Pope Francis: The Devil Is No Myth — and We Must Fight Him

The Holy Father told the gathering for his Thursday Mass that no spiritual or Christian life is possible without the need to resist temptation.

(photo: CNA/Lauren Cater)

VATICAN CITY — 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 us.

“In 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,” the Pope told those present in the Vatican’s St. Martha guesthouse for his daily Mass on Oct. 30.

He turned to St. Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians, from which the day’s 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.

Pope 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.

“From whom do I have to defend myself? What must I do?” he asked, saying that St. Paul tells us to “put on God’s full armor, meaning that God acts as a defense, helping us to resist Satan’s temptations. Is this clear?”

No spiritual or Christian life is possible without the need to resist temptation, he 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.

We must constantly be on guard, he said, noting how “Paul tells us this, it’s not me saying it! The word of God is telling us this. But we’re not all convinced of this.”

Pope Francis then recounted St. Paul’s description of the armor of God, of which the apostle says there are different types.

The apostle also urges the Ephesians to stand firm with the truth as “a belt around your waist,” 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.

Like St. Paul says, our faith in God is a shield to defend ourselves against Satan, who “doesn’t throw flowers at us (but) burning arrows” intended to kill, the Pope explained.

“Life 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,” 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.

However, Pope Francis also cautioned, “We’re all a bit lazy, aren’t we, in this battle? And we allow ourselves to get carried away by our passions, by various temptations.”

This is because each one of us is a sinner, he said, telling those present to not be discouraged but to have courage and take strength in the knowledge that the Lord is with us.

Shannon Mullen, Editor-in-Chief of CNA

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Shannon Mullen, Editor-in-Chief of Catholic News Agency.

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“As a young newspaper reporter, I drew great inspiration from Pope John Paul II’s annual remarks on World Communications Day,” Mullen said adding, “He emphasized that even those in the secular media could serve as apostles in the cause of human dignity, justice and the pursuit of truth."