Watch Out for the Devil!

In these last weeks of the liturgical year, the Mass readings speak of the last things: death, heaven, purgatory, hell, the particular judgment and the Last Judgment. Above all, they call us to stay awake, because we know neither the day nor the hour when God will call us to give an account before Him.

More than a month ago, on October 11, Pope Francis gave a homily at the Casa Santa Marta in which he warned us about the real presence of the devil in the world. He told us that it is important not to relativize the truth about the devil and about the struggle against him, and that we must take Jesus’s exorcisms seriously. He pointed out that Jesus truly does cast out demons in the Bible, and criticized the fact that some (even priests) try to give medical explanations that diminish the power of the Lord and the real presence of the devil in the world.

The Pope acknowledged that in those days epilepsy could be confused with demonic possession, but insisted that the devil also existed, and that we have no right to simplify things by saying that all those people were simply mentally ill. The devil’s presence, he said, is on the first page of the Bible, and the Bible also ends with the devil’s presence and with God’s victory over him.

He warned us not to be naive. The Lord, he said, gives us some criteria for discerning the presence of evil and for following the Christian path when temptations come. One of them is not to follow Jesus’s victory over evil only halfway: “Whoever is not with me is against me,” says the Lord. Jesus came to destroy the devil and to free us from his slavery.

And we cannot say we are exaggerating, he added. On this subject there are no shades of gray: it is a struggle in which our eternal salvation is at stake. In short, Heaven or Hell is at stake.

He urged us to be vigilant, always on guard against the deceit and seduction of the evil one, and suggested some questions: Do I keep watch over myself, my heart, my feelings, my thoughts? Do I guard the treasure of grace, the presence of the Holy Spirit in me? Or do I let things be, feeling secure, believing everything is fine? He summed up three criteria: do not confuse the truth, because Jesus fights against the devil; whoever is not with Jesus is against him, with no halfway positions; and keep watch over our hearts, because the devil is cunning and is never cast out for good until the last day.

The Pope recalled the Gospel passage about the unclean spirit that leaves a person, wanders through deserted places looking for rest, and, finding none, returns to the house it left; finding it swept and in order, it brings seven other spirits worse than itself, and the person ends up worse off than before. That, he said, is the devil’s strategy: “You’ve become a Christian, go ahead in the faith, I’ll leave you in peace. But then, when you’ve grown used to it and aren’t so watchful and feel secure, I come back.” Saint Peter says the devil prowls around like a roaring lion. Some might say, “Father, you’re a bit old-fashioned, frightening us with these things,” but the Pope answered that it is not him, it is the Gospel, and it is no lie but the Word of the Lord. He asked for the grace to take these things seriously, reminding us that Jesus came to fight for our salvation and has conquered the devil, and pleaded: please, let us not bargain with the devil; let us not relativize; let us be vigilant, and always with Jesus!

That’s right, Holy Father: vigilance, so as to be always! with Jesus. As a phrase I once heard puts it: “Lord, remove from me everything that keeps me from you.”

In a few days, on December 1, Advent begins. It is a wonderful opportunity for all Catholics to prepare intensely and inwardly so that we can welcome the Child Jesus at Christmas with hearts free of all evil and full of God’s grace.

Thank you, Holy Father, for your wonderful and clear teachings. God has truly blessed us with a wise and very clear Pope. We love you very much, and we ask you to bless all our Venezuelan brothers and sisters, so that we may prepare very well this Advent and welcome our dear Child Jesus with clean hearts full of love! We ask your blessing for each and every Venezuelan!