Pope Francis: Satan exists in the 21st century and how we can fight him
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis said Satan exists in our present century and we must
learn from the Gospel how to fight against his temptations. This was the core message
of his homily at the Mass celebrated on Friday in the Santa Marta residence.
Listen
to this report by Susy Hodges:
Pope Francis
said the life of every Christian is a constant battle against evil just as Jesus during
his life had to struggle against the devil and his many temptations. And he warned
that whoever wants to follow Jesus must be aware of this reality.
“We too
are tempted, we too are the target of attacks by the devil because the spirit of Evil
does not want our holiness, he does not want our Christian witness, he does not want
us to be disciples of Christ. And what does the Spirit of Evil do, through his temptations,
to distance us from the path of Jesus? The temptation of the devil has three characteristics
and we need to learn about them in order not to fall into the trap. What does Satan
do to distance us from the path of Jesus? Firstly, his temptation begins gradually
but grows and is always growing. Secondly, it grows and infects another person, it
spreads to another and seeks to be part of the community. And in the end, in order
to calm the soul, it justifies itself. It grows, it spreads and it justifies itself.”
Turning to the bible, the Pope recalled how Jesus’s first temptation by
Satan was almost ‘like a seduction.’ Satan told Jesus to throw himself down from
the Temple so that all the people will see that he is the Messiah! And warned the
Pope, when the devil is rejected, he grows and comes back stronger than before. Jesus
himself noted this in the gospel when the devil went around looking for companions
and with them returned to Jesus. Satan got involved with Jesus’s enemies and what
seemed at first like a calm trickle of water turned into a flood of water. In this
way, the temptation grows, infects others and justifies itself. As an illustration,
the Pope recalled how when Jesus preached in the synagogue, his enemies belittled
him by saying “but isn’t this the son of Joseph, the carpenter, the son of Mary.
He never studied so with what authority can he speak?
“We have a temptation
that grows: it grows and infects others. For example, let’s look at gossip: I’m
a bit envious of this or that person and at first I’m just envious inside and I need
to share it and go to another person and say: “But have you seen that person?’..
and this gossip tries to grow and infects another and another… This is the way gossip
works and all of us have been tempted to gossip! Maybe not one of you, if you’re
a saint , but I too have been tempted to gossip! It’s a daily temptation. And it
begins in this way, discreetly, like a trickle of water. It grows by infecting others
and in the end it justifies itself.”
Pope Francis concluded by urging people
to be vigilant and not to give in to that initial temptation and thus allow it to
spread to others and justify itself.
“We are all tempted because the law
of our spiritual life, our Christian life is a struggle: a struggle. That’s because
the Prince of this world, Satan, doesn’t want our holiness, he doesn’t want us to
follow Christ. Maybe some of you might say: ‘But Father, how old fashioned you
are to speak about the devil in the 21st century!’ But look
out because the devil is present! The devil is here… even in the 21st
century! And we mustn’t be naïve, right? We must learn from the Gospel how to
fight against Satan.”