First Sunday of Lent

For a Doctrinal Homily Outline for the First Sunday of Lent, please click here.

• Central idea: God is merciful to sinners.
• Doctrine: Concupiscence and self-mastery.
• Practical application: Lenten activities.

• Concupiscence comes from sin, leads to sin, is an evil, but is not itself a sin (CCC 2515).
  • It comes from sin because it is a consequence of the sin of Adam. It leads to sin because it tempts us to sin. It is an evil because it is not good for us to desire something that is wrong. And it is not itself a sin because to have a desire or impulse is not morally blameworthy without consent.
• John identifies three kinds of concupiscence: “Lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, and pride of life” (CCC 2514). These refer to the “pleasures of the senses, covetousness for earthly goods, and self-assertion, contrary to the dictates of reason” (CCC 377).
• Concupiscence is the “movement of the sensitive appetite contrary to the operation of the human reason” (CCC 2515). You desire something bad for you. This becomes a sin when you act according to that wrong desire. You might act without thinking or even despite your reason telling you it is wrong. Concupiscence leads to the tyranny of one’s passions over one’s reason.
• This is why the Christian life calls for the self-mastery that comes through growth in virtues.