A parishioner came to his Church, fell on his knees in front of the altar, and shouted in a loud voice, “I am not Job. You cannot keep piling things up on me, God. You have to help me.”

Weeping almost uncontrollably, the man continued to call out, “Why me? Why can’t it be someone else, God? Please help me.”

Eventually, after he had calmed down, the man stopped at the holy water font to bless himself. He turned back toward the altar and said in a quieter voice, “I don’t understand, but I’ll be back.”

Lent is special time to recognize temptation in our lives. Temptation is usually easier to get into than to get out. No one is exempt from temptation.

Sometimes it is not the “big temptations” but the small ones that cause the most     problems — they add up for a big fall. No, no, not the number, but the fall from grace.

Adam and Eve show us how sin entered into human life, with the denial of responsibility and the shifting of blame (passing the buck) that so often characterize sinful behavior.

In the garden, God had planted trees for Adam and Eve and established a moral order. God gave them permission to eat from any tree; only the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was forbidden.

The serpent, a symbol for temptation, convinced them that God’s order only kept them from becoming more like God. They wanted what they could not have, nor be.

The result was shame and broken relationships: they hid their nakedness, they hid from God, and they blamed one another. Sin brought suffering. They saw who they were and could not face it.

The most difficult thing about receiving forgiveness through the sacrament of confession is not that you have to confess your sins to another person, but the fact that you have to hear yourself say it. When you say your sins out loud you have no choice except to face your sins, no more hiding or covering up.

John Profumo, a former Minister of War in Great Britain, got involved with a woman and nearly toppled his government. He immediately resigned. He did not hit the talk show circuit, nor Oprah, nor the National Enquirer, nor did he write a book or ever seek public sympathy. He contacted a charitable mission in London and asked if they needed help. He remained there for the next 40 years. He did good works till he died, and never again did he utter another public word.

That was his way of achieving personal redemption for the public shame he had caused. He took responsibility for his sin. He did not blame God. He did not blame society or his parents. He took responsibility.

In dealing with a transgression call it what it is: sin. Not a mistake. Not simply being human.

It is sin. Take responsibility for it, then take it to God for forgiveness and healing.

“No test has been sent to you that does not come to all. God keeps His promise. He will not let you be tested beyond your strength. Along with the test He will give you a way out of it so that you may be able to endure it.”

He did it for His son and He will do it for you.