REFLECTING ON LAST WEEK’S GOSPEL

Temptation is the Enemy’s way of tricking us into forgetting our own human dignity—Satan wants nothing more than for us to forget that we are uniquely made in the image and likeness of God, and that that same God loves us more than we can imagine. That’s why, in the garden of Eden, Satan tempts Eve “to become like God.” The Devil tries to convince us that we aren’t good enough, that there might be something about us that God doesn’t love. But being made in the image and likeness of our Creator, nothing can make us any more valuable than we already are to our God; our inherent dignity couldn’t be any greater!

Reminded, then, that we are each made in God’s image, imbued with sacredness and dignity, we are called to encounter, to go out and live God’s vision in the here and now, loving our neighbors as ourselves. That’s why Jesus encourages us to pray, “Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” God desires that, through our encounters with one another, our lives on Earth mirror God’s great dream for humanity, fulfilled in heaven.