"The Holy Spirit pushes us to enter the desert.""With the devil do not dialogue!" reminds Pope at AngelusIn the audience On September 25, Pope Francis continued his catechesis on the Holy Spirit. On this occasion he focused on the passage of the temptations in the desert.
The Pontiff began his reflection by clarifying an error that could arise when reading this episode of the Gospel. "In going into the desert, Jesus obeys an inspiration of the Holy Spirit, he does not fall into a trap of the enemy." The confirmation of this is read in a verse of the Gospel after the temptations, as the Pope pointed out: "Once He had overcome the trial, He - it is written - returned to Galilee 'full of the power of the Holy Spirit'".
The existence of Satan
This detail is very important, because the Pontiff pointed out that "Jesus in the desert freed himself from Satan", so that "now he can free himself from Satan". Something essential in an age in which "at a certain cultural level, it is believed that Satan simply does not exist".
"However," Francis warned, "our technological and secularized world is full of magicians, occultism, spiritualism, astrologers, sellers of amulets and spells and, unfortunately, real satanic sects." The devil, in a cunning way, "expelled from faith, re-enters with superstition".
In fact, "the strongest proof of Satan's existence is not found in sinners and obsessed people, but in the saints!" Pope Francis confirmed. But it cannot be denied either that "the devil is present and active in certain extreme and 'inhuman' forms of evil and wickedness that we see around us."
Overcoming Satan with the Word of God
The Holy Father has insisted that "it is in the lives of the saints that the devil is forced to come out into the open, to set himself 'against the light'". They are also the ones who are often best equipped to confront Satan. "The battle against the spirit of evil is won as Jesus won it in the desert: with blows of the Word of God". And along with this, "St. Peter also suggests another means that Jesus did not need, but we do: vigilance. Francis also repeated an idea that he often says: "You cannot dialogue with the devil.
In this regard, the Pontiff quoted a Father of the Church, Caesar of Arles. This saint explained that after Christ's victory on the Cross, the devil "is tied, like a dog to a chain; he can bite no one, except those who, defying danger, approach him... He can bark, he can urge, but he cannot bite, except those who wish to do so."
Today, the Pope noted, "modern technology, in addition to many positive resources to be appreciated, also offers innumerable means to 'give the devil a chance,' and many fall into his trap."
Confidence in the victory of Christ
However, the Holy Father said that "the awareness of the devil's action in history should not discourage us". Catholics must feel "confidence and security" because "Christ has conquered the devil and has given us the Holy Spirit to make his victory our own".
The Pope concluded his meditation by inviting us to pray with the hymn "Veni Creator": "Remove the enemy from us, give us peace quickly. Be our guide so that we may avoid all evil".
