Never dialogue with temptation

Last updated: Sun 26 Jul 2020 PM

Succumbing to temptation takes us away from God. The feeling of self-sufficiency is illusory. This is what Pope Francis reminded us this Sunday during the prayer of the Angelus in St. Peter's Square. On this first Sunday of Lent, he returned to the episode narrated in the Gospel of St. Matthew where Satan tempts Jesus three times who had withdrawn into the desert.

When Jesus withdraws into the desert to fast for forty days, after his baptism in the Jordan, Satan tempts him three times. In his first attempt, he incites Jesus to turn a stone into bread to satisfy himself. The Son of God refuses, affirming that man also feeds on every word of God, says the Pope, who explains: "He claims to be Moses when he reminds the people of the long journey made in the desert, during which he learned that his life depends on the Word of God".

Jesus adorns the devil's second attempt, which this time quotes the Holy Scriptures and urges him to ask for God's help. "But this time again Jesus does not allow himself to be confused because whoever believes knows that God does not test him but entrusts himself to his goodness".

Finally, in the last temptation, "the evil one would like to divert Jesus from the fulfilment of his mission, offering him a perspective of political messianism," continues the Pope. But here again Jesus does not succumb and "repels the idolatry of human power and glory and, in the end, drives out the tempter," reminding him that only God is to be worshipped.

Relying on the Word of God

"Never dialogue with the devil, with temptation," the Pope exhorts. "Jesus doesn't answer the devil with his words, but with the Word of God".

Today as yesterday, in the desert, "Satan bursts into the lives of people to tempt them with his tempting proposals" warns Francis. "He mixes his voice with the many who seek to tame our consciences", he insists, pointing out the messages which invite us to let ourselves be tempted "by the thrill of transgression".

"The experience of Jesus teaches us that temptation is the attempt to take alternative paths to those of God, which make us feel self-sufficient, to enjoy life as an end in itself. But all this is an illusion," the Pope concludes, "one soon realizes that the further away from God one goes, the more powerless and helpless one feels in the face of the great problems of existence.

Xavier Sartre - Vatican City

Source: Vatican News