Gospel of the First Sunday of Lent

At that time Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert, to be tempted by the devil. And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterwards He was hungry.

And the tempter coming said to him: If Thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.' Who answered and said: 'It is written: Not in bread alone doth man live, but in every word that proceedeth from the mouth of God.

Then the devil took Him up into the holy city and set Him upon the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him: If Thou be the Son of God, cast Thyself down. For it is written: That He hath given His angels charge over Thee, and in their hands shall they bear Thee up, lest perhaps Thou dash Thy foot against a stone. Jesus said to him: It is written again: Thou shalt not tempt the Lord Thy God.

Again the devil took Him up into a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them, and said to Him: All these will I give Thee, if falling down Thou wilt adore me. Then Jesus saith to him: Begone, Satan! For it is written: The Lord thy God shalt thou adore, and Him only shalt thou serve.

Then the devil left Him: and behold angels came, and ministered to Him. Matthew 4:1-11

Against our Blessed Lord, Satan employs a sophistry some call “paltering”.

Paltering is when a communicator says truthful things and in the process knowingly leads the listener to a false conclusion. At its core, paltering is about manipulation to gain the upper hand.” - Deceiving with the Truth, Harvard Gazette

Everything the infernal enemy said was true. Even “If Thou be the Son of God”. Because at that point he himself was not sure, the work of God having been done quietly in Bethlehem and Nazareth. So he rips scripture from its context and empties it of meaning. He reshapes the words to manipulate.

Josef Pieper describes this as the nature of flattery.

His dignity is ignored; I concentrate on his weaknesses and on those areas that may appeal to him - all in order to manipulate him, to use him for my purposes. - Abuse of Language, Abuse of Power, pp. 22-23.

There’s a lot of that going around these days. First with COVID-19. Now with Ukraine.

And it may end badly.

Brethren: We exhort you that you receive not the grace of God in vain. For He saith: In an accepted time have I heard thee, and in the day of salvation have I helped thee. Behold, now is the acceptable time, behold now is the day of salvation.

Now. This moment touches eternity. Now is the day.