The path towards Easter that we undertake on Ash Wednesday is a walk towards joy: the Easter joy that only God can give. Joy that flows from the love that is given with nothing expected in return and to the very end. To open our whole being to welcome this joy, the biblical texts of each Sunday trace the path. A steep path that calls to spiritual combat

1 st Sunday From the first Sunday, the tone is given. There is a work to be carried out on one who is not an easy one: " Be converted “ (Mark 1,15) Chase away the evil which is in itself, then to turn away from it. Hard fight to be led for 40 days. At first decide to fight, to take then the ways to make him.

In his Son Jesus, God comes into our world to seal the victory of life over death, of harmony over chaos, of peace over war.

In Genesis, sin is presented not simply as a state, but as a power, as the force of evil operating in the world. God indicates the rainbow as the sign of his quite free alliance which will remind its promise and its benevolence to all the alive. (Genesis 9, 8-15)

The saga of the flood aims to reveal God's attitude towards creation that rejects him.

Psalm 24 reveals that the Alliance is primarily a path that God proposes to us and on which he accompanies us.

The first letter of Peter (3, 18-22) forms a hymn summarizing the mystery of Christ. The author has inserted a reflection on the Christian participation in the mystery of baptism. Noah's Ark is the image of the barque of the Church. To be baptized is to commit to God with an upright conscience, participate in the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who ascended to heaven... to the right of God. ( 1 Peter 3,21 to 22 )

Mark describes two great moments connected to two areas: first the time of "preparation" that takes place in the desert. This is the wilderness where the human being has not left its mark, or where he is dominated by the forces of nature, or where he confronts his fragility as a creature. He thus presents to us the mystery of Jesus both as the "beloved Son" of the Father and "son of the earth " colliding with its limits, with the forces of destruction: Satan and the wild beasts.

We know that Matthew and Luke describe with kindness the three temptations of Jesus. Mark only mentions them, with sobriety. Without pathos, but with power. He never uses the word devil, but uses the word Satan, that is to say adversary, Accuser.

We must not be surprised to have to suffer the bite of temptation. It is quite a normal trial in the life of the believer. It is especially so for Jesus at the beginning of his apostolic ministry. Indeed, Scripture warns us as if to give us courage: My son, if you claim to serve the Lord, be prepared for trials, have a good heart, arm yourself with courage. Si 2,10

By this call, Jesus makes us understand that, faced with the proclamation of the kingdom of God coming in him, we must not stand idly by. We must react by transforming the way we view our existence. We are called to be aware of the sense of our entire life. And let us ask him to help us make the most of this Lent this kairos, to adhere with our whole being to the gospel.

Pope Francis insists on the way Jesus responds and defeats the tempter, "Jesus decisively rejects all those temptations and firmly reiterates his will to follow the path set by the Father, without any compromise with sin, nor with the world’s logic. »... He choses to take refuge in God's Word and he answers with the strength of that Word. Let us remember this at the time of temptation, of our temptations. No argument with Satan, but always defend ourselves with the Word of God. And that will save us. »