over temptation, Zenit news Agency reported.
“The Church reminds us of that mystery at the beginning of Lent, so that it may give us the perspective and the meaning of this time, which is a time of combat,” he said. “A spiritual combat against the spirit of evil; and while we cross the Lenten
“desert”, we have our gazed fixed upon Easter, which is the definitive victory of Jesus against the Evil One, against sin and against death.”
Pope Francis went on to say that the meaning of the First Sunday of Lent is to place ourselves on the path of Christ, who is “the road that leads to life.”
Continuing his address, the Pope reflected on the significance of the desert, a place where both the voice of God and the voice of the Tempter can be heard.
The Holy Father stressed that like Jesus, Christians must know Scripture; “otherwise we do not know how to respond to the attacks of the Evil One.”
The 78 year old Pontiff reminded the faithful once again to carry a pocket-sized Gospel and meditate upon it every day.
“Always have the Gospel in hand,” he said. “The Lenten desert helps us to say no to worldliness, to the ‘idols’, it helps us to make courageous choices in accordance with the Gospel and to strengthen solidarity among the brothers.”
