“The world is the enemy least difficult to conquer; the devil is the hardest to understand, but the flesh is the most tenacious, and its attacks continue as long as the old self lasts” —St. John of the Cross

My Dearest Friends in Christ,

I welcome you to this first Sunday of Lent. Today the Gospel presents to us the temptation of Jesus, inviting us to enter more deeply into the mystery of His forty days in the desert. Let us pray for the grace to keep our Lenten observances faithfully and to remain focused on the sacred mysteries we celebrate in this special season of grace. For just as Christ faced temptation, so too shall we encounter trials in our own spiritual journey. Our reflection today is on the three enemies of the spiritual life. Before we delve into that, let us first consider the readings.

In the first reading, taken from the Book of Genesis, we encounter the devil, the primary enemy of your spiritual life, drawing Eve’s attention and admiration toward the forbidden fruit. He initiated the conversation to deceive her precisely when she was alone. Is it not the devil’s chief aim to deceive the children of God? And is he not a master of timing? He knows exactly when to approach us, typically when we are isolated, with no one nearby to counsel us otherwise. This tactic mirrors the strategy of telephone scammers who target their victims in solitude. The devil can persuade us that sin is desirable, just as a friend might assure us there is nothing wrong with the evil we have done or plan to do. In fact, such voices often convince us that “everyone is doing it,” gradually diminishing our sense of moral responsibility and downplaying the gravity of the sin. Eve saw that the fruit was good, desirable, and pleasing to the eyes. In the same way, worldly vanities appeal to the senses and attract many. Are there not countless people obsessed with immodest dress, to say nothing of other excesses? “It’s fashion,” they claim. Sin has become fashionable in the eyes of the world. In our generation, immoral behavior is increasingly normalized as an acceptable way of life. Eve also saw that the fruit was good for food, that it would nourish the body, the flesh. Moreover, she desired to become like God, as the devil deceitfully promised, the pride of life. Eve disobeyed God and then lured Adam into the same act of disobedience. But we must ask: Did the fruit truly nourish their bodies? Was it genuinely good and appealing, or was it deadly? Did they acquire wisdom or become like gods? Empty promises! Diabolical lies!

In the Gospel, we see the same enemy at work, now approaching Jesus in the wilderness. Knowing that the Lord would be hungry after His long fast, the devil came with bread as bait, just as he had once used fruit to tempt Eve. He exploits our deepest desires and vulnerabilities to lure us into sin. He then showed Jesus all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor, making deceptive promises to entice Him into accepting his offer. Finally, the devil demanded that Jesus bow down and worship him, the ultimate price for the fleeting luxuries of the world. Yet where Adam and Eve fell, Jesus stood firm. He resisted each temptation by turning to Scripture and placing His trust entirely in the Father. In these readings, the three enemies of the spiritual life, the world, the flesh, and the devil, are unmistakably revealed. This is precisely why we must take our Lenten observance seriously if we truly desire to overcome them, for the same enemies that confronted our first parents and the Lord Himself continue to assail us today.

And so I invite you to reflect on these enemies of the spiritual life and on the three spiritual weapons Christ Himself used to resist the devil, weapons He places in our hands as well.

In Christian theology, the world, the flesh, and the devil (Latin: mundus, caro, et diabolus; Greek ό κοσμος, ή σαρξ, και ό διαβολος) are often traditionally described as the three enemies of the spiritual life.

Why is the world your enemy?

The word of God answers it: Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life —is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.
( 1Jn. 2:15-17). St James, alluding to the lust of the flesh, decried: Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever, therefore, wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. (Jas. 4:4) The world stands for everything that contradicts the will of God, be it culture or tradition, policies, or ideologies.

Why is the flesh or the self your enemy?

1 John refers to the lust of the flesh, which includes all sins directly related to destroying the purity of one’s soul. The soul is the temple of the Holy Spirit who dwells in us. (cf. 1Cor 6:19) The flesh becomes an enemy when we yield to the immoral cravings of the sensual appetites which lead us to sins of the flesh, such as gluttony, greed, and avarice. These destroy the person who indulges in them.

How is the devil your enemy?

The devil’s work is to tempt us to worship him and abandon God’s ways. One of the devil’s greatest tools is deception. When we least expect it, we can be lulled into a trap set by the enemy. We must become more aware of the devil’s schemes and take the steps to fight back. 1 John 2:16, cited above, tells us that the devil uses these three ways to tempt us: lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. This is the same tactic the devil employed to deceive Eve and Adam.

Our Lenten observance of fasting, prayer, and almsgiving addresses the three enemies of the spiritual life and provides solutions with which to combat these enemies. How?

For the enemy, the world, use prayers, fasting, and almsgiving.

Prayers draw us closer to God and deepen our love for the things of God. In this special period of Lent, we are called to pray more than before. Through prayers, we gain spiritual insights, heavenly consolations, and answers to our needs. Prayer transforms our perception of the things of the world. Prayer fuels our spiritual energy to resist worldly allurement and helps us to be aware of the strategies of the devil. The more you pray, the less vulnerable you become to the deception of the devil. The more you pray, the more humble you become. People who do not pray are often victims of the manipulation of the devil. A prayerful person burns with a spiritual fire that the devil cannot overpower. So don’t give up on praying and never lose heart. (cf. Luke 18:1) Jesus overcame the devil because He prepared Himself with prayers.

For your enemy, the flesh or “self”, fast more in addition to prayers and almsgiving.

We fast more during Lent to resist the temptations of the flesh and to acquire spiritual strength. Most of the sins of the flesh we commit are habitual. Habits, they say, are difficult to break; yet, the power of an evil habit can be broken with sincere commitment and the grace of God. Through medical research, we are told that cancer cells feed on sugar in the body. Therefore, by cutting down our sugar intake, we can reduce the growth of cancer cells as well as other sugar-related diseases. Fasting does the same in our spiritual life. It helps us to cut away those sinful habits we find irresistible and to starve the sinful emotions that fuel our passionate desire for sin. It helps us rediscover the best version of ourselves. Fast from watching everything. Fast from spending on everything. Fast to gain spiritual control rather than being controlled by some internal or external stimuli that compel you to sin. Practice self-control and custody of the senses. These are practical ways to help you win this battle.

One of the fruits of fasting is almsgiving. In giving alms, we acknowledge the needs of others. We focus less on the self and think about others whom we have starved of love by being selfish and self-indulgent. Remember the motherless babies, the homeless, and refugees driven out of their homeland by Boko haram and the Fulani herdsmen insurgency. Remember family members who are in dire need of your help. Open up your heart to love and cherish them.

For your enemy, the devil, pray and fast.

The devil can be a person or anything that lures you into sin. To resist the devil and all his or her tricks, the Lenten season provides us with the tools of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. This trio jointly overcomes the powerful force of the devil.

“Fasting is the soul of prayer, mercy is the lifeblood of fasting. So if you pray, fast; if you fast, show mercy; if you want your petition to be heard, hear the petition of others. If you do not close your ear to others, you open God’s ear to yourself.” —St. Peter Chrysologus

We ask God to give us the grace to win this war in this Lenten season, so we can keep our eyes focused on the great mystery of the passion of Christ and be part of His joyful resurrection.

I keep you and your family always in my prayers. ©Clem C. Aladi (2026)

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