God does not provide us with a roadmap, but only a compass. 1st Sunday in Lent Year B (Mark 1:12-15).

. Often as I wake up in the morning I get an inspiration. Usually it is in the form of a well-framed sentence. If I am fresh enough to pick it up, it stays me for the rest of the day. I keep exploring it during the day, and sometimes I jot it down in my diary and use it for my talks and sermons. I call this phenomenon, Twilight Wisdom. A few days ago I woke up with this sentence: God does not provide us with a roadmap, but only a compass. I thought I would develop my Lenten reflections this year around this theme, and every Sunday try also to introduce a classical method of prayer that might help us tune ourselves to the direction of the compass. Roadmap and Compass God does not provide us with a definite roadmap. Roadmaps often offer definite path ways, clear landmarks, and an indication of what we can expect along the way in terms of terrains and distances. When Yahweh led the people of Israel out of slavery in Egypt, He did not offer them a roadmap. That is why it took them forty years of meandering in the desert to reach the Promised Land. Roadmaps might tend to force us focus on the end of the journey rather than the process involved in the journey. And with the help of roadmaps we may be tempted to take short-cuts. God provides us with a compass an inner compass. It simply shows us the general direction towards the North Pole - the goal of my life. In the words of St Ignatius of Loyola, we can say that the compass simply invites me to share in the life of God. This is the goal of my life. There are times in my life when I forget the compass and its direction. I just forget to tune myself to it. Or I refuse to be led by it. I am too busy; I am not interested; I make wrong choices on the path. I go chasing butterflies on the side-walks of life, as the 20th century French spiritual writer Michel Quoist put it. I get distracted. One advantage of the compass is that wherever I am right now, I can restart my journey right from where I am here and now. The season of Lent simply invites us to pay attention to the compass, and to begin our journey anew. Temptation: a moment of discernment Since the compass only shows the direction, I need to constantly discern the path I need to take. The unchanging north direction of the compass is that I must be in union with God, but God does not prescribe how I am expected to achieve that. Jesus too was born with a compass: to share the love of

God with humanity and to establish the reign of God in the hearts of all. I dont think, the path was very clear to him. Jesus had to discern the path how he was going to build the Kingdom of God. This was the core of his temptations. Every year on the first Sunday of Lent we reflect on the temptations of Jesus. This year, the gospel reading from Mark is too brief about the temptations. Interestingly, Mark speaks of temptations in general without describing them in three categories as Matthew (4:1-11) and Luke (4:1-13) do. Being generic, the Markan version brings out the aspect of discernment. Interestingly, the Gospels tell us that The Spirit drove Jesus out into the wilderness. (Mk 1:12) Temptation is a moment of discerning genuine paths, with the help of the Spirit, avoiding shortcuts that seem easy and attractive. This was the temptation of Jesus. This is our own temptation. Though the synoptic Gospels mention the temptations of Jesus right in the beginning of his public ministry, it is not to be understood that it was the only occasion when Jesus was tempted. In the Gospel of John the temptations are spread out very purposefully (read Jn 6:15, 30-31; 7:3). The admonition of Peter (Mk 8:31-33), agony in the garden before the passion (Mk 14:36), and even the feeling of abandonment expressed by Jesus on the cross (Mk 15:34) could be considered some of the other moments of temptation for Jesus. Jesus shows us also how these moments could be handled. He invites us to be open to God. The meaningful way of negotiating temptations is what is called discernment. Where is the compass directing me to? Has my vision become too blur? Discernment is not just what I do when I have to make an important decision in my life. It is a constant exercise of tuning my choices towards the direction of the compass. St Ignatius proposes the daily examen as a useful means to do this. The Examen: tuning in to the direction of the compass The examen is a very powerful means to help us focus on God. In the following version of the examen, I summarise the exercise in five steps (adapted from www.Ignatianspirituality.com). Step 1. Become aware of Gods presence. Look back on the events of the day in the company of the Holy Spirit. The day may seem confusing to you a blur, a jumble, a muddle. Ask God to bring clarity and understanding. Step 2. Review the day with gratitude. Walk through your day in the presence of God and note its joys and delights. Focus on the days gifts. Look at the work you did, the people you interacted with. What did you

receive from these people? What did you give them? Pay attention to small thingsthe food you ate, the sights you saw, and other seemingly small pleasures. God is in the details. Step 3. Pay attention to your emotions. One of St. Ignatiuss great insights was that we detect the presence of the Spirit of God in the movements of our emotions. Reflect on the feelings you experienced during the day. Boredom? Elation? Resentment? Compassion? Anger? Confidence? What is God saying through these feelings? God will most likely show you some ways that you fell short. Take note of these sins and faults. But look deeply for other implications. Does a feeling of frustration perhaps mean that God wants you consider a new direction in some area of your work? Are you concerned about a friend? Perhaps you should reach out to her in some way. Step 4. Choose one feature of the day and pray from it. Ask the Holy Spirit to direct you to something during the day that God thinks is particularly important. It may involve a feelingpositive or negative. It may be a significant encounter with another person or a vivid moment of pleasure or peace. Or it may be something that seems rather insignificant. Look at it. Pray about it. Allow the prayer to arise spontaneously from your heart whether intercession, praise, repentance, or gratitude. Step 5. Look toward tomorrow. Ask God to give you light for tomorrows challenges. Pay attention to the feelings that surface as you survey whats coming up. Are you doubtful? Cheerful? Apprehensive? Full of delighted anticipation? Allow these feelings to turn into prayer. Seek Gods guidance. Ask him for help and understanding. Pray for hope. Have a conversation with Jesus. End the Daily Examen with the Our Father. Sahaya G. Selvam, sdb London, 27 Feb 2012 P.S. Sorry for the delay in sending you this sermon. Usually I post the sermon on my website