13 Warnings from Pope Francis on Man’s Oldest Foe, the Devil
Pope Francis is not impressed.
Starting with his very first homily as the bishop of Rome, Pope Francis has regularly reminded believers that the Devil is real, that we must be on guard, and that our only hope against him is in Jesus Christ.
Here are are 13 of Pope Francis’ most direct quotes on the matter.
1) “When one does not profess Jesus Christ, one professes the worldliness of the devil.”
First homily, 3/14/2013 – Text
2) “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.”
Homily on 4/10/2014 – Text
3) “[The Devil] attacks the family so much. That demon does not love it and seeks to destroy it. […] May the Lord bless the family. May He make it strong in this crisis, in which the devil wishes to destroy it.”
Homily, 6/1/2014 – Text
4) “It is enough to open a newspaper and we see that around us there is the presence of evil, the Devil is at work. But I would like to say in a loud voice ‘God is stronger.’ Do you believe this, that God is stronger?”
General audience, 6/12/2013 – Text
5) “Let us ask the Lord for the grace to take these things seriously. He came to fight for our salvation. He won against the devil! Please, let us not do business with the devil! He seeks to return home, to take possession of us… Do not relativize; be vigilant! And always with Jesus!”
Homily, 11/8/2013 – Text
6) “The presence of the devil is on the first page of the Bible, and the Bible ends as well with the presence of the devil, with the victory of God over the devil.”
Homily, 11/8/2013 – Text
7) “Either you are with me, says the Lord, or you are against me… [Jesus came] to give us the freedom… [from] the enslavement the devil has over us… On this point, there are no nuances. There is a battle and a battle where salvation is at play, eternal salvation. We must always be on guard, on guard against deceit, against the seduction of evil.”
Homily, 10/11/2013 – Text
8) “The devil plants evil where there is good, trying to divide people, families and nations. But God… looks into the ‘field’ of each person with patience and mercy: he sees the dirt and the evil much better than we do, but he also sees the seeds of good and patiently awaits their germination.”
Homily, 7/20/2014 – Text
9) “The devil cannot stand seeing the sanctity of a church or the sanctity of a person, without trying to do something.”
Homily, 5/7/2014 – Text
10) “Note well how Jesus responds [to temptation]: He doesn’t dialogue with Satan, as Eve did in the terrestrial Paradise. Jesus knows well that one can’t dialogue with Satan, because he is so cunning. For this reason, instead of dialoguing, as Eve did, Jesus chooses to take refuge in the Word of God and to respond with the power of this Word. Let us remind ourselves of this in the moment of temptation…: not arguing with Satan, but defending ourselves with the Word of God. And this will save us.”
Angelus address, 3/9/2014 – Text
11) “We too need to guard the faith, guard it from darkness. Many times, however, it is a darkness under the guise of light. This is because the devil, as saint Paul, says, disguises himself at times as an angel of light.”
Homily, 1/6/2014 – Text
12) “Behind every rumor there is jealousy and envy. And gossip divides the community, destroys the community. Rumors are the weapons of the devil.”
Homily, 1/23/2014 – Text
13) “Let us always remember… that the Adversary wants to keep us separated from God and therefore instills disappointment in our hearts when we do not see our apostolic commitment immediately rewarded. Every day the devil sows the seeds of pessimism and bitterness in our hearts. … Let us open ourselves to the breath of the Holy Spirit, who never ceases to sow seeds of hope and confidence.”
Speech, 6/18/2013 – Text
Pope Francis returned to one of his favorite topics Friday morning, telling his hearers that the devil seeks above all to become master of their consciences, so they no longer can tell right from wrong.
The Gospel reading at Mass spoke of Jesus casting out devils, and the Pharisees accusing him of driving out demons by the power of the Beelzebul, the prince of demons. It also spoke of a devil returning after being cast out, bringing other demons with it and setting up shop in the house where it had been before.
In his homily in the chapel at the Saint Martha residence, the Pope said that in the spiritual life “temptations always return, the evil spirit never gets tired.” If he has been kicked out once, he is patient, waiting to return, and “If you let him in, you fall into a worse situation.”
In fact, Francis said, in the gospel story, at first it was clear that it was the devil who was causing problems. But afterward, “The evil one conceals himself, and comes with his very polite friends, knocking at the door, asking permission, but then moves in and spends time with the man and, little by little, starts giving the orders.”
With his “good manners,” Francis said, the devil makes the man fall into moral relativism, calming his conscience.
We start saying things like “This happens everywhere” and “We are all sinners,” Francis said. Yet “When we say everybody, we mean nobody,” he said. “And so we live this worldliness that is the child of the evil spirit.”
“Calming the conscience, numbing the conscience, this is a great evil,” he said.
“When the devil manages to numb your conscience he has won a real victory,” Francis said, because “he has become the master of your conscience.”
The Pope said that the key to combatting the devil is discernment and vigilance. We need to be able to discern situations, he said, to see what comes from God and what comes from the devil who “always tries to deceive” and to “make us choose the wrong path.”
The Christian cannot just accept anything, but must “discern and look well to see where things come from, and what their root is,” he said.
Francis said that the Church “always encourages us to examine our conscience: What happened in my heart today, why? Did this well-mannered devil visit me today with his friends?”
“Where do these comments, these words, these teachings come from, who says this? Discern and keep watch, so as not to let in the one who deceives, seduces and fascinates,” he said.
“We ask the Lord for this grace,” he said.
COURTESY: http://www.breitbart.com/national-security/2015/10/09/pope-francis-devil-numbs-conscience-won/
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Advice from Exorcists: 4 Ways to Keep the Devil Away
After an Exorcism occurs, how does a person keep the devil from coming back? In the Gospels we read a story that describes how a person who was exorcised was then visited by a whole host of demons, who sought to reenter in a more forceful way (cf. Matthew 12:43-45). The Rite of Exorcism only expels demons from a person; it does not keep them from coming back.
In order to ensure that the devil does not return, exorcists recommend four ways that will keep a person’s soul at peace and in God’s hands:
1. Frequent the Sacraments of Confession and Eucharist
The most common way a demon can enter into someone’s life is through a habitual state of mortal sin. The more we divorce ourselves from God through sin, the more susceptible we are to a demon’s attack. Confession of sins, then, is the primary way we have to put an end to our life of sin and to start out on a new path. It is no coincidence that the devil relentlessly tried to scare Saint John Vianney away from hearing the confessions of hardened sinners. Confession has such power and grace that the devil must flee away from a person who frequents that sacrament.
Along with Confession, the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist is even more powerful in driving away the influence of the devil. This makes perfect sense as the Holy Eucharist is the Real Presence of Jesus Christ and demons have absolutely zero power in front of God Himself. Especially when the Eucharist is received in a state of grace after Confession; the devil simply has no place to go but far away. Saint Thomas Aquinas confirmed this in his Summa Theologiae when he wrote, “[The Eucharist] repels all the assaults of demons. Hence Chrysostom says (Hom. xlvi in Joan.): “Like lions breathing forth fire, thus do we depart from that table, being made terrible to the devil.”
2. Consistent Daily Prayer Life
A person who frequents the sacrament of Confession and the Eucharist must also abide by a consistent daily prayer life. The key-word is: consistent! This puts a person in a daily state of grace and relationship with God. A person who daily converses with God should never be afraid of the devil. Exorcists always suggest to possessed persons to abide by strong spiritual habits, such as frequent reading of Scripture as well as praying the Rosary and other private prayers. Attending Mass every Sunday is a must to remain close to God. Having a daily schedule of prayer would be most beneficial and has great power to keep demons at bay.
3. Fasting
This advice comes straight from the Gospels, when Jesus says to His disciples, “This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer and fasting” (Mark 9:29). This is mainly referring to moderate fasting as any extreme fasting can do more damage than good. Only very privileged souls can undertake such fasting as the hermits who live in the desert and only eat bread and water. For us who live in the world and have various responsibilities (such as our families) we cannot fast so much as to neglect those responsibilities. However, we are encouraged to fast at the very least every Friday of the year, but can also take up little acts of fasting, such as fasting from eating between meals.
4. Sacramentals
Exorcists not only use sacramentals (the Rite of Exorcism is a sacramental), but advise possessed persons to frequently use sacramentals. They are a powerful weapon in the daily fight to keep the devil from ever coming back. Exorcists suggest such sacramentals as Blessed Salt and Blessed Water to not only be kept at home, but to be brought along wherever a person goes.
Courtesy: http://www.philipkosloski.com/advice-from-exorcists-4-ways-to-keep-the-devil-away/
Courtesy: http://www.philipkosloski.com/advice-from-exorcists-4-ways-to-keep-the-devil-away/
