Showing posts with label devil. Show all posts
Showing posts with label devil. Show all posts

Friday, April 1, 2022

THE MAIN WAYS TO CONQUER TEMPTATIONS

 


“God never allows us to be tempted beyond our strength but will always give us the grace ,which we need, in order to resist, “God is faithful,” St Paul writes, “and will not permit you to be tempted beyond your strength but with the temptation, will always give you a way out that you may be able to bear it” (1 Cor 10-13).


The man who is so discouraged by frequent falls that he surrenders to temptation and resigns himself to the slavery of sin, as if there were no other way out, is making a fatal mistake.

God is infinitely good and merciful and loves us all, even those who are sinners.

Remember the parable of the Prodigal Son and of the lost sheep,

How could our Heavenly Father abandon us and not give us the strength to resist evi?


If we are discouraged, let us ask God’s help for He loves us and knows how weak we are.

“He knows how we are formed” (Ps 102:14).

It is a favourite trick of the devil, to persuade us that nothing can help us.


Let us cast aside all thoughts of discouragement, therefore and arm ourselves with the necessary spiritual weapons.

With humble perseverance and the grace of God, we are sure to triumph.”


CARDINAL ANTONIO BACCI

Sunday, July 31, 2016

NO DIALOGUE WITH THE DEVIL

There Can Be No Dialogue with the Devil 

“There can be no dialogue with the prince of this world: let this be clear! Today, dialogue is necessary among us humans, it is necessary for peace. … But with that prince, it is impossible to dialogue; one can only respond with the Word of God who defends us, for the world hates us—and just as he did with Jesus, so will he do with us. ‘Only look,’ he will say, ‘just do this one small little scam…it is a small matter, nothing really.” And so he begins to lead us on a road that is slightly off. This is a pious lie: ‘Do it, do it, do it: there is no problem,’ and it begins little by little, always, no? Then [he says]: ‘But…you’re good, you’re a good person—You [get away with] it.’ It is flattering—and he softens us by flattery: and then, we fall into the trap.”
……….Pope Francis – Vatican Radio
Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you…..James 4:7

Wednesday, September 30, 2015

MAN'S OLDEST FOE

 Warnings from Pope Francis on Man's Oldest Foe, the Devil



1) “When one does not profess Jesus Christ, one professes the worldliness of the devil.”
2) “The Prince of this world, Satan, doesn’t want our holiness, he doesn’t want us to follow Christ. Maybe some of you might say: ‘But Father, how old fashioned you are to speak about the devil in the 21st century!’ But look out because the devil is present! The devil is here… even in the 21st century! And we mustn’t be naïve, right? We must learn from the Gospel how to fight against Satan.”
3) “[The Devil] attacks the family so much. That demon does not love it and seeks to destroy it. […] May the Lord bless the family. May He make it strong in this crisis, in which the devil wishes to destroy it.”
4) “It is enough to open a newspaper and we see that around us there is the presence of evil, the Devil is at work. But I would like to say in a loud voice ‘God is stronger.’ Do you believe this, that God is stronger?”
5) “Let us ask the Lord for the grace to take these things seriously. He came to fight for our salvation. He won against the devil! Please, let us not do business with the devil! He seeks to return home, to take possession of us… Do not relativize; be vigilant! And always with Jesus!”
6) “The presence of the devil is on the first page of the Bible, and the Bible ends as well with the presence of the devil, with the victory of God over the devil.”
7) “Either you are with me, says the Lord, or you are against me… [Jesus came] to give us the freedom… [from] the enslavement the devil has over us… On this point, there are no nuances. There is a battle and a battle where salvation is at play, eternal salvation. We must always be on guard, on guard against deceit, against the seduction of evil.”
8) “The devil plants evil where there is good, trying to divide people, families and nations. But God… looks into the ‘field’ of each person with patience and mercy: he sees the dirt and the evil much better than we do, but he also sees the seeds of good and patiently awaits their germination.”
9) “The devil cannot stand seeing the sanctity of a church or the sanctity of a person, without trying to do something.”
10) “Note well how Jesus responds [to temptation]: He doesn’t dialogue with Satan, as Eve did in the terrestrial Paradise. Jesus knows well that one can’t dialogue with Satan, because he is so cunning. For this reason, instead of dialoguing, as Eve did, Jesus chooses to take refuge in the Word of God and to respond with the power of this Word. Let us remind ourselves of this in the moment of temptation…: not arguing with Satan, but defending ourselves with the Word of God. And this will save us.”
11) “We too need to guard the faith, guard it from darkness. Many times, however, it is a darkness under the guise of light. This is because the devil, as saint Paul, says, disguises himself at times as an angel of light.”
12) “Behind every rumor there is jealousy and envy. And gossip divides the community, destroys the community. Rumors are the weapons of the devil.”
13) “Let us always remember… that the Adversary wants to keep us separated from God and therefore instills disappointment in our hearts when we do not see our apostolic commitment immediately rewarded. Every day the devil sows the seeds of pessimism and bitterness in our hearts. … Let us open ourselves to the breath of the Holy Spirit, who never ceases to sow seeds of hope and confidence.”