Pope Francis has spoken out about the temptations encountered in the Christian life, encouraging faithful to not be discouraged by the struggle, but to be reassured and strengthened by the prayers of the Church.
“It is difficult to fight against evil, to escape from its deceptions, to regain strength after a tiring struggle, but we must know that all of Christian life is a battle,” the Pope said today.
“But we must also know that we are not alone, that the Mother Church prays so that her children, regenerated in Baptism, do not succumb to the snares of the evil one. Strengthened by the Risen Lord, who defeated the prince of this world, we too can repeat with the Faith of St. Paul: ‘I can do all things in him who strengthens me,’” he said.
At his Wednesday general audience, Pope Francis continued his reflections on the sacrament of Baptism – including its power over the evil of sin and the hope that Christians gain through the prayers of others and through membership in the Catholic Church.
We know from personal experience how easily, even in the Christian life, we are tempted to separate ourselves from God, “from his will, from communion with him, to fall back into the bonds of worldly seductions”, Francis said.
Baptism is not a “magic formula, but a gift of the Holy Spirit”, he continued, emphasizing that it “prepares us, gives us strength for this daily struggle, even the struggle against the devil who – as St. Peter says – like a lion tries to devour us, to destroy us”.
Quoting from the Rite of the Baptism of Children, he said the sacrament enables “those who receive it to fight against the spirit of evil believing that God has sent his Son into the world to destroy the power of Satan and transfer man from darkness into his kingdom of infinite light”.
Hannah Brockhaus, Catholic News Agency