Friday, the first Week of Lent

   At Mass today I once again became aware of the distractions that routinely frustrate my attention at Mass.  Of all times, this is when I truly want to pay attention and get the most from the experience.  Unfortunately, it seems this is also when I am most attacked by Satan in his efforts to draw my attention away from Mass and on to any number of trivial, unnecessary thoughts.  Though I try to block his distractions and am somewhat successful some of the time, I still find my mind wandering once again.

   I do not believe this experience is something that only affects me.  In fact, I’m confident that many, if not most of us have times when we allow worldly thoughts and concerns to pull us away from the sacred experience before us.

   In this case, and in so many others, we need to ask ourselves, “Do I know where I am?”  Not our physical location, but where are we spiritually.  Have we placed our lives firmly and completely in the hands of God or are we still trying to do it ourselves?  If we are relying upon ourselves we will fail.  We simply don’t have the strength to reject Satan and his temptations.  He has deployed an army of demons to test us at all times with the intent of taking us from God.  So we must engage our own army.

   While the evil one has his demons, we have God’s angels.  We are promised that God will send His angels to watch over us.  “The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them.” (Psalm 34: 7).  We speak of guardian angels but how often do we recognize that God’s angels are in fact guarding us and doing battle for us against Satan and his demons.  We have recourse to God for protection when needed and He will never refuse.

   During this Lent let’s take the time to look to the angels for help in our battle against the devil.  Much has been written about them and it will serve us well to learn more about them.  With their help and the help of God, we can overcome our distractions and push Satan from our lives.