An outpouring of more than one hundred thousand filled Saint Peter's Square for the penultimate public "Angelus" of Benedict XVI's pontificate. According to reports the great majority were Romans bidding "addio" to their bishop.The Pope commented on today's gospel:

non spinge direttamente verso il male, ma verso un falso bene, facendo credere che le vere realt sono il potere e ci che soddisfa i bisogni primari. In questo modo, Dio diventa secondario, si riduce a un mezzo, in definitiva diventa irreale, non conta pi, svanisce. In ultima analisi, nelle tentazioni in gioco la fede, perch in gioco Dio. Nei momenti decisivi della vita, ma, a ben vedere, in ogni momento, siamo di fronte a un bivio: vogliamo seguire lio o Dio? Linteresse individuale oppure il vero Bene, ci che realmente bene?[The Tempter] does not spur directly toward evil, but toward an illusory good. He would have us believe that the true realities are power and what satisfies our primary needs. In this way God becomes secondary, a mere means; God no longer counts and thus disappears. In the last analysis, what is at stake in the temptations is faith itself: God is at stake.In the crucial moments of life, indeed, in every moment, we stand before a crossroads. Do we desire to follow self or God? Self-interest or the true Good what is truly Good?

Robert P. Imbelli, a priest of the Archdiocese of New York, is a longtime Commonweal contributor.

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