The readings today are all about someone who does not get enough credit for the state of our world: Satan.
When people start to doubt the existence of God, they often look at the chaos, disease, war, violence, murder, lying, cheating, and stealing in our world and say: "How can God exist if there is so much evil in our world?" This doubt does not disprove the existence of God. However, the existence of evil creates a doubt in our minds as to whether or not God is good or makes us doubt whether or not God really cares about us. How do we explain the existence of evil, our experience of the perversion of good, in our universe?
Imagine if there were an alien being, older, smarter and more powerful than us, who rebelled against our Creator who exists in our universe. Sure, this creature is invisible to us. However, the existence of such a creature would explain where temptation comes from. Evil in our world comes from a source greater than ourselves but not greater than our Creator. Satan can pervert the good but he cannot properly create anything new.
If we go through life unaware of Satan's existence, we either blame God, others, or even ourselves as the source of evil in the universe. The reality is that there is a tempter, a father of lies, a corruptor, an enemy that we need to fight. As we enter the desert of Lent, as we mortify our flesh and subdue our passions, we will become more aware of Satan and the tactics he uses to keep us away from God. However, the good news is that our God is good and He has sent us a savior, Jesus, who shows us how to win with Him.
God bless,
Fr. Scott