Pope at Angelus: Jesus shows us
the remedies for temptations
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| Pope Francis greets the faithful at the Sunday Angelus (Vatican Media) |
On the First Sunday of Lent, Pope Francis reflects on the
day’s Gospel, which tells how Jesus was led into the desert, where He was
tempted by the devil.
By Christopher Wells
In his Angelus address, Pope Francis said the three
temptations Jesus faced “indicate three paths that the world always proposes,
promising great success”.
The greed of possession
After Jesus had fasted for forty days, the devil tempted Him
to turn stones to bread. This, the Pope said, is “the path of the greed
of possession”. The devil always begins with our natural and legitimate
needs, he explained, “in order to push us to believe” that we can find
fulfillment “without God, and even contrary to Him”. Jesus, however, responds
by quoting Scripture: “Man shall not live by bread alone”.
The path of human glory
The second temptation is “the prospect of becoming a
powerful and glorious Messiah”, which Pope Francis describes as “the path
of human glory”. Bowing down before the “idols of money, of
success, of power” can corrupt us. This leads to “the intoxication of an empty
joy that soon fades away” – and this, the Pope says, is why Jesus responds,
“You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only shall you serve”.
Instrumentalizing God
Finally, the devil leads Jesus to the pinnacle of the Temple
in Jerusalem, and “invites Him to cast Himself down” in order to demonstrate
His divine power. Pope Francis calls this the path of “instrumentalizing God for
one’s own advantage”. Jesus rejects the devil’s temptation, “with the firm
decision to remain humble and confident before the Father”. Once again, the
Lord quotes Scripture: “You shall not tempt the Lord your God”. In this way,
the Pope said, Jesus “rejects perhaps the most subtle temptation: wanting ‘to
bring God over to our own side’, by asking Him for graces that only serve to
satisfy our own pride”.
All these temptations, the Pope said, are really “illusions”
that promise “success and happiness”, but in reality “are all completely
foreign to God’s way of acting”. In fact, he said, “they actually separate us
from God, because they are the work of Satan”.
Remedies for temptation
Jesus overcomes these three temptations by personally facing
them, “in order fully to adhere to the Father’s plan”. In doing so, Pope
Francis said, Jesus shows us the remedies for temptations – namely, “the
interior life, faith in God, the certainty of His love.” With the certainty
that God is Father, and that He loves us, "we will overcome every temptation".
So, Pope Francis said in conclusion, “let us take advantage
of Lent, as a privileged time to purify ourselves, in order to experience the
consoling presence of God in our life”.
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