First Sunday of Lent – 22nd February 2026

Dear brothers and sisters,

Jesus has just been baptised. Heaven opened, the Father spoke, the Spirit came down. And right after this beautiful moment, the Gospel tells us something surprising: Jesus is led into the desert. He does not go looking for comfort or applause. He goes into silence, into loneliness, into struggle. It is as if, at the very start of Lent, Jesus is telling us: the journey with God also passes through dry places, questions, and trials.

Jesus fasts for forty days. He is hungry. He is tired. He is weak. And exactly then, the tempter comes. This is often how it happens in our lives too. Temptations do not come when we feel strong. They come when we are tired, when we feel alone, when things are hard.

The first temptation is very simple: “If you are the Son of God, turn these stones into bread.” It is the temptation to use power for yourself. To put your own needs first. To say, “I deserve this.” Jesus is hungry, but he does not change stones into bread. He answers, “Man does not live on bread alone.” It is as if he is saying: there is a deeper hunger than the hunger of the body. It is the hunger for meaning, for love, for God.

We know this temptation well. When we want everything quickly. When we look for easy solutions. When we try to fill the empty places in our hearts with food, shopping, screens, noise. But the soul cannot be filled with bread. It needs prayer, silence, truth.

The second temptation is more subtle: “Throw yourself down… God will save you.” It is the temptation to test God. To ask for dramatic signs. To say, “God, if you are real, prove it now.” Jesus refuses. He does not use the Father as an emergency plan. Faith is not a test. It is daily trust, even when we do not see quick answers.

How many times have we said, especially in sickness or suffering: “God, if you love me, show me.” But God does not promise a life without the cross. He promises his presence in the middle of the cross.