“Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil” (Matthew 4,1).
Our entire life should have a continuous recourse to God, inasmuch as we are always surrounded by a lot of enemies who are in constant battle against our soul, and we cannot overcome them without the divine Grace. As a soldier would be certainly killed, if instead of fighting bravely in the battle, he lies down to sleep among his adversaries, so the soul amidst internal and external enemies would surely be overcome when she set aside the weapon of prayer and abandon herself to weaknesses.
We need to pray in time of Temptation. Temptation is an impulse to commit sins, and it could come either from the devil or from our passions, or from others. The devil tempts us by arousing in us or moving our heart to evil thoughts; the passions distort our nature and push us to violate the Law; the creatures either entice or irritate us, or they become occasions of hate.
Sometimes these three temptations work together at the same time: the creatures distort us on one side, the passions on the other and the devil from another side. Here is how terrible are the temptations!
But what must a soul do in time of temptation? Have recourse to God. Thus, she should be good enough to gird the armor of Faith, the shield of trust in God, the weapon of prayer. Woe to that soul who neglects to pray in time of temptation! She will surely fall! And so it happened to all those who do not pray.
St. Hannibal M. Di Francia
(Writings, vol. 23, cap. 33, file 2225)
