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it is called the Feast of Orthodoxy, because it marks
the anniversary of the restoration, in the ninth cen
tury, of the sacred images.
This first Sunday of Lent has the SPECIAL CHARAC
TERISTIC of being the inauguration of a period of con
flict and of the days of salvation.
In the Epistle for this Sunday the Church repeats
the words of Saint Paul, addressed to the Corinthians :
"
Behold, now is the acceptable time : behold, now is
"
"
"
the day of salvation. It is true, says Saint Leo,
"
that we can at all times have recourse to the divine
mercy, but as Lent brings in its train the anniversary
of the blessed day on which we were redeemed it prompts,
us to practise all pious duties and thus to prepare
.ourselves, by purifying body and soul, the better to cele
"
brate the mysteries of the Passion of our divine Saviour.
In the Gospel for this Sunday, we read how our Lord
was tempted by the devil. We learn, that before
triumphing over Satan and rejecting
his treacherous
suggestions, our Lord fasted for forty days and forty
nights. Thus the Son of God is shown to us as the great
athlete who teaches us how to fight and to conquer.
From these two lessons, we draw the PRACTICAL CON
CLUSIONS that Jesus our Leader was the first to enter
the arena to FIGHT AGAINST SATAN, our treacherous enemy,
and He calls upon us all to follow Him. No doubt we
cannot do without food or drink, as He did, for forty
days, but according to our strength, we must observe
the laws of the Church regarding fasting and abstinence.
This is the first step to be taken to ensure success.
Our divine Lord wished to be tempted, to teach us
how we too shall be able to vanquish the devil, and
weaken the power of the evil spirit by overthrowing
him. Three times Satan tempted our Lord, and these