{"id":8786,"date":"2014-10-30T14:53:00","date_gmt":"2014-10-30T14:53:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/news\/the-devil-is-no-myth-hes-real-and-we-must-fight-him-pope-says-84177\/"},"modified":"2014-10-30T14:53:00","modified_gmt":"2014-10-30T14:53:00","slug":"the-devil-is-no-myth-hes-real-and-we-must-fight-him-pope-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2014\/10\/the-devil-is-no-myth-hes-real-and-we-must-fight-him-pope-says\/","title":{"rendered":"The devil is no myth – he’s real and we must fight him, Pope says"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

<\/p>\n

Vatican City, Oct 30, 2014 \/ 08:53 am (CNA\/EWTN News<\/a>).- In his homily on Thursday, Pope Francis said that the devil is more than an idea, and in order to fight him, we must follow St. Paul\u2019s instructions and put on the armor of God which protects us.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cIn this generation, like so many others, people have been led to believe that the devil is a myth, a figure, an idea, the idea of evil. But the devil exists and we must fight against him,\u201d the Pope told those present in the Vatican\u2019s Saint Martha house for his Oct. 30 daily Mass.<\/p>\n

\tHe turned to St. Paul\u2019s Letter to the Ephesians, from which the day\u2019s first reading was taken and in which the apostle warns against the temptations of the devil, telling Christians to clothe themselves with the armor of God so they can resist.<\/p>\n

\tPope Francis said that a Christian life requires both strength and courage, and needs to be defended because it is a constant battle with the devil, who tempts with worldly attractions, the passions and our flesh.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cFrom whom do I have to defend myself? What must I do?\u201d he asked, saying that St. Paul tells us to \u201cput on God\u2019s full armor, meaning that God acts as a defense, helping us to resist Satan\u2019s temptations. Is this clear?\u201d<\/p>\n

\tNo spiritual or Christian life is possible without the need to resist temptation, the Roman Pontiff observed, explaining how our battle is not with small, trivial things, but rather with the principalities and ruling forces of this world, which are rooted in the devil and his followers.<\/p>\n

\tThe Bishop of Rome pointed out how there are many in the current generation who no longer believe in the devil, but rather think of him as \u201ca myth, a figure, an idea, the idea of evil.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tHowever the devil does exist and we must constantly be on guard, he said, noting how \u201cPaul tells us this, it\u2019s not me saying it! The Word of God is telling us this. But we\u2019re not all convinced of this.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tPope Francis then recounted St. Paul\u2019s description of the armor of God, of which the apostle says there are different types.<\/p>\n

\tThe apostle also urges the Ephesians to stand firm with the truth as \u201ca belt around your waist,\u201d the Pope observed, saying that the devil is a liar, and that in order to defeat him we always fight with the truth and with faith in God.<\/p>\n

\tLike Saint Paul says, our faith in God is a shield to defend ourselves against Satan, who \u201cdoesn\u2019t throw flowers at us (but) burning arrows\u201d intended to kill, the pontiff explained.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cLife is a military endeavor. Christian life is a battle, a beautiful battle, because when God emerges victorious in every step of our life, this gives us joy, a great happiness,\u201d the Pope continued, saying that our joy lies in the fact that it is the Lord who is the victor within us, giving us the free gift of salvation.<\/p>\n

\tHowever, Pope Francis also cautioned that \u201cwe\u2019re all a bit lazy, aren\u2019t we, in this battle and we allow ourselves to get carried away by our passions, by various temptations.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tThis is because each one of us is a sinner, he said, telling those present to not be discouraged, but rather to have courage and take strength in the knowledge that the Lord is with us.<\/p>\n

\n<\/a>\n<\/div>\n

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Vatican City, Oct 30, 2014 \/ 08:53 am (CNA\/EWTN News).- In his homily on Thursday, Pope Francis said that the devil is more than an idea, and in order to fight him, we must follow St. Paul’s instructions and put on the armor of God which protects…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1031,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8786","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-vatican"],"yoast_head":"\nThe devil is no myth – he's real and we must fight him, Pope says<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Vatican City, Oct 30, 2014 \/ 08:53 am (CNA\/EWTN News).- In his homily on Thursday, Pope Francis said that the devil is more than an idea, and in order to fight him, we must follow St. Paul’s instructions and put on the armor of God which protects...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, 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