Devil exists... we have to fight against him

  There’s a great misconception about the Devil, the prince of darkness, or as Jesus calls him, “the prince of this world”. There’s a belief among many people that the devil is a myth, an idea or imagination. No. Not at all.

 Pope Francis, in his homily last week, stated, “they wanted us to believe that the Devil was a myth, a figure, an idea, the idea of evil. However, the Devil exists and we have to fight against him. St Paul recalls it, ‘the Word of God says it’, yet it seems that ‘we aren’t quite convinced’ of this reality.” The prince of darkness is the one who tempt people away from God and salvation.

Fr Gabriele Amorth

  In his powerful book 'An exorcist tells his story', Fr Gabriele Amorth, the renowned chief exorcist of Rome, says, “St John (1John 5:19) affirms that “the whole world in the power of the evil one.” By word “the world” John means everything that’s opposed to God, Fr Amorth says.

 Is the Church doing enough to defeat the machinations of the Devil?

 According to Fr Amorth, who was granted the faculty of exorcist by Cardinal Ugo Poletti, the Pope's vicar of the Diocese of Rome, while the pastoral ministry (of exorcism) is entirely overlooked in the Catholic world today, it was not so in the past. "In some denominations of the Protestant church, exorcisms are still practiced frequently and fruitfully," he writes.

 Fr Amorth says in the book, "Bishops must realize that this ministry is entirely entrusted to their care; it's only they who can practice or delegate and exorcism. Sadly since most bishops have never performed an exorcism, they are seldom aware of the extent of the need." The scarcity of exorcists clearly denotes a lack of interest on the part of episcopate in general. “The first step, the fundamental step, is to reawaken the awareness of bishops and priests, according to sound doctrine the Scripture, tradition, and the Magesterium have always transmitted," the book says.

 What harm can the devil cause to the loving? "He talks of the ordinary and extraordinary activities. There are six different forms for the second category: External physical pain caused by satan, demonic possession, diabolical oppression, diabolic obsession, diabolic infestation and diabolical subjugation or dependence," Fr Amorth writes.

  Pope Francis said the life of a Christian ‘is a military life’ and it takes ‘strength and courage’ to ‘withstand’ the Devil’s temptations and to ‘proclaim’ the truth. This is a ‘beautiful battle’ because it gives us that joy the Lord has prevailed within us, that great happiness. It takes strength and courage, the Pontiff explained, for it is not a ‘simple confrontation’ but a ‘continuous battle’ with the “Prince of Darkness”. It is this close confrontation, the Pope indicated, which is referred to in the catechism in which “they taught us that in Christian life there are three enemies: the demon, the world and the flesh”. It’s about the everyday struggle with “greed, lust, gluttony, arrogance, pride, envy” -- all vices “which are the wound of original sin.”

Pope says, “We could ask ourselves: Is the salvation that Jesus gives us free? Yes, but you have to protect it. And as Paul writes, to do so we have to “put on the whole armor of God” for “one cannot think of a spiritual life, a Christian life” without withstanding temptations, without battling the Devil”. How is this “armour of God” made? The Apostle provides a few details: Stand, therefore, having girded your loins with truth. Thus, first of all, Truth is required because “the Devil is a liar, he is the father of liars”. Then, Paul continues, one must put on “the breastplate of righteousness”: indeed we cannot be Christians without continuously working to be just.

 In fact, a Christian is a man or a woman of peace and if there isn’t “peace in the heart” then there’s something wrong: it’s peace that “gives you strength for the battle”.

 In the end, the Letter to the Ephesians reads: “above all taking the shield of faith”. “One thing that would really help us would be to ask ourselves: How is my faith? Do I believe or not? Or do I partly believe and partly not? Am I somewhat worldly and somewhat a believer? When we recite the Creed, do we do so only in “words? Are we aware without faith we can’t go forward, we can’t safeguard the salvation of God?” Pope says.

 The armour of a Christian  also includes the “helmet of salvation”, the “sword of the Spirit” and prayer. St Paul advises: “Pray at all times.”

“Pray, pray… one cannot pursue a Christian life without vigilance,” he says.