Pope says Lent is spiritual battle

February 18, 2013 - Lent always involves a battle, a spiritual battle, because the spirit of evil naturally opposes our sanctification and seeks to divert us from the way of God, Pope Benedict XVI said on Sunday. Speaking at the last but one weekly midday ‘Angelus’ prayer, before stepping down as Pontiff on Feb. 28, Pope Benedict reflected on the temptations of Christ in the desert as narrated in the Gospel of the first Sunday of Lent. Speaking from his studio window to an exceptionally large crowd in St. Peter’s Square, the Pope observed that upon starting his public ministry, “Jesus had to expose and reject the false images of the Messiah that the tempter proposed.” “But these temptations are false images of man and during all times undermine the conscience, disguised and proposed as affordable, effective and even good,” he added. The core of these temptations, the Pope explained, is always to exploit God for one’s selfish interests, giving more importance to success or to material goods.” “The tempter is deceitful, as he does not push us directly to evil, but to a false good, making us believe that the true realities are power and what satisfies our basic needs. In this way, God becomes secondary, is reduced to a means, and ultimately becomes unreal, and no longer matters and thus vanishes. Ultimately, in all temptations our faith is at stake, because God is at stake. In the decisive moments of life, but, in hindsight, in every moment, we are at a crossroads: Do we want to follow our ego or God, our individual interests or the true Good? Referring to the Fathers of the Church the Pontiff said that temptations are part of the ‘descent’ of Jesus in our human condition and in the abyss of sin as well as of its consequences.” He said Jesus is “the hand that God has stretched out to man, the lost sheep, to bring him back to safety.” We fight against the spirit of evil with Jesus the Victor over sin. Pope Benedict said Lent is a time of “conversion and penance” and a “favorable time to rediscover faith in God as the criterion of our life and the life of the Church.” “The Church, which is mother and teacher, calls all her members to be renewed in the spirit, to re-orientate closely to God, denying pride and selfishness in order to live in love,” he said.
Clearly touched by the extraordinary show of solidarity and affection for him, Pope Benedict thanked the pilgrims in the square for turning out in vast numbers as a sign of affection and spiritual closeness that he has been shown these days before his retirement.
He also greeted English-speaking pilgrims:

Listen:
I greet all the English-speaking visitors and pilgrims present for today’s Angelus. Today we contemplate Christ in the desert, fasting, praying, and being tempted. As we begin our Lenten journey, we join him and we ask him to give us strength to fight our weaknesses. Let me also thank you for the prayers and support you have shown me in these days. May God bless all of you!