In this excerpt from Jesus of Nazareth, Cardinal Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI) explains that the devil’s first temptation of Christ in the desert—“If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread” (Mt 4:3)—is a seduction that points to the salvific nature of material goods over God. Of course, this is the way the devil distorts truth and blinds us. To preface the point, Ratzinger (2007) states, “When God is regarded as a secondary matter that can be set aside temporarily or permanently on account of more important things, it is precisely these supposedly more important things that come to nothing…[as the] Marxist experiment…proves” (p. 33).

The issue is the primacy of God. The issue is acknowledging that he is a reality, that he is the reality without which nothing else can be good. History cannot be detached from God and then run smoothly on purely material lines. If man’s heart is not good, then nothing else can turn out good, either. And the goodness of the human heart can ultimately come only from the One who is goodness, who is the Good itself (Ratzinger, 2007, pp. 33-34).

We originated from Goodness, but then were separated from it at the Fall. This spiritual chasm is not permanent, though; we can experience reunification. God calls us constantly, but He also grants us the freedom to choose Him. The bread of the world is tempting. Only the true and living bread, however, can nourish us fully. May faith and discernment lead us to make the only choice that will save us body and soul.

Ratzinger, J. (2007). The Temptations of Jesus. In Jesus of Nazareth, From the Baptism in the Jordan to the Transfiguration (pp. 25-45). Doubleday Broadway.