The papal coat of arms exhibited on the central loggia of the Basilica, that of blessings, to represent the presence of the Pope. Present, also in the absence due to hospitalization to Gemelli, both in symbols and in words. Those of thanks to Over 25 thousand volunteers who arrived in Rome for their Jubilee. He is Cardinal Michael Czernny, yes, prefect of the Dicastery for the service of full human development, to read Francesco’s homily.
Starts from the temptations, the Pope, from Luca’s Gospel introducing in Lent. “Every year, our journey of Lent begins following the Lord in this space, which he crosses and transforms for us,” writes the Pope. This is the full homily: «When Jesus enters the desert, in fact, a decisive change occurs: the place of silence becomes the environment of listening. A listening put to the test, because it is necessary to choose to whom to listen between two completely contrary voices. By proposing this exercise, the Gospel attests that the path of Jesus begins with an act of obedience: it is the Holy Spirit, the same strength of God, who leads him where nothing good grows from the earth nor rains from heaven. In the desert, man experiences his material and spiritual indigence, the need for bread and speech.
Even Jesus, true man, is hungry (cf. v. 2) and for forty days it is attempted by a word that does not come from the Holy Spirit at all, but by the evil one, by the devil. As soon as they entered the forty days of Lent, we reflect on the fact that we are also tempted, but we are not alone: with us there is Jesus, who opens the way through the desert. The son of God made man does not just give us a model in the fight against evil. Furthermore: It gives us the strength to resist his assaults and persevere on the way. We then consider three characteristics of the temptation of Jesus and also of ours: the beginning, the way, the outcome. By comparing these two experiences, we will find support for our conversion itinerary.
First of all, in its beginning the temptation of Jesus wanted: The Lord goes to the desert not for swagger, to demonstrate how strong it is, but for his branch availability towards the spirit of the Father, to whose guide he corresponds promptly. Our temptation, on the other hand, is suffered: evil precedes our freedom, corrupts it intimately as an inner shadow and constant insidment. While we ask God not to abandon ourselves in the temptation (cf. Mt 6:13), remember that he has already fulfilled this prayer through Jesus, the incarnate verb to remain with us, always. The Lord is close to us and takes care of us especially in the place of test and suspicion, that is, when the tender raises the voice. He is the father of lies (cf. Jn 8:44), corrupt and corruptor, because he knows the Word of God, but does not understand it. Indeed, it distorts it: as since Adam’s times, in the Garden of Eden (see Gen 3:1-5), so he now does against the new Adam, Jesus, in the desert. Here we take the singular way with which Christ is attempted, that is, in the relationship with God, his Father. The devil is the one who separates, the divider, while Jesus is the one who unites God and man, the mediator. In his perversion, the devil wants to destroy this bond, making Jesus a privileged one: “If you are the Son of God, of this stone that becomes bread” (v. 3). And again: “If you are the son of God, thrown down” (v. 9) from the temple pinnacle. In front of these temptations Jesus, the Son of God, decides how to be a son. In the spirit that guides him, his choice reveals how he wants to live his branch relationship with his father. Here’s what the Lord decides: this unique and exclusive bond with God, of which he is the one -year -old son, he becomes a relationship that involves everyone, without excluding anyone. The relationship with the Father is the gift that Jesus shares in the world for our salvation, not a jealous treasure (cf. Fil 2,6) to boast to achieve success and attract followers.
We too are tempted in the relationship with God, but on the other hand. The devil, in fact, hiss to our ears that God is not really our Father; who actually abandoned us. Satan aims to convince us that for the hungry there is no bread, much less from the stones, nor the angels help us in misfortunes. If anything, the world is in the hands of evil powers, which crush peoples with the arrogance of their calculations and the violence of the war. Just as the devil would like to make believe that the Lord is far from us, taking us to despair, God is even closer to us, giving his life for the redemption of the world. And here is the third aspect: the outcome of the temptations. Jesus, the Christ of God, wins evil. He rejects the devil, who however will return to try it “currently fixed” (v. 13). So says the Gospel, and we will remind us when, on Golgotha, once again we will hear from Jesus: “If you are the Son of God, get off the cross” (Mt 27.40; cf. Lk 23:35). In the desert the tempter is defeated, but Christ’s victory is not yet definitive: it will be in his Easter of death and resurrection.
While we prepare to celebrate the central mystery of the faith, we recognize that the outcome of our test is different. In front of the temptation, we sometimes fall: we are all sinners. The defeat, however, is not definitive, because God raises us from every fall with his forgiveness, infinitely great in love. Our test therefore does not end with a failure, because in Christ we are redeemed by evil. Crossing the desert with him, we walk a way where no one was traced: Jesus himself opens for us this new path, of liberation and redemption. Following with faith the Lord, from Vagabondi we become pilgrims. Dear sisters and dear brothers, I invite you to start our journey of Lent. And since, along the way, we need that goodwill, which the Holy Spirit always supports, I am happy to greet all the volunteers who are present in Rome today for their jubilee pilgrimage. Thank you very much, dear, because on the example of Jesus you serve the neighbor without serving your neighbor. On the street and between the houses, next to the sick, the suffering, prisoners, with young people and with the elderly, your dedication instills hope to all society. In the deserts of poverty and solitude, many small gestures of free service make sprouts of new humanity bloom: that garden that God has dreamed and continues to dream for all of us ».
