© Vatican Media
Santa Marta: The Envy of the Devil Is the Root of the Evil in the World
He Can’t Tolerate the Incarnation
The devil is envious of human nature; he “can’t tolerate” the Incarnation: it’s “the root of our evils, of our temptations; it’s the root of wars, of famine, of all the calamities in the world,” said Pope Francis during the morning Mass at Casa Santa Marta in the Vatican on November 12, 2019.
In his homily, the Holy Father reflected on the First Reading (Wisdom 2:23-3, 9): “God created man for incorruption, and made him in the image of his own eternity, but through the devil’s envy death entered the world.”
“The envy of this proud angel who did not want to accept the Incarnation,” stressed the Pontiff, led him to “destroy humanity” by having “jealousy, envy, and concurrence “ enter it, instead of “all living as brothers, in peace.”
“’But Father, I don’t destroy anyone.’ No? What about your malicious gossip? When you speak badly of someone, you destroy him . . . malicious gossip kills, slander kills. ‘’’But Father, I was baptized; I’m a practicing Christian, how can I become a murderer?’” The Pope answered, because “there is war in us,” since Cain and Abel.
On the occasion of the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Holy Father referred to Nazism and “the tortures against all those who were not of’ ‘pure race.’” Behind these horrors, there is “someone who knocks at your heart to make you go on the evil path. Someone who sows destruction in our heart; who sows hatred.”
“And today we must say it clearly: there are so many sowers of hatred in the world, who destroy,” lamented the Pope, mentioning the temptation of politicians to “dirty the other, to destroy the other.”
Pope Francis added that the news is a recitation of hatred to destroy: attacks, wars . . . so many children die of hunger, of diseases . . . because the money that should be dedicated to that is used to make arms.”
“What does the devil envy?” asked the Pontiff. “our human nature . . . because the Son of God made Himself one of us. The devil can’t tolerate that. It’s “the root of the devil’s envy, it’s the roots of our evils, of our temptations; it’s the root of wars, of famine, of all the calamities in the world.”
“Why has so much hatred been sown in the world today? — he continued. “In families, who sometimes can’t be reconciled, in neighborhoods, at work, in politics . . . some say: ‘But Father, the devil doesn’t exist; it’s evil, an ethereal evil.’ But the Word of God is clear . . . read the Gospel: it’s clear, whether or not we have the faith.”
In order not to “enter the game of this great envious being, of the great liar,” Pope Francis recommends growing in one’s faith in Jesus, who took human nature “to fight against our flesh and overcome in our flesh.”
No comments:
Post a Comment