“The powers of darkness and the night are always near” –with these sharp words, this is how Pope Bergoglio expressed himself just last night on his visit to the Jesuit Brothers. To hear a Pope so often refer to evil forces, has a certain effect. It is quite common to hear him speak of the devil and his evil doings. Many are surprised and some even outraged by the insistence of Pope Francis to warn both the faithful and the pastors against the powers of darkness. Evidently, many had hoped never to hear the use of certain words and hear speak about certain figures, considered by quite a few theologians to be something that should be overcome and forgotten. The action of Satan is interpreted by many good contemporary scholars as being simply a symbology pertaining to the old ‘repertoire.’
We often hear say that the first who donot believe in the devil are in fact the same priests. Naturally, one should not generalise, but in this social climate which is so obscure and so superficial, even some clergy can be an offspring of this disease called absolute relativism. People who are supposed to represent the world of God, instead, seem to get lost in worldly ‘ fashions’. Once again, history repeats itself in witnessing man, the”original sin” , betray his Creator, believing wrongly he can do without, plunges into the evil vortex of self-sufficiency to find himself alone and fearful. Yes, because this is the game of the slimy serpent, the devil, who attempts in deceiving humanity, bringing him to vice and all sorts of vanities and then throwing him into the absolute chaos of solitude.
His victory is to break the bonds and win over mankind from God, separate him from Him, so that by denying and ignoring the Maker of life, he will never find his way again. The Holy Father knows well the enemy and has fought with all his strength as a good Shepherd should, and as the Saints have done, as well as those who were dissatisfied by a mediocre life. The gift of faith is such a serious matter, that many waste it while others play with it, thinking that religion, the Holy, even as far as the supernatural, can be manupulated. But this is not possible, and can indeed turn out to be a terrible boomerang on those who, while saying they administer spiritual gifts, are indeed committing ‘deeds of darkness’ and evil, which the Pope has asked us to defend ourselves against.
For a Follower of Christ, there is a powerful weapon that can fight off evil as an exorcism, and it is called the ‘Sacrament of Reconciliation’. For others instead, i.e. for every man of good will, there is another “weapon” just as effective that expels all forms of evil: that is love, and the ability to love your enemy, also by correcting him and by atoning for his mistake.
Love, the real love, even for those who have not received the gift of faith, is the only truly plausible gesture that can leave behind a profound mark forever.
Translation provided by Marina Stronati
