Temptation

Have your Lenten goals been overshadowed by COVID-19? Many of us are struggling simply to find normalcy during these unsettling times – to say nothing of approaching the season of Lent with the purpose and intention with which we began it. To that end, we’re happy to share a recent piece by Br. Jim Woodrum on “The Monastic Discipline of Temptation,” which was recently published in the online magazine Earth & Altar. We hope this might invite you to re-embrace your intentions for this Lenten season in a meaningful way.

The Monastic Discipline of Temptation: Why did Jesus face temptation for forty days in the desert? And what has led centuries of monastics to follow him there, seeking to confront their own temptations? In “The Monastic Discipline of Temptation,” Br. Jim Woodrum stalks temptation out into the desert, seeking to understand its true nature. By studying the Christian monastic tradition, he discovers that temptation not something to be avoided, but actually something to be faced – even embraced. Temptation is a tool, by which we can discover what separates us from the love of God. When we study our own temptations, we can strengthen ourselves against their advances. This Lent, Br. Jim invites us to take up the discipline of temptation as monks do, following it as a path to self-knowledge and, eventually, a gateway into a deeper love of God.