Friday, January 10, 2020

War And The Devil

Quoted from Vatican News [1]:

“To make war,” [the Pope] said, “is the temptation of the devil.”

The following is quoted from the same source [2]:

Love, the Pope emphasized, is revealed in “little things”. “If there is war in my heart”, he argues, “there will be war in my family, in my neighbourhood and my workplace”. Jealousy, envy, slander, lead us to war with one another. They “destroy”, they are like “filth”.  

Two items that are missing from the list of "filth" are pride and greed (personal and collective) for power, domination and natural resources.

According to "Father Juan José Gallego, an exorcist from the Archdiocese of Barcelona in Catalonia, Spain," "pride is the sin the devil likes the most [emphasis added]." [3]  The reason could be that many sins stem from pride, with humility being the antidote.

Someone who is humble does not mind coming in second or even last, and accepts being lowly, being the fallen crumb that begs, that cannot ever hope to be recognized let alone act like insatiable gluttons that hoard power and wealth from expansions and possessions of natural resources.

As Christ said [4]:

“So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”

Christ also said, quoted without paragraph numbers [5]:

A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is demon-possessed and suffering terribly.”

Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.”

He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.”

The woman came and knelt before him. “Lord, help me!” she said.

He replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.”

“Yes it is, Lord,” she said. “Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.”

Then Jesus said to her, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.” And her daughter was healed at that moment.


[1] https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope-francis/mass-casa-santa-marta/2020-01/pope-francis-mass-santa-marta-love-war-peace-heart.html
[2] Ibid..
[3] https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/what-is-the-devils-favorite-sin-an-exorcist-responds-55789
[4] https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+20%3A16&version=NIV
[5] https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+15%3A22-28&version=NIV

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