February 18, 2024 / 08:41 AM
Presiding over the recitation of the Angelus in the Vatican’s St. Peter’s Square on the first Sunday of Lent, Pope Francis encouraged the faithful to “enter the inner desert” during this time to combat the “wild beasts” of vices, avarice, vanity and greed.
Remembering today’s Gospel, taken from Marcos 1,12-15the Holy Father recalled that Jesus remained in the desert for forty days, tempted by Satan,” where “he was with the wild beasts and the angels served him.”
“We are also invited in Lent to ‘enter the desert’, that is, into silence, into the inner world, into listening to the heart, into contact with the truth,” Pope Francis said.