Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ Jesus,

On this First Sunday of Lent, Mark the Evangelist invites our attention to the desert, beasts, Satan, Angels etc. We must understand that Mark wrote his Gospel for the persecuted Christians in Rome, who lived in constant fear of being thrown to the wild beasts in the arena. By narrating the triumphant emergence of Jesus from the temptations in the wilderness, Mark is encouraging the Christians in Rome not to lose heart in the face of persecutions. Like Jesus they too will come out victoriously from the wilderness of persecutions, to proclaim the Good News of salvation.