Get Behind Me, Satan! by Ilya Repin (Voices from Russia) 1895 via Wikimedia Commons
Lord Jesus, when you were tempted by the devil,
you answered with the commands of sacred scripture.
Being the Word that you were (and are)
you could have easily plunged him
into the depths of the abyss.
Yet you did not reveal the power of your might,
but only brought forth the precepts of scripture.
You gave us an example of patience,
so that as often as we suffer
from viscous people
we should be aroused
to teach rather than exact revenge.
after Gregory the Great, c 540 – 604, pope and patron saint of musicians
________________
Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness
to be tempted by the devil.
After fasting forty days and forty nights,
he was hungry.
The tempter came to him and said,
“If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”
Jesus answered,
“It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone,
but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’
prayer & verse 
