Pope Francis said to follow Christ’s example when dealing with the temptation to sin: send the devil away or answer with the Word of God, but never engage in debate. When being tempted by the devil in the desert, “Jesus does not talk with the devil. Jesus responds to the devil with the Word of God, not with his word,” the Pope said on March 1. Francis noted that in times of temptation one may start to debate with the devil about sin. “Never talk to the devil,” he advised. “Jesus does two things with the devil: he chases him away or, as in this case [in the desert], he answers with the Word of God. Be careful: never dialogue with temptation, never dialogue with the devil.” Pope Francis’ address before the Angelus Sunday was on Jesus’ 40 days in the desert, where he goes to fast after being baptized in the Jordan River. There Jesus “prepares to begin his mission,” Francis said. But at the end of his fasting, the devil comes and tries to tempt Jesus three times, he explained. According to the Pope, “even today Satan bursts into people’s lives to tempt them with his enticing proposals.” “Messages come from many directions inviting [us] ‘to be tempted’ to experience the thrill of transgression,” he stated. He explained that temptation tries to propose alternatives to God’s way, suggesting there is no problem, that God will forgive us, or that something is not a sin. These give the feeling of self-sufficiency, that the purpose of life is its enjoyment, Francis said. “But all this is illusory: soon we realize that the more we distance ourselves from God, the more we feel defenseless and helpless in the face of the great problems of existence.”