Pope Francis: The Devil Is Real, Not A Myth

The devil truly exists and is not a myth as many young people have been led to believe.

Pope Francis made the firm declaration in his Oct. 30 homily at St. Martha house in Vatican City.

"In this generation, like so many others, people have been led to believe that the devil is a myth, a figure, an idea, the idea of evil. But the devil exists and we must fight against him," the Pope told a congregation.

Since the devil is real, Christians must always be on guard and clothe themselves with the "armor of God" so they can resist it, the Pope said.

Pope Francis said this armor consists of different types as St. Paul described it. One of them is the truth. The Pope quoted St. Paul as saying that Christians should wear the truth as "a belt around your waist," adding that the devil is a liar. To defeat Satan, Christians must fight with the truth and with faith in God, Pope Francis said.

The Pope likened life to a military campaign.

"Christian life is a battle, a beautiful battle, because when God emerges victorious in every step of our life, this gives us joy, a great happiness," he said.

However, the Pope admitted that many Christians are "lazy" and allow themselves to "get carried away by our passions, by various temptations" coming from Satan. But instead of being discouraged by this, "we must take strength in the fact that the Lord is with us."

This was not the first time that Pope Francis tackled the existence of Satan in the world.

Here are excerpts from some of his previous homilies on the subject:

• "Maybe some of you might say: 'But Father, how old fashioned you are to speak about the devil in the 21st century!' But look out because the devil is present! The devil is here... even in the 21st century! And we mustn't be naïve." – Homily, April 10,2014

• "[The Devil] attacks the family so much. That demon does not love it and seeks to destroy it. [...] May the Lord bless the family. May He make it strong in this crisis, in which the devil wishes to destroy it." – Homily, June 1, 2014.

• "It is enough to open a newspaper and we see that around us there is the presence of evil, the Devil is at work. But I would like to say in a loud voice 'God is stronger.'" -- General audience, June 12, 2013.

• "Let us ask the Lord for the grace to take these things seriously. He came to fight for our salvation. He won against the devil! Please, let us not do business with the devil! He seeks to return home, to take possession of us... Do not relativize; be vigilant! And always with Jesus!" – Homily, Nov. 8, 2013.

• "The devil plants evil where there is good, trying to divide people, families and nations. But God... looks into the 'field' of each person with patience and mercy: he sees the dirt and the evil much better than we do, but he also sees the seeds of good and patiently awaits their germination." -- Homily, July 20, 2014.

• "Note well how Jesus responds [to temptation]: He doesn't dialogue with Satan, as Eve did in the terrestrial Paradise. Jesus knows well that one can't dialogue with Satan, because he is so cunning. For this reason, instead of dialoguing, as Eve did, Jesus chooses to take refuge in the Word of God and to respond with the power of this Word. Let us remind ourselves of this in the moment of temptation...: not arguing with Satan, but defending ourselves with the Word of God. And this will save us." – Angelus address, March 9, 2014.

• "We too need to guard the faith, guard it from darkness. Many times, however, it is a darkness under the guise of light. This is because the devil, as Saint Paul, says, disguises himself at times as an angel of light." – Homily, Jan. 6, 2014.

• "Behind every rumor there is jealousy and envy. And gossip divides the community, destroys the community. Rumors are the weapons of the devil." -- Homily, Jan. 23, 2014.

• "Let us always remember... that the Adversary wants to keep us separated from God and therefore instills disappointment in our hearts when we do not see our apostolic commitment immediately rewarded. Every day the devil sows the seeds of pessimism and bitterness in our hearts. ... Let us open ourselves to the breath of the Holy Spirit, who never ceases to sow seeds of hope and confidence." – Speech, June4 18, 2013.