The Long Road Home: The Three Temptations for Parents
Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash As we begin this Lenten season, the first Sunday readings focus on Jesus' temptation in the desert. The first temptation is changing a rock into bread so Jesus can feed himself. The second temptation is receiving all the kingdoms of the world if He decides to bow down to Satan himself. The third is throwing Himself off the temple where angels will catch Him, thereby preventing Him from harm. In Chapter 3 of Fulton Sheen's The Life of Christ , (Doubleday, 1990) he expounds upon these three temptations and labels them as the "Three Shortcuts from the Cross." He makes the point that these three temptations of Christ were alternatives to saving humanity without the Cross. Christ, of course, overcomes these temptations and begins his long road to Calvary to truly save humanity. As parent I have to admit, I often give into these temptations of taking a shortcut towards holiness as opposed to carrying those crosses that wi
