Today, Jesus Christ, by denouncing the “leaven” (evil) of Herod, unmasks one of the facets of a sinful temptation: the appearance of realism. By making decisions is when the question arises: what really matters in my life? There appears the core of every temptation: separate God, which at first seems more urgent in our lives becomes secondary, superfluous and annoying.

To recognize as true only the political and material realities and to leave God aside as something illusory, this is the temptation that threatens us in many ways. The reality is found in the “power” and the “bread”. In front of both, the things of God are unrealistic (a secondary world that is really not needed). The issue is God: is it true or not that He is the reality? Is He really the Good, or should we invent ourselves what is good?

—The issue of God is the fundamental question that puts me at the crossroads of my existence.