Vatican City, Feb 18, 2010 / 09:12 am
In his homily at the Basilica of Saint Sabina on Ash Wednesday, the Holy Father spoke about returning to the communion with God that was lost when Adam was banished from the Garden of Eden. To return, he said, we need to "cross the desert, the test of faith."
After a procession from the Church of St. Anselm to the Basilica of Saint Sabina, Pope Benedict XVI recalled the story of Jesus' time in the desert. The Holy Father described the 40 days of silence and fasting as a time when Jesus "abandoned himself completely to the Father and his loving design," exposing himself to "enemy assaults" without any weapon besides "boundless trust in the omnipotent love of the Father."
"All this the Lord Jesus did for us," explained Benedict XVI. "He did it to save us, and at the same time to show us the way to follow him."
He expounded on this gift of salvation, saying it requires our assent demonstrated by our will to live like Jesus and follow in his footsteps. So, the Pope said, "following Jesus in the 'Lenten desert' is then a necessary condition to participating in his Easter..."