Jump to Any Step (16 of 36 · Click to Expand All 36 Days & Exercises)
01. The Presupposition & How to Enter the Exercises02. Principle and Foundation03. The Daily & Particular Examen04. Meditation with the Three Powers on the First, Second & Third Sin05. Meditation on Personal Sins & The Exclamation of Wonder at God’s Mercy06. Repetitions of the First & Second Exercises with the Triple Colloquy07. Meditation with the Five Senses on Ultimate Separation08. The Call of the Temporal King & The Oblation to the Eternal King09. The First Contemplation: The Incarnation10. The Second Contemplation: The Nativity & Application of the Five Senses11. The Presentation in the Temple & The Flight into Egypt12. The Hidden Life at Nazareth & Finding the Boy Jesus in the Temple13. Meditation on the Two Standards & Second Week Rules for Discernment14. Meditation on the Three Pairs of Men15. Departure from Nazareth & Baptism in the River Jordan16. Christ Fasting & Tempted in the Desert17. The Call of the Apostles & The Wedding at Cana18. The Sermon on the Mount19. Calming the Storm & Walking on the Waters20. Sending the Apostles, The Sinful Woman Forgiven, Feeding the 5,000, The Transfiguration & Preaching in the Temple21. The Raising of Lazarus & The Supper at Bethany22. Palm Sunday: The Humble Entry into Jerusalem23. The Three Manners of Humility24. Making an Election25. The Last Supper, Washing the Feet & The Agony in Gethsemane26. Betrayal, Arrest & The Night at the Houses of Annas and Caiaphas27. Christ Before Pilate & Before Herod28. The Scourging at the Pillar, Crowning with Thorns & ‘Ecce Homo’29. Carrying the Cross & The Crucifixion30. The Descent from the Cross, The Burial & The Silence of Holy Saturday31. The Resurrection: Christ Appears to His Mother & to Mary Magdalene32. The Road to Emmaus, The Appearance to St. Peter & The Upper Room33. St. Thomas’s Confession & Breakfast by the Sea of Galilee34. The Great Commission & The Ascension of Christ Our Lord35. Contemplation to Gain Love36. The Three Methods of Prayer
Movement II · The Second Week (Illuminative Way) · Step 16 · Week 2, Day 6
St. Ignatius of Loyola · Exx. 161, 274

Christ Fasting & Tempted in the Desert

Forty days and forty nights of solitude and fasting in the Judean wilderness, where the Beloved Son faces the enemy’s three temptations—appetite, spectacle, and worldly power—and answers with the Word of God alone.

Assigned Scripture Reading (NIV) & Mystery Points

Scripture Reading: Matthew 4:1–11 · Luke 4:1–14 · Mark 1:12–13

Matthew 4:1–11 (NIV)
1Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” 4Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” 5Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. 6“If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written: “‘He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’” 7Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’” 8Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. 9“All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.” 10Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’” 11Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.
Luke 4:1–14 (NIV)
1Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, 2where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry. 3The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.” 4Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone.’” 5The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. 6And he said to him, “I will give you all their authority and splendor; it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. 7If you worship me, it will all be yours.” 8Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.’” 9The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down from here. 10For it is written: “‘He will command his angels concerning you to guard you carefully; 11they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’” 12Jesus answered, “It is said: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’” 13When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time. 14Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside.
Mark 1:12–13 (NIV)
12At once the Spirit sent him out into the wilderness, 13and he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him.

Points of the Mystery from St. Ignatius

Step 1 · Entering the Hour (2 Minutes)

Before You Start

Read Matthew 4:1–11 (or Luke 4:1–14). Stand a step or two from your place of prayer for an Our Father (Exx. 75), reverence the Lord, and pray the Preparatory Prayer (Exx. 46).

Step 2 · Orienting the Heart & Imagination (5 Minutes)

The Preludes

First Prelude · The Narrative (Exx. 274)

Recall how immediately after hearing the Father’s voice at the Jordan, Jesus is led by the Holy Spirit into the stark Judean desert, where He fasts forty days and forty nights and meets the three temptations of the enemy.

Second Prelude · Composition of Place

See the barren, sun-bleached limestone cliffs and caves of the wilderness above Jericho, the high pinnacle of the Temple in Jerusalem, and the mountain peak overlooking the kingdoms of the world.

Third Prelude · Asking for What I Desire (Exx. 104)

Ask for an interior knowledge of our Lord, Who for me has become man and been tempted in all things as we are, that I may more love Him and follow Him.

Step 3 · The Body of the Exercise (30–40 Minutes)

How to Pray the Desert Temptation (See · Hear · Watch)

Notice how today’s contemplation shows the Two Standards (Step 13) played out in real time in the life of Jesus:

Round 1 · SEE the Persons (Exx. 106, 274)

  • See Jesus alone in the silence of the wilderness for forty days—thin from fasting, weathered by wind and sun, praying to His Father among the wild beasts (Mark 1:13).
  • See the tempter approaching Him precisely when His body is weakest and hungriest.
  • Finally, see the quiet arrival of the angels coming to minister to Him when the battle is over.
  • Reflect on yourself: Notice that the Spirit Himself led Jesus into the desert right after the consolation of the Jordan. Dryness and testing after consolation are not a sign that God has abandoned you; they are the desert where your identity as Beloved Son is tested and rooted.

Round 2 · HEAR What They Are Saying (Exx. 107, 274)

Listen carefully to how the enemy attacks the exact identity the Father just spoke at the Jordan (“If Thou be the Son of God...”), using the three links of Babylon’s chain:

  • Temptation 1 — Stones into Bread (Material Security / Appetite): “If Thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.” Hear Jesus’ calm refusal to use His divine power to comfort Himself: “It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.”
  • Temptation 2 — Leaping from the Pinnacle (Vain Honor / Spectacle): “Cast Thyself down!”—force God’s hand and dazzle the crowds with a miracle! Hear Jesus reply: “It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.”
  • Temptation 3 — Kingdoms Without the Cross (Pride / Worldly Power): “All these things will I give Thee, if Thou wilt fall down and worship me.” Hear Jesus’ final word: “Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve.”

Round 3 · WATCH What They Are Doing (Exx. 108, 274)

  • Watch how Jesus never argues or enters into a long negotiation with the tempter (unlike the Second Pair of Men!). He simply stands on the Father’s Word and refuses every shortcut around the Cross.
  • Watch the devil leave Him, and watch the angels come and gently feed and tend to Jesus in the desert.
  • Reflect on yourself: Which of the three desert temptations (comfort/appetite, impressing others/spectacle, or control/shortcuts) whispers loudest to you right now? How does watching Jesus stand firm in poverty and trust give you courage?
Step 4 · Friend to Friend & Looking Back (15–20 Minutes)

Colloquy, Post-Prayer Review & Repetitions

1. The Colloquy (5 Minutes)

Sit beside Jesus in the desert cave after the tempter has departed and the angels are ministering to Him. Speak to Him friend to friend about your own desert battles and hungers. Close with an Our Father.

2. The Post-Prayer Examen of Prayer (15 Minutes · Exx. 77)

After finishing the Our Father, remain quiet for ten to fifteen minutes (sitting or walking slowly) to examine how your prayer went. Ask: Where did my heart feel warmed, expanded, drawn to trust, or moved to tears (consolation)? Where did I feel dry, distracted, defensive, or negotiating with God (desolation or resistance)? Write down two or three honest sentences in your notebook.

3. Repetitions & Carrying the Mystery Through the Day

In your evening Application of the Five Senses, experience the silence of the desert night with Jesus—feeling the cool stone, hearing the wind in the rocks, and tasting the bread of the Father’s presence.

Primary Text · From St. Ignatius’s Spiritual Exercises (Exx. 161, 274)
[274] OF HOW CHRIST WAS TEMPTED (Luke iv, 1-13; Matthew iv, 1-11.) First Point. First: After being baptized He went to the desert, where He fasted forty days and forty nights. Second Point. Second: He was tempted by the enemy three times: the enemy coming up to Him says to Him: "If Thou be the Son of God, say that these stones be turned into bread; cast Thyself down; all these things which thou seest will I give Thee, if falling down before me Thou wilt adore me." Third Point. Third: The Angels came and ministered to Him.
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