A reflection for the First Sunday of Lent It seems almost scandalous to think that Jesus experienced temptation. We think of temptation as something shameful, something that only happens to us and not to others, something that distances us from God. But in the Gospel for the First Sunday of Lent we see Jesus tempted ...read more

Among the phrases that captured people’s attention during the Pope’s visit to Mexico was a phrase ad-libbed during his homily in Ecatepec. Lifting his gaze from the text in front of him, lifting his right hand to his forehead, Pope Francis exclaimed “let’s get this in our heads, you cannot dialogue with the devil.”   ...read more

The violent Paris attacks are not a sign of war, they are only proof of cowardly desperation. The criminals choose their victims at random from the streets, from a theatre, from the stadium… in some cases they choose them for their religious beliefs. How it is possible that young men became so disenfranchised from society and ...read more

So far we’ve looked at what the Scriptures and tradition tell us about the “prince of darkness”. But is this whole “devil” thing something of the past? I remember watching the film The Exorcist and thinking that the whole scenario didn’t seem real to me. I don’t think demons sit around behind a tree waiting ...read more

  Last week we looked at the figure of the devil and why the Church teaches that Lucifer was an archangel created by God, who rebelled. There are many names for the devil. You may have heard Satan, Lucifer, Beelzebub and Diabolos. He is also referred to as Belial, Prince of Darkness, Prince of demons, ...read more

Recently someone asked me why Pope Francis keeps mentioning the devil, as if the devil actually existed (see Fr. Rosica’s recent post, Why in the devil does Pope Francis speak so much about the prince of this world? )This person alleged that, just as ogres and leprechauns, devils do not exist. But the Catholic Church is ...read more