(I realize many of us have some difficulty with Pope Francis – and the Church seems to be in a perpetual penitential mode of late – but his homilies often contain some good spiritual counsel, fitting for his papal office. In light of this beginning of Lent, I thought we should peruse some of his earlier thoughts, and, at the very least, pray for the Holy Father. In that light, here is an address of his from 2015 for the First Sunday of the Lenten season). Editor
POPE FRANCIS
ANGELUS
Saint Peter’s Square
First Sunday of Lent, 22 February 2015
Dear Brothers and Sisters, Good morning!
Last Wednesday, with the rite of Ashes, Lent began, and today is the First Sunday of this Liturgical Season which refers to the 40 days Jesus spent in the desert, after his Baptism in the River Jordan. St Mark writes in today’s Gospel: “The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. And he was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered to him” (1:12-13). With these simple words the Evangelist describes the trials willingly faced by Jesus before he began his messianic mission. It is a trial from which the Lord leaves victorious and which prepares him to proclaim the Gospel of the Kingdom of God. In these 40 days of solitude, he confronts Satan “body to body”, He unmasks his temptations and conquers him. And through Him, we have all conquered, but we must protect this victory in our daily lives.
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