Hearing the story of Jesus’ temptation on the First Sunday of Lent, it’s, well, tempting to focus on Christ’s fasting as an example of fasting for the season to come. But Jesus’ fast in this story is not penitential. Rather it serves to make him hungry and thus puts him in a very human situation of vulnerability.

Today is Valentine’s Day for lovers and World Marriage Day for couples. It’s also Presidents’ Day weekend—and the Rite of Election for those who seek to enter the church. But what all of us celebrate together today is the First Sunday of Lent. Not quite the beginning of Lent—we started the season on Ash Wednesday—but close enough for those may have missed their ashes but are ready to take the plunge into the season right now.

Now Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wild. For 40 wilderness days and nights he was tested by the Devil. He ate nothing during those days, and when the time was up he was hungry.

I recently traveled to Jordan with a group of Catholic writers. One of the best parts of our incredible trip included a visit to Wadi Rum, a red desert valley of sandstone and granite. It was the stomping ground of Lawrence of Arabia and the shooting location of the recent Matt Damon film, The Martian. It is one of the most hauntingly beautiful places I’ve ever been.

As this Lenten season of repentance and joy begins, we ask God to sustain us and show us mercy.

The devil really was a clever old guy, wasn’t he? Jesus used scripture to fend off the devil’s first attempts to distract him, so then the devil, who apparently had read scripture, too, used the same tactic. But his ploy was doubly deceptive. He not only quoted scripture but also chose a passage that addressed exactly the issue at hand: faith in God.

Let works of piety . . . be our delight, and let us be filled with those kinds of food which feed us for eternity. —Pope Leo the Great (d. 461)