The Forty Days: Entering the Desert
By Fr. Kamil AlClhouefati
During this time of year, Christians enter a period considered one of the holiest in Christian history. This period is the holy season of Lent—the safe passage to Easter, which is the feast of feasts and the season of seasons. Lent comes as a spiritual journey that renews the individual and leads them from danger to safety, from sin to salvation, and from anxiety to peace.
The journey of fasting is undertaken by Christians in imitation of the journey of Jesus Christ, who withdrew for 40 days in the desert after his baptism. There, in this place far from people, Jesus fasted and prayed continuously and triumphed over Satan by the power of the holy Spirit, saying to him, “Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God” (Luke 4:4), and, “Away with you, Satan! It is written: ‘worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve’” (Luke 4:8).
As for us, we cannot deny that we are immersed in the experiences and temptations of daily life, lost in a world steeped in fleeting glories, hate speech, violence, hostility, and discrimination. In the midst of all the noise around us, how much does a person today need to isolate themselves in the desert! And how much do they need to hear the voice of God amidst the noise of voices around them?! “The desert is the place of the word of God. In fact, we find in the Bible that God loves to speak to us in the desert. In the desert, we find an intimate relationship with God and his love. . . the season of Lent is right time to give space to the word of God.”
Towards the desert: To begin with, according to Church sources, it must be noted that fasting is a divine law and God's commandment, established by Jesus Christ when he exclaimed, “...the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast” (Mt. 9:15). Fasting is aimed at repentance, self-examination, and humble return to God so that we may strengthen our cry, “O God, have mercy on me, a sinner.”
Fasting accompanies us on our journey to find the face of God, which we find in the desert. It is part of our journey to reach the kingdom of heaven. Fasting is a spiritual and physical struggle embodied through abstinence from food and drink and controlling the self and body from passions and desires as one strives to overcome instincts, pride, and all the temptations of the world. Therefore, fasting is not limited to abstaining from food alone, but it also includes working to avoid sin, purifying the soul the soul from all evil, and cultivating the heart through humility, repentance, and mercy in order to renew our relationship with God. This is what Jesus Christ commanded us when he said, “the time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe in the gospel” (Mk. 1:15).
Our Lenten journey is also crowned with prayer, acts of mercy, and almsgiving. Hence, “fasting is based on the foundation of love, strengthened by the mantle of almsgiving, and perfected by the leaven of purity and chastity. Fasting and mercy are inseparable twins. Fasting, almsgiving, and purity, along with visiting our neighbor and the needy, are streams that lead to one estuary, paving the way to enter the house of divine mercy and to gain the Lord as a friend. Prayer, fasting, and acts of mercy: this is the desert way during the forty days.
Dear brothers and sisters, through the prophet Isaiah, God promised us: “Behold, I bring something new; I make a way through the wilderness” (Isaiah 43:19). In the desert, God opens the way that leads us from death to life. We enter the desert with Jesus, and we will emerge to celebrate Easter, experiencing the life-renewing power of God's love. Let us enter the desert of Lent and follow Jesus through it, for with him, all the deserts within us will bloom. This is the desert: a place of life, not death, because it is silent dialogue with Jesus Christ that gives us new life.
The Sunday of the Resurrection is the conclusion of the Great Lent journey. It is the day on which the Church proclaims the “Joy of the Resurrection” and “new life.” On this day, according to the gospel and Christian faith, Christ appeared to his disciples after his resurrection, confirming the victory of life over death.
Lent, with its rituals and spirituality, remains more than just a religious occasion or a seasonal period of abstaining from food and the temptations of life. Rather, it is a holy time for Christians, characterized by a spirit of collective repentance. It is a time when everyone follows in the footsteps of Christ’s 40 day fast in the wilderness, honoring roots that extend back to the early centuries. This is what prompted the churches, both in the East and the West, to establish rituals and readings that guide believers on a journey of spiritual struggle in order to examine the heart before the body, reconcile the soul, and then declare its repentance to God amidst the hustle and bustle of this life.
The journey of fasting is undertaken by Christians in imitation of the journey of Jesus Christ, who withdrew for 40 days in the desert after his baptism. There, in this place far from people, Jesus fasted and prayed continuously and triumphed over Satan by the power of the holy Spirit, saying to him, “Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God” (Luke 4:4), and, “Away with you, Satan! It is written: ‘worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve’” (Luke 4:8).
As for us, we cannot deny that we are immersed in the experiences and temptations of daily life, lost in a world steeped in fleeting glories, hate speech, violence, hostility, and discrimination. In the midst of all the noise around us, how much does a person today need to isolate themselves in the desert! And how much do they need to hear the voice of God amidst the noise of voices around them?! “The desert is the place of the word of God. In fact, we find in the Bible that God loves to speak to us in the desert. In the desert, we find an intimate relationship with God and his love. . . the season of Lent is right time to give space to the word of God.”
Towards the desert: To begin with, according to Church sources, it must be noted that fasting is a divine law and God's commandment, established by Jesus Christ when he exclaimed, “...the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast” (Mt. 9:15). Fasting is aimed at repentance, self-examination, and humble return to God so that we may strengthen our cry, “O God, have mercy on me, a sinner.”
Fasting accompanies us on our journey to find the face of God, which we find in the desert. It is part of our journey to reach the kingdom of heaven. Fasting is a spiritual and physical struggle embodied through abstinence from food and drink and controlling the self and body from passions and desires as one strives to overcome instincts, pride, and all the temptations of the world. Therefore, fasting is not limited to abstaining from food alone, but it also includes working to avoid sin, purifying the soul the soul from all evil, and cultivating the heart through humility, repentance, and mercy in order to renew our relationship with God. This is what Jesus Christ commanded us when he said, “the time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe in the gospel” (Mk. 1:15).
Our Lenten journey is also crowned with prayer, acts of mercy, and almsgiving. Hence, “fasting is based on the foundation of love, strengthened by the mantle of almsgiving, and perfected by the leaven of purity and chastity. Fasting and mercy are inseparable twins. Fasting, almsgiving, and purity, along with visiting our neighbor and the needy, are streams that lead to one estuary, paving the way to enter the house of divine mercy and to gain the Lord as a friend. Prayer, fasting, and acts of mercy: this is the desert way during the forty days.
Dear brothers and sisters, through the prophet Isaiah, God promised us: “Behold, I bring something new; I make a way through the wilderness” (Isaiah 43:19). In the desert, God opens the way that leads us from death to life. We enter the desert with Jesus, and we will emerge to celebrate Easter, experiencing the life-renewing power of God's love. Let us enter the desert of Lent and follow Jesus through it, for with him, all the deserts within us will bloom. This is the desert: a place of life, not death, because it is silent dialogue with Jesus Christ that gives us new life.
The Sunday of the Resurrection is the conclusion of the Great Lent journey. It is the day on which the Church proclaims the “Joy of the Resurrection” and “new life.” On this day, according to the gospel and Christian faith, Christ appeared to his disciples after his resurrection, confirming the victory of life over death.
Lent, with its rituals and spirituality, remains more than just a religious occasion or a seasonal period of abstaining from food and the temptations of life. Rather, it is a holy time for Christians, characterized by a spirit of collective repentance. It is a time when everyone follows in the footsteps of Christ’s 40 day fast in the wilderness, honoring roots that extend back to the early centuries. This is what prompted the churches, both in the East and the West, to establish rituals and readings that guide believers on a journey of spiritual struggle in order to examine the heart before the body, reconcile the soul, and then declare its repentance to God amidst the hustle and bustle of this life.
