During his homily at Casa Santa Marta, Pope Francis warned against relentless fury, a type of hatred he said always indicates the presence of the devil.
POPE FRANCIS
Relentless fury is very subtle. Let's think about how the devil used this relentless fury not only against Jesus, but in the persecution of Christians. He looked for the most sophisticated methods to bring them to apostasy, to distance them from God. This is, as we say colloquially, diabolic.
He explained that silence is the appropriate response to daily “small acts of fury,” including gossip. He said it is important to know when to dialogue and when to remain silent.
SUMMARY OF POPE'S HOMILY
(Source: Vatican News)
Pope Francis said that the first reading, from the book of Wisdom, reads almost like a news report about what will happen to Jesus. “It’s almost an historical account of what will happen later,” he said. It tells how “the wicked” are obsessed with Jesus because He reproves them for their evil way of life; and so they plan to test Him “with revilement and torture,” and ultimately “condemn Him to a shameful death.”
“This is not simple hatred,” the pope said, but a kind of “relentless fury” that is inspired by the devil. As he did with Job, the devil tries to separate people from God, “to destroy the work of God.” This type of fierce determination to destroy others comes “from the devil.” It can be seen not only in how the devil attacked Jesus, but also in the persecution of Christians. The devil, said Pope Francis, uses “the most sophisticated means to lead [Christians] to apostasy, to lead them away from God” – and this is literally “diabolic.”
How should we respond to such ferocious determination, the pope asked? He said there are only two appropriate ways to react: to dialogue, or to remain silent. We should do what Jesus did: In the Gospels, we see that Jesus spoke out, but when He knew that words would do not any good, He was silent. In the face of “the spirit of fury,” Jesus remained silent, the pope emphasized, and in silence, He underwent His Passion.
Silence, said Pope Francis, is also the appropriate response to the “little acts of fury” that we face each day, such as gossip. Chattering about people behind their back, gossiping about them, is a kind of “social harassment,” not as strong as persecution, perhaps, but nonetheless a kind of fury, because it destroys others.
“Let us ask the Lord for the grace to fight against the evil spirit,” the pope said in conclusion, “to dialogue when we need to dialogue, but, in the face of the spirit of fury, to have the courage to remain silent, and allow others to speak.”
