Hi, I'm Edward Sree, and welcome to all things Catholic, where real faith meets real life.

At the end of these 40 days of Lent, is your spiritual life going to be really better?

Is there going to be any real change in your soul?

You know, I want to encourage you, there's a great gospel reading.

We have this Sunday, and it's awesome.

I love this particular gospel reading at the start of Lent.

It'll get into the real battle, the real battle we're all called to face, this Lent.

And it's a story you're familiar with, because Lent usually begins with a gospel reading

about Jesus going into the wilderness, praying and fasting for 40 days, right?

We hear this in Matthew, we hear it in Luke, but this year we get to hear Mark's account,

and Mark surprisingly only gives us two verses, just two little verses, but there's something

he's going to tell us.

One little detail he gives us about Jesus' battle in the desert, and it's so helpful

for us.

Listen to what Mark tells us.

Mark says, Jesus went into the wilderness for 40 days.

He was tempted by Satan, and he was with the wild beasts.

Now, what is that about?

He's with the zebra, the lion, the tiger, he's with the wild beasts.

What is that all about, and what difference does that make from my Lent life?

Well, we're going to see that the wild beasts symbolize for us in Scripture, fallen

human nature, our weaknesses, our sins when our passions aren't ordered properly, and Jesus

...