13 warnings from Pope Francis on the devil
So the devil's biggest trick is to convince people that it doesn't exist?
Pope Francis is not impressed.
Starting from his very first homily as bishop of Rome, Pope Francis regularly reminded believers that the Devil is real, that we must be on our guard and that our only hope against him is in Jesus Christ.
Here are 13 of Pope Francis' most direct quotes on the subject:
1) "When one does not profess Jesus Christ, one professes the worldliness of the devil."
First homily, 14/03/2013 - Text
2) “The Prince of this world, Satan, does not want our holiness, he does not want us to follow Christ. Perhaps some of you might say, "Father, how old have you been to talk about the devil in the 21st century!" But be careful because the devil is present! The devil is here… even in the 21st century! And we don't have to be naive, do we? We must learn from the Gospel how to fight against Satan ”.
Homily of 4/10/2014 - Text
3) “[The Devil] attacks the family so much. That demon does not love him and tries to destroy him. [...] May the Lord bless the family. May it make him strong in this crisis, in which the devil wishes to destroy it. "
Homily, 6/1/2014 - Text
4) “Just 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 out loud "God is stronger". Do you believe that God is stronger? "
General Audience, 6/12/2013 - Text
5) “We ask the Lord for the grace to take these things seriously. He came to fight for our salvation. He won against the devil! Please don't do business with the devil! Try to go home, to take possession of us… Do not relativize; watch out! 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 also ends with the presence of the devil, with the victory of God over the devil".
Homily, 11/11/2013 - Text
7) “Either you are with me, says the Lord, or you are against me… [Jesus came] to give us freedom… [from] the slavery that the devil has on us… On this point, there are no nuances. There is a battle and a battle in which salvation is at stake, eternal salvation. We must always be on guard, on guard against deception, 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 dirt and 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 bear to see the holiness of a church or the holiness of a person without trying to do something".
Homily, 5/7/2014 - Text
10) “Note well how Jesus responds [to temptation]: he does not dialogue with Satan, as Eve did in the earthly Paradise. Jesus knows well that one cannot dialogue with Satan, because he is so cunning. For this reason, instead of dialogue, as Eve did, Jesus chooses to take refuge in the Word of God and to respond with the power of this Word. Let us remember this in the moment of temptation…: do not argue with Satan, but defend ourselves with the Word of God. And this will save us. "
Address Angelus, 09/03/2014 - Text
11) “We too must guard the faith, protect it from darkness. Many times, however, it is a darkness in the guise of light. This is because the devil, as Saint Paul says, sometimes masquerades as an angel of light. "
Homily, 1/6/2014 - Text
12) “Behind every voice there is jealousy and envy. And gossip divides the community, destroys the community. Voices are the devil's weapons. "
Homily, 23/01/2014 - Text
13) “We always remember… that the adversary wants to keep us separate 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 stops sowing seeds of hope and trust. "