YOU HAVE THREE GIFTS FROM JESUS' THREE VICTORIES OVER TEMPTATION

 

 The Gospel for the First Sunday of Lent concerns the temptation of Christ at the hands of the devil. Now, that we are on the other side of Lent, we may be more keenly aware of how well we withstand temptation, we know the times we've given in and lapsed from our fasts.  In this post, I'm revisiting the sacred text of Matthew 4: 1-11 where Jesus is tempted trice because I wish to share a revelation given St Gertrude the Great who was shown by Our Lord that everyone - even if they fall when tempted - may have three separate gifts from His three victories over the devil. 

Our Lord appeared to St Gertrude within the stone walls of her convent in Germany. Jesus gave her a vision of His first triumph over the devil who tempted His tastebuds when He was fasting from food and presumably very hungry. The devil baited Jesus with the recipe of turning the stones into bread. Jesus refused and said, "Not in bread alone doth man live, but in every word that proceedeth from the mouth of God". After Gertrude had seen Jesus decline the devil's diet, Our Lord told her she could offer His feat to God the Father for all the times that she had sinned by love of pleasure and that by doing so, she could gain the gift of strength over coming temptations that were food-related. Our Lord stressed that this was not just for her, but everyone who offers Jesus's perfect fast to His Father may gain self-mastery over their meals. 

Our Lord then made Gertrude a gift of His second triumph over temptation when the devil took Him up to Jerusalem and set Him on the pinnacle of the temple and goaded Him to throw Himself down so that the angels could rescue Him to which Jesus replied, "Thou shalt not tempt the Lord Thy God." Jesus instructed Gertrude that she could use this victory for the remission of all her past sins of consent and also that she might be empowered to resist sinning by consent in the future. For the second time, Our Lord said that everyone could offer His victory to His Father to obtain forgiveness from God for all the sins of thought, word or deed and a special grace to triumph over sin by consent. 

Our Lord gave Gertrude His third victory as an antidote to avarice. This is absolutely appropriate because during the third temptation the devil offered Jesus all the kingdoms of the world on the condition that Jesus adore his corrupted angelic nature, after which Jesus sent the devil packing, "Begone, Satan! For it is written: The Lord thy God shalt thou adore, and Him only shalt thou serve." For the third time, Jesus made known that everyone may offer His triumph when he spurned all the earthly dynasties as a means of strength over resisting material possessions and prestige. 

These are three spectacular gifts. Were we to offer to God the Father the time Jesus rejected the bread, we may gain freedom from all minor forms of over-eating and even food-addiction. Were we to offer to God the Father the time Jesus refused to consent to the devil's plan of throwing Himself down so His angels could rescue Him, we may cease from giving consent to sins of thought, word and deed. Were we to offer to God the Father the time Jesus passed on the devil's deal, to have every earthly crown in exchange for giving the devil the honor due God, then we have freedom from love of money.  

This post was informed by The Life and Revelations of St Gertrude the Great. 

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Classic paintings were executed by Bartholomaus Bruyn the Elder, Sandro Botticelli, Hans Thoma and Ary Scheffer.