3.29 Pourquoi jeûner 40 jours pendant le carême ?
Le Carême commence le Mercredi des Cendres, nommé d’après le signe que nous recevons sur nos fronts (en forme de croix) ce jour-là. Jésus a jeûné quarante jours dans le désert (Mt 4,1-2)Mt 4,1-2 : Alors Jésus fut conduit au désert par l’Esprit pour être tenté par le diable. Après avoir jeûné quarante jours et quarante nuits, il eut faim. et nous suivons son exemple en jeûnant pendant le Carême.
Cette période nous rappelle que sans l’aide et la grâce de Dieu, nous ne sommes pas dignes du sacrifice de Jésus sur la croix.
What do we learn from the temptations of Jesus in the desert?
The temptations of Jesus in the desert recapitulate the temptation of Adam in Paradise and the temptations of Israel in the desert. Satan tempts Jesus in regard to his obedience to the mission given him by the Father. Christ, the new Adam, resists and his victory proclaims that of his passion which is the supreme obedience of his filial love. The Church unites herself to this mystery in a special way in the liturgical season of Lent. [CCCC 106]
Why was Jesus led into temptation? Could he really be tempted at all?
Jesus was truly human, and as part of that he was truly susceptible to temptation. In Jesus Christ we do not have the sort of redeemer “who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sinning” (Heb 4:15). [Youcat 88]
In the Church’s tradition, this journey we are asked to take in Lent is marked by certain practices: fasting, almsgiving and prayer. Fasting means abstinence from food but includes other forms of privation for a more modest life. However, all this is not yet the full reality of fasting: it is an outer sign of an inner reality, of our commitment, with God’s help, to abstain from evil and to live by the Gospel. Those who are unable to nourish themselves with the word of God do not fast properly. [Pope Benedict, General Audience, 9 Mar. 2011]
