By Cardinal Georges Marie Martin Cottier, o.p.
The devil is without a doubt the great seducer because he tries to lead man to sin by presenting evil as good. But the fall is our responsibility, because the conscience has the ability to distinguish what is good and what is evil. Out of envy and jealousy, the devil wants to drag man with him because he himself is a fallen angel. The fall of the first man was preceded by the fall of the angels…
If the devil has become evil, it is by his own culpability. It was he who, by using his freedom badly, made himself evil. The perfect character of the fallen angel’s freedom makes his choice definitive. This does not mean putting a limit to God’s mercy, which is infinite. The limit is constituted by the use that the devil made of freedom. It is he who impedes God from canceling his sin. The devil is fixed in his rejection. Moreover, the angel’s sin is always more grave than man’s.
Man has so many weaknesses in himself that in some way his responsibility may be veiled; the angel, being a most pure spirit, has no excuse when he chooses evil. The angel’s sin is a tremendous choice…
In man’s temptation we have almost a reflection of what was the very sin of the angel. Here is the supreme seduction: to put oneself in God’s place. Satan also did not recognize his condition of creature. Commenting on Paul, Saint Augustine said: “God would not have permitted evil if he had not willed to make of this evil a greatest good.”
There are goods that humanity would not have known if it was not for the presence of sin and evil… The most correct attitude that the Christian must have before the mystery of the Evil One is not ever to forget that the passion and death of Jesus have triumphed forever over the devil. This is a certainty…
Faith is the victory over the father of sin and lies. This means that the devil, being a creature, does not have infinite power. Despite all his efforts, the devil will never be able to impede the building of the Kingdom of God, which grows despite all the persecutions.
The Christian, thanks to fidelity in the faith, conquers evil. We must take the devil very seriously, but we must not think that he is omnipotent. Christian confidence, whish is nourished with prayer, humility and penance, must be above all confidence in the love of the Father. And this love is stronger than all. We must have the consciousness that that the mercy of God is so great as to surmount all obstacles.
Cardinal George Marie Martin Cottier, OP, is the papal theologian.