Vatican City, Mar 13, 2011 / 08:38 am
Although many people reject the notion of sin, it is a reality of life, said Pope Benedict XVI at Sunday's Angelus. He encouraged believers to join with Christ in "spiritual combat" during Lent.
Despite a steady rain, thousands of pilgrims were present in St. Peter's Square to pray the Angelus with the Pope on March 13, the first Sunday of Lent. A group of motorcyclists greeted him from the street with a chorus of honks.
The 40 days of Lent constitute a time of spiritual preparation for Easter, of following Jesus to the "culmination of his mission of salvation" in his death on the cross, said the Pope.
Lent and the cross exist "because evil exists," he said. And although many do not accept the term "sin" for offering a religious vision of the world and humanity, sin is "the profound cause of every evil," he explained.