Temptation

- By Deacon Norbert Gaudet

March 08, 2026

key points from this story:

• Temptation challenges our self-discipline
• Lent is a time for self-improvement
• Jesus fasted forty days in the desert
• Fasting builds self-control and good habits
• Prayer deepens daily connection with God
• Helping others fosters compassion and growth

Have you ever been in a situation where you are trying to better yourself by making changes in your life? No matter how small the change, self-discipline is needed because there is always the temptation to go back to our old ways or do as the people around us do.

Throughout my years of playing good-timer hockey, after the games the team would visit over a beer or two. One year, I decided not to have a drink after the games throughout the season of Lent, the forty days before Easter. Even though no one pushed me to have a drink, it was very difficult not to do as everyone else was doing. It sure challenged my self-discipline.

Temptation is a hard thing to deal with, especially at our weakest moments. The devil is relentless at picking on us, using our weaknesses against us. If our weakness is greed, he will try to make us greedier and have us disregard the needs of those around us. If it is pride, he will try to make us deny the hurt we have caused others. And on and on it goes with our anger, our lust, our envy, our gluttony, our laziness, and any other vices we have. We will always have to deal with temptation of one kind or another. It is part of being human.

Temptation is the enticement to do wrong by promise of pleasure or gain (Webster's dictionary). Jesus dealt with temptation in the desert when he went to prepare himself for his active ministry of saving us. He fasted for forty days and forty nights. The season of Lent is the forty days before Easter where we prepare ourselves as Jesus did. It is a time to work on becoming a better version of ourselves. How do we do this? There are three things that a person can do—fast, pray, and help the underprivileged.

Fasting is an exercise in self-control. By denying ourselves, it helps us develop self-control, which in turn helps us develop better habits. We can fast from many things other than food. As Pope Francis challenged a number of years back, we can fast from using hurtful words, from sadness, from being angry, from pessimism, from being worried, from complaining, from pressures, from bitterness, from selfishness, from holding grudges, and even from words. He suggested instead to use kind words, be grateful, patient, hopeful, trusting, simple, prayerful, joyful, compassionate, forgiving, and even silent so we can listen to God speaking.

Prayer is always helpful. We should always be praying. “Pray unceasingly,” St. Paul says. Try speaking with God throughout your daily activities. It doesn't matter what you are doing.

Try to help the underprivileged, the sick, the elderly, the infirm, and the poor in whatever way you can by sharing more of your resources, your time, or your God-given talent with them. Maybe pick one thing to focus on. Little by little, with Jesus' help, we can change for the better, as God wants us to be.