So, ice is the enemy!

The story is told about two men drinking at a bar. One of them said: “Alcohol is not the enemy. It’s the ice.” The other one asked: “Why do you say that?” The first man said: “Vodka and ice will ruin your kidneys. Rum and ice will ruin your liver. Whisky and ice will ruin your heart. Gin and ice will ruin your brain. Apparently, ice is the common denominator. So, ice is the enemy!”
Temptation is a bait which we may or may not bite. The devil never shows the hook. He knows how to hide it, and exactly where and when to place it. Remember, he is the master of lies and deceit. On our own, we cannot beat him.
One form of temptation is the so-called “occasion of sin.” A man who drank a lot said he wants to dig out of habit. On the way home, he’s invited by his “friend” to drink just one bottle—for friendship’s sake. “But after one bottle,” he says, “I feel so weak to refuse a second, then a third and so on.” So instead of the concluding toast “one for the road!” it becomes “one for the canal!”
If one knows he’s weak, he should avoid the people or “friend” that will be an occasion to sin. As someone graphically put it: “To pray against temptation but not to avoid the occasion of sin is like putting your hand in the fire and pray that the hand does not get burned.”
We’re in the first Sunday of Lent. Lent is a season of testing and discipline. The Gospel message for this 1st Sunday of Lent, relates how Jesus underwent temptations in the desert and how he struggled to overcome them, thus setting for us an example. (Read Lk 4:1-13).
Let us learn from Jesus that the best way to prepare for our spiritual warfare is by way of prayer and fasting. For Lent, remember AFP—Alms giving, Fasting and Prayer.