Don't dialogue with the devil, pope says at Mass
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By Cindy WoodenVATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Satan is a liar and a cheat whopromises people everything then leaves them with nothing, Pope Francis said athis early morning Mass.In his homily Feb. 10, Pope Francis contrasted the way Eveinteracted with the serpent in the garden of Eden and the way Jesus reacted to the devilafter spending 40 days in the desert.With Eve, "the father of lies" demonstrates how heis a specialist in tricking people, the pope said. First, he makes her feelcomfortable, then he begins a dialogue with her, leading her "step bystep" where he wants her to go."He's a trickster," the pope said. "Hepromises you everything and leaves you naked," like he left Adam and Eve.Jesus, on the other hand, does not enter into a dialoguewith the devil, but responds to his temptations by quoting Scripture, PopeFrancis said."The serpent, the devil, is astute," he said, but"you cannot dialogue with the devil.""We all know what temptations are, we all know becausewe all have them -- tempt...
By Cindy Wooden
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Satan is a liar and a cheat who
promises people everything then leaves them with nothing, Pope Francis said at
his early morning Mass.
In his homily Feb. 10, Pope Francis contrasted the way Eve
interacted with the serpent in the garden of Eden and the way Jesus reacted to the devil
after spending 40 days in the desert.
With Eve, "the father of lies" demonstrates how he
is a specialist in tricking people, the pope said. First, he makes her feel
comfortable, then he begins a dialogue with her, leading her "step by
step" where he wants her to go.
"He's a trickster," the pope said. "He
promises you everything and leaves you naked," like he left Adam and Eve.
Jesus, on the other hand, does not enter into a dialogue
with the devil, but responds to his temptations by quoting Scripture, Pope
Francis said.
"The serpent, the devil, is astute," he said, but
"you cannot dialogue with the devil."
"We all know what temptations are, we all know because
we all have them -- temptations of vanity, pride, covetousness, greed," he
said.
Instead of listening to the devil and hiding from God, the
pope said, when one feels tempted, the best thing to do is pray, "Help me,
Lord, I'm weak. I don't want to hide from you."
Such a prayer is a sign of courage, he said. "And if we
are tricked because of our weakness in the face of temptation, may we be
granted the courage to stand up and move forward," asking God's
forgiveness.
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Pope Francis waves while traveling by boat in Venice, Italy, for a meeting with young people at the Basilica della Madonna della Salute on April 28, 2024. Earlier in the day he met with inmates at a women's prison. / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNARome Newsroom, Apr 28, 2024 / 08:00 am (CNA).Pope Francis opened his one-day visit to Venice on Sunday morning with a meeting with female inmates where he reaffirmed the importance of fraternity and human dignity, noting that prison can be a place of new beginnings. "A stay in prison can mark the beginning of something new, through the rediscovery of the unsuspected beauty in us and in others, as symbolized by the artistic event you are hosting and the project to which you actively contribute," the pope said to the female inmates gathered in the intimate courtyard of the Women's Prison on the Island of Giudecca. Pope Francis left the Vatican by helicopter at approximately 6:30 in the mo...
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Pope Francis prays in front of the tomb of St. Mark the Evangelist inside St. Mark's Basilica in Venice on April 28, 2024. / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNARome Newsroom, Apr 28, 2024 / 09:35 am (CNA).Pope Francis had a full slate of events Sunday during his day trip to Venice, a trip that tied together a message of unity and fraternity with the artistic patrimony of a city that has been a privileged place of encounter across the centuries. "Faith in Jesus, the bond with him, does not imprison our freedom. On the contrary, it opens us to receive the sap of God's love, which multiplies our joy, takes care of us like a skilled vintner, and brings forth shoots even when the soil of our life becomes arid," the pope said to over 10,000 pilgrims gathered in St. Mark's Square. Framing his homily during the Mass on the theme of unity, one of the central points articulated throughout several audiences spread across the morning, Pope Francis reminded Christians: "Remaining ...
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Prayer house at San Simeone, Italy, September 2012. / Credit: Courtesy of Ricostruttori nella preghieraRome, Italy, Apr 28, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).Across Italy there are houses of prayer run by the Ricostruttori (Reconstructors) community, a Catholic movement dedicated to people who are far from the Church but attracted to spirituality, particularly Eastern meditation and Buddhist practices. The Reconstructors was founded in 1978 by Jesuit Father Gian Vittorio Cappelletto. "During the postconciliar period, the Church was faced with the need for new forms of evangelization and apostolate, to reach out to people who were drifting away," Don Roberto Rondanina, priest and superior of the Ricostruttori, explained to CNA. "It was a time when Eastern meditation, Hinduism, Buddhism, the New Age ... were beginning to spread in Europe." "Father Cappelletto, who lived in Turin, sought to understand the meaning of this 'flight to the East' and felt the need to find new forms of sp...
