloud to You: / You have filled all with joy, O our Savior, / by coming to save the world.
Kontakion — Tone 8
No one could describe the Word of the Father; / but when He took flesh from you, O Theotokos, He accepted to be described, / and restored the fallen image to its former state by uniting it to divine beauty. / We confess and proclaim our salvation in word and images.
Next Sunday we commemorate St. Gregory Palamas, someone very few in the west have ever heard of.
Amen. Thank you for these posts Menagerie!
May our love for the Lord be on fire and lead us all closer to Him.
Five days into our parish’s days of adoration, I already feel the resurgence of devotion amongst the congregation. This Lenten season is so filled with faithful participation and our visitors are overflowing the building at each of the Masses. There is definitely something afoot in America, so let’s all profess our faith without reservation to one and all.
Yes, I agree. There seems to definitely be a hunger to be fulfilled and in union with God. I’ve noticed our earthly pilgrimage walking through the desert with Christ is feeding many more souls that has attracted a lot of young single people and families.
Let’s all take a moment to pray for our brothers and sisters, including babies, that are being killed in Syria, in Congo, in Kenya- and many other places around the planet – simply for professing Christ. Lift them up in prayer regardless of your Lenten practices.
Amen to your post, furyus.
My heart weeps for those who have been murdered for their faith. I am certain that God has all of them in his heart and in his keeping.
And, for those innocents, His babies, who are slaughtered because they are inconvenient.
Seldom do I do this, but I covet your prayers. I’ll spare the details. God knows. He’s brought me through “Desert Periods” before, He will again. Thank you in advance
I always found these “temptations” very interesting in their theme. Every single one of them was arguably true. And, every one invited Jesus to act on behalf of and to the benefit of himself. Yet, every time, he turned to living instead for God, purposely not aggrandizing himself.
Sometimes I have regret over things I lent to others and never got back or got back broken. I will pray for them and me. “Be angry and sin not; let not the sun go down on your anger.”
Y’know, @Sourdough … somehow, as I lately reflect upon “passages that I always knew,” like this very one, I lately begin to parse them, “word for word,” in their English translation.
First: “Be angry, and sin not.” Unrestrained anger does not care about “sin.” Unrestrained anger likes to be unrestrained.
Then: “Let not the sun go down.” How many historical examples do we now have about “anger” that has quite-literally endured for “thousands(!)” of years?
We have so much to learn . . .
For your enjoyment from Matthew Kelly – a dynamic Catholic
https://www.dynamiccatholic.com/lent/03092025-reflection.html
Wishing each and every one of you a blessed Lent!