(1Ms 2:7-9; 3:1-7; Rm 5:12-19; Mt 4:1-11)
Theme: Apostolic Nuncio His Excellency Archbishop Georg Gänswein
Homily
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
On this First Sunday of Lent, the Gospel (Mt 4:1-11) tells us that after Jesus’ Baptism, the Spirit led him into the desert, and there the devil appeared to him.
The Lord prepares to begin his mission as a herald of the Kingdom of Heaven, like Moses and Elijah in the Old Testament, and he does so with a forty-day fast. He enters into Lent. At the end of this time of fasting, the tempter intervenes — the devil, who puts Jesus to the test three times.
The first temptation arises when Jesus is hungry. The devil suggests: “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” This is a challenge. But Jesus’ answer is clear: “One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” He refers to Moses’ reminder to the people about their long journey through the desert, through which they learned that their life depends on the word of God (cf. Dt 8:3).
Then the devil makes a second attempt. He becomes more cunning and also quotes Sacred Scripture. The strategy is clear: if you are so sure of God’s power, then experience it, because Scripture itself affirms that angels will help you. Even in this case, Jesus does not allow himself to be put to shame, for those who believe do not put God to the test, but entrust themselves to God’s goodness. Thus Jesus responds to the words of the Bible, which Satan had interpreted for his own purposes, with another quotation: “Again it is written: ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test!’”.
Finally, the third attempt reveals the devil’s true line of thinking: since the coming of the Kingdom of Heaven marks the beginning of his own downfall, the evil one wants to divert Jesus from fulfilling his mission by offering him a political, messianic perspective. But Jesus rejects the idolatry of power and human glory, and finally drives the tempter away and says: “Begone, Satan! For it is written: You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve.” At that moment the angels draw near to minister to Jesus, who is faithful and surrenders himself to the Father.
Dear brothers and sisters,
This teaches us one thing: Jesus does not enter into dialogue with the devil. Jesus answers the devil with the Word of God, not with his own words. In temptation we often begin to dialogue with the temptation, to dialogue with the devil: “Yes, I can do it…, then I’ll go to confession, then this, then that…”. We must never enter into dialogue with the divider. Jesus does two things with the devil: he either sends him away or, as in this case, answers with the Word of God.
We must pay attention to this: never enter into dialogue with temptation, never enter into dialogue with the devil.
Dear brothers and sisters,
Today’s Gospel is a call to all of us: one does not converse with the devil. One does not negotiate, one does not enter into dialogue, one does not overcome him by dealing with him. He is stronger than we are. We overcome the devil by resisting him in faith with the divine Word. In this way Jesus teaches us to defend unity with God and unity among one another in the world from the attacks of the one who divides. The divine Word is Jesus’ answer to the devil’s temptation.
Even today, Satan breaks into people’s lives to tempt them with his alluring proposals. He mingles his voice with many other voices that seek to tame our conscience. Messages come to us from many places, inviting us “to give in to temptation”, to experience the intoxication of transgression. Jesus’ experience teaches us that temptation is an attempt to walk on paths that are alternatives to God’s paths. Do it, no problem, then God will forgive! One day of pleasure for yourself …”. “But that is sin! — No, it’s nothing.” Alternative paths, paths that leave us with the impression of being self-sufficient, of life as an end in itself. But all this is illusory. We soon understand that the more we distance ourselves from God, the more unprotected and helpless we feel in the face of life’s great problems.
Dear brothers and sisters,
Let us ask ourselves: what place does the Word of God have in my life? Do I turn to it in my spiritual struggles? If I have a vice or a recurring temptation, why do I not seek help by looking in the Word of God for a verse that addresses that vice? Then, when temptation comes, I read it, I pray it, trusting in the grace of Christ. Let us try it: it helps us in temptation, it helps us greatly, because amid the voices that resound within us, the benevolent voice of the Word of God resounds.
May the Virgin Mary, Mother of the one who crushes the serpent’s head, and the Blessed Eduard Profittlich help us in this Lenten season to be vigilant against temptations, not to yield to any idol of this world, and to follow Jesus in the struggle against evil. Then we too, like Jesus, will be victorious.
Amen.
First Sunday of Lent (A), Tallinn, St. Peter and St. Paul’s Cathedral of Tallinn, 22 February 2026