At the Angelus Pope Francis told faithful to overcome evil with the Holy Scriptures and warned them against “the devil’s poisonous darts”
“Lent is a journey of conversion and a fight against evil,” and “We must become familiar with the Bible: read it often, meditate on it, assimilate it,” Francis recommended at today’s Angelus. The Bible “contains the Word of God, which is always current and effective.” The Pope recalled someone’s words: what would happen if we treated the Bible like we treat our cell phone? If we always took it with us, if we turned back when we forget it , if we opened it several times a day, if we read God’s messages in the Bible as we read the messages of our phones. “
Clearly, the Pontiff continued, “ this is a paradoxical comparison, but it makes us think: in fact, if we had the Word of God always in our heart, no temptation could ever turn us away from God and no obstacle could make us drift away from the path towards good. We would know how to win our daily evil temptations that are within and around us, we would be able to live a new resurrected life in the Holy Spirit, and accept and love our brothers and sisters, especially the most vulnerable and needy ones, as well as our enemies. “
Before the Pope warned the faithful from “the devil’s poisonous darts” and from “false shortcut towards success and glory,” and then he urged them to “welcome and love the most needy brothers as well as our enemies.”
In addition, “a few days ago, we began Lent, which is the path of the People of God towards Easter, the path of conversion, of struggle against evil through the weapons of prayer, fasting and charity.”
Francis took his cue from the Gospel readings of the first Sunday of Lent. “The gospel leads us on the path towards Easter - said the Pope at the beginning of the Marian Prayer recited from the window of his study in the Apostolic Palace -Jesus remained for forty days in the desert, subject to the temptations of the devil: this episode is part of a precise moment of Jesus’ life. “ And that is “immediately after his baptism in the Jordan River, and before his public ministry: he has just received the solemn investiture, the Spirit of God has descended upon Him, as the Father from Heaven calls him” my beloved Son “and Jesus is now ready to begin its mission. “ And, the Pontiff continued, “since there is a declared enemy, that is, Satan, Jesus confronted him right away,” in close combat “ while the devil tries to use His title” Son of God “to push Jesus away from his mission. “If you are the Son of God,” the devil repeated, while suggesting he made some miraculous gestures – lie a magician - such as turning stones into bread to satisfy his hunger, and jump off the temple walls and be saved by the angels. “
To these two temptations, a third one follows, “To worship him, the devil, to have dominion over the world.” Through this triple temptation, “Satan wants to divert Jesus from the path of obedience and humbleness - because he knows that by doing so, evil will be defeated - and he wanted to take him on the false shortcut towards success and glory.”
But, Jorge Mario Bergoglio pointed out, “Jesus shielded all the poisonous arrows of the devil with the Word of God which expresses the will of the Father and so his Son, full of the Holy Spirit, emerges victorious from the desert».
During the forty days of Lent, Francis warns, “as Christians we are called to follow in Jesus’ footsteps and confront the spiritual battle against evil with the power of God’s Word.” And, “the Virgin Mary, perfect icon of obedience to God and of unconditional trust to his will, shall sustain us on our Lenten journey, so that we place ourselves in docile listening to the Word of God and make a real change of heart.”
The Pope finally addressed “a cordial greeting to families, church groups, associations and all the pilgrims who came from Italy and from different countries.” The Pontiff appealed in particular to the “faithful from the Diocese of Madrid, Cordoba and Warsaw as well as those of Belluno and Mestre. The Pope wished “Everybody a fruitful Lenten journey” and asked “remembrance in prayer for me and for the collaborators of the Roman Curia, as this evening we will start the week of Spiritual Exercises.” He then concluded: “Thank you. Have a nice Sunday! Have Good lunch and goodbye. “
