“One does not live on bread alone”
These words have been a guiding light in my life. I remember once I was trying to convince my father that our society was focusing too much on the material needs of people, and ignoring their spiritual needs. “Man does not live on bread alone,” I told him, implying that there is a spiritual dimension to our being that sustains us, and it is being neglected. He reminded me that this is true, but we are still flesh and blood, and we need the material world to connect us to the spiritual world. Once we provide people with material necessities, then they are free to think about spiritual matters. Once we fulfill the corporal works of mercy, then we can begin talking about the spiritual works of mercy. People are not free to give up something unless they have it in the first place.
This is what Lent is all about. In Jesus’ desert wanderings, he could have turned stone into bread. In a similar way, we could open that pantry and have that snack we gave up for Lent. But Lent is a time to remind ourselves that, despite how pressing our physical needs may be, we are in need of spiritual nourishment as well. And sometimes we tend to our physical needs to the detriment of our spiritual needs. Unfortunately, that’s just the way our fallen human nature works. Focusing my attention on one thing leads to the neglect of another thing. Focusing too much on work often leads to the neglect of my family. Focusing too much on the news often leads to neglecting what’s happening in my own life. Even studying too much could result in neglecting the needs of my body like sleep and exercise. The central message of Lent is the virtue of temperance. Our souls can easily be forgotten as we sojourn in this valley of death. The Church, in her wisdom, knows this and therefore sets aside a season to focus on spiritual matters; because we are so much more than mere matter, and what matters most isn’t matter at all.
