Pope: We need to go into the wilderness to face our demons

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Source: Vatican Media

During his Angelus address, on the first Sunday of Lent, with pilgrims in St Peter's Square, Pope reflected on the day's Gospel of Mark which describes the temptation of Jesus in the desert and the symbolic significance of the wilderness.

He urged Christians to "enter the wilderness, that is, silence, the inner world, listening to the heart, in contact with the truth."

In the desert, Christ "was with the wild beasts, and the angels ministered to Him. Wild beasts and angels were His company," the Pope said. But, in a symbolic sense, "they are our company too: indeed, when we enter the inner wilderness, we can encounter wild beasts and angels there....In the spiritual life, we can think of them as the disordered passions that divide our heart, trying to take possession of it."

They "entice us; they seem seductive," the Pope warned. "If we are not careful, we risk being torn apart by them."

Naming some of these "beasts" of the soul, he said they can be "the lust for wealth, which imprisons us in connivance and dissatisfaction, the vanity of pleasure, which condemns us to restlessness and solitude, and the craving for fame, which gives rise to insecurity and a continuous need for confirmation and prominence."

They are "wild" beasts, the Holy Father said, and as such, they must be tamed and fought; otherwise, they will devour our freedom.

"We need to go into the wilderness to become aware of their presence and to face them," he stated.

Then, focusing on the angelic presence in the desert, the Pope said angels are "God's messengers, who help us, who do us good; indeed, their characteristic, according to the Gospel, is service."

Contrasting this image with the possessive nature of disordered passions, he said they are "the exact opposite of possession, typical of the passions."

And highlighting the transformative power of divine inspirations, Pope Francis said: "While temptations tear us apart, the good divine inspirations unify us in harmony: they quench the heart, infuse the taste of Christ, 'the flavour of Heaven'."

Thus, he upheld the need for silence and prayer to grasp these thoughts and feelings inspired by God, saying: "Lent is the time to do this."

Pope Francis concluded with two crucial questions: "What are the disordered passions, the 'wild beasts' that agitate in my heart?"

And, "To permit the voice of God to speak to my heart and to preserve it in goodness, am I thinking of retreating a little into the 'wilderness', that is, of dedicating space to consider this?"

Pope Francis concluded his reflection with a prayer: "May the Holy Virgin who kept the Word and did not let herself be touched by the temptations of the evil one, help us during this season of Lent."

After the Angelus Pope Francis expressed his concern over the situation in Sudan where ten months of conflict has led to a serious humanitarian situation. "I once again ask the warring parties to stop this war, which causes so much harm to the people and the future of the country," he said. "Let us pray that paths to peace are soon found to build the future of dear Sudan."

Pope Francis also lamented a flare-up in "violence against defenseless populations, the destruction of infrastructure, and widespread insecurity" in the northern Cabo Delgado Region of Mozambique. He noted that the Catholic mission of Our Lady of Africa in Mazeze was set ablaze. "Let us pray for peace to return to that tormented region," said the Pope.

He also prayed for people suffering from terrible conflicts in other countries in Africa, Ukraine and the Holy Land.

"War is always a defeat," he said.

"Let us instead pray tirelessly," concluded Pope Francis, "because prayer is effective, and let us ask the Lord for the gift of minds and hearts dedicated concretely to peace."

Watch a film of the Angelus on the Vatican youtube channel: www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpOhfARjLD0