Pope Francis on the devil: 'The evil one conceals himself, and comes with very polite friends, knocking at the door'

How to combat the devil

Pope Francis delivered a homily on one of his favorite topics Friday morning during a mass at the Saint Martha residence. The homily focused on how the devil's temptations never wane.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - Pope Francis' recent homily in the chapel at the Saint Martha residence was on one of his favorite topics: temptation. The pontiff told his audience that the devil continues to seek ways to become masters of man's consciences in an effort to prevent them from knowing the difference between what is right and what is wrong.

The Gospel reading that Friday morning mass was about Jesus and how he cast away devils. He was initially accused of being able to do so through the power of Beelzebul, the prince of demons by the Pharisees. The Scriptures also mentioned the devil's capabilities to returned after being cast out, oftentimes bringing other demons to the place he had been before.
The pontiff said, "temptations always return, the evil spirit never gets tired." The devil is patient and if you kick him out, he will wait to return. "If you let him in, you fall into a worse situation."
In the gospel story the pope shared, he clarified that it was obvious the devil was the cause of problems, but by the end of the story, "The evil one conceals himself, and comes with his very polite friends, knocking at the door, asking permission, but then moves in and spends time with the man and, little by little, starts giving the orders."
Pope Francis continued, saying that "calming the conscience, numbing the conscience, this is a great evil. When the devil manages to numb your conscience he has won a real victory ... he has become the master of your conscience."
The lesson to be learned from the Scripture is that the best way to combat the devil is through discernment and vigilance. We need to see what comes from God and recognize it from what comes from the devil, who "always tries to deceive" and "make us choose the wrong path."
As Christian, the pope wants us to "discern and look well to see where things come from, and what their root is." The pontiff reminded the congregation that the Church "always encourages us to examine our conscience: What happened in my heart today, why? Did this well-mannered devil visit me today with his friends? Where do these comments, these words, these teaching come from, who says this? Discern and keep watch, so as not to let in the one who deceives, seduces and fascinates. We ask the Lord for his grace."

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