(AsiaNews) - To prevent evil from entering into our hearts, there is an ancient, but very good, practice, the examination of conscience. We should carry this out every evening, to "ensure" the devil who "is patient" and "very clever" does not enter . This was the focus of Pope Francis' homily at morning Mass in Casa Santa Marta, commenting on the Gospel of the day which reminds us that the devil always returns, he never stops tempting man: "The devil is patient", "he will never give up on what he wants for himself".
As reported by Vatican Radio, the Pope observed that "After the temptations, in the desert, when Jesus was tempted by the devil, in Luke's version it says that the devil left Him for a time, but during the life of Jesus he returned again and again: when they put Him to the test, when they tried to trap Him, in the Passion, finally on the Cross. 'But if you are the Son of God... but you come, you come from us, so we cannot believe.' And we all know that these words touch the heart: 'But can you do it? Let me see! No, you can't.' That's how the devil even to the end [dealt] with Jesus... and likewise with us."
We need to guard our hearts, where the Holy Spirit dwells, the Pope said, "so that other spirits do not enter. To guard the heart, as a house is guarded, with a key." And then to watch the heart, like a sentinel: "How often," he asked, "do wicked thoughts, wicked intentions, jealousy, envy enter in? So many things that enter in. But who has opened that door? Where do they enter from? If I do not realize [how much] enters into my heart, my heart becomes a piazza, where everything comes and goes. A heart without intimacy, a heart where the Lord cannot speak and cannot even be heard."
"And Jesus says something else here - doesn't He? - that sounds a little strange: 'He who does not gather with me scatters.' He uses the word 'to gather.' To have a gathering heart, a heart in which we know what happens, and here and there you can perform a practice as old as the Church, but good: the examination of conscience. Who of us, at night, at the end of the day, remains by himself, by herself, and asks the question: what happened today in my heart? What happened? What things have passed through my heart? If we don't do this, we have truly failed to know how to watch and guard [our hearts] well."
The examination of conscience "is a grace, because to guard our heart is to guard the Holy Spirit, Who is within us": "We know - Jesus says clearly - that the devil always returns. Even at the end of life, He, Jesus, gives us an example of this. And to guard, to watch, so that the demons don't enter in, we must be able to gather ourselves, that is, to stand in silence before ourselves and before God, and at the end of the day ask ourselves: 'What happened today in my heart? Did anyone I don't know enter? Is the key in its place?' And this will help us to defend ourselves from so much wickedness, even from that which we could do if these demons, who are very clever and at the end would cheat all of us, even if they enter."
http://www.asianews.it/news-en/Pope:-an-examination-of-conscience-to-defend-us-from-the-devil-who-is-patient-and-very-clever-32388.html
教宗清晨彌撒：守護心靈，如同守護一個家、一把鑰匙
良心省察幫助我們抵制罪惡
（亞洲新聞及梵蒂岡電台訊）- 我反省，「在初期教會時代十分普遍的做法，也是很好的。」每天晚上這樣做，有助於「監督」以便防止魔鬼進入到我們的心裡。魔鬼是很「有耐性的」、「狡猾的。」這是今天教宗方濟各在彌撒聖祭講道中圍繞福音講解的道理。福音記載魔鬼總是會來，永遠也不會放棄誘惑人。「撒旦有耐性」， 「不會放手他們想要的。」
據梵蒂岡廣播電台報導，教宗指出「耶穌在曠野中遭到魔鬼誘惑後，《路加福音》指魔鬼離開了祂一段時間，但在耶穌的生活中又回來了、多次回來：當他們考驗祂時、試圖給祂設置陷阱時、在祂受難時、直到十字架上。『如果你是天主子，那你就來呀，來到我們中間，這樣我們就相信了』。我們都知道這句話直接觸動了人心：『你有這個本事嗎？讓我看看！不，你沒這個本事』。正如魔鬼最後對耶穌所作的，也對我們這樣做。」
需要保護我們的心，那居住著聖神的心，「不讓其他神進來。」守護心靈，如同守護一個家、一把鑰匙。要像哨兵一樣警惕自己的心靈。「多少次，我們的心裡有過壞的想法、壞主意、嫉妒、仇視。許多東西進來了，但誰開啟了那扇門？它們又是從什麼地方進入的呢？如果我沒有註意到」多少「進入了我的心裡，我的心便成了廣場，所有人都進進出出。一個沒有隱私的心、一個上主不能講話的心，甚至不能被聆聽的心。」
「耶穌說了另外的，不是嗎？似乎有些奇怪：『誰沒有接納到我，便迷失了』。」採用了「接納」一詞，「擁有一顆接納的心、一顆懂得在發生什麼的心。這裡可以採用初期教會十分常用的方式，也是好的：自我反省。我們中的哪一個人，晚上，也就是一天結束前，只剩下自己時、孤獨一人時，自問過：『今天我的心裡發生了什麼？有什麼我不認識的進來了嗎』？如果不這樣做，那我們真的不知道怎樣警惕和保護好我們的心了。」
最後，教宗指出，自我反省「是恩寵。因為保護我們的心是保護聖神、在我們內的聖神。」「我們知道，耶穌說得很清楚，魔鬼會回來、總會回來。即便是在臨終時，祂也給我們作出了榜樣，耶穌給我們作出了榜樣。為了監督，不讓魔鬼進來，就需要懂得接納我們自己，即學會在自己、在天主面前保持沉默；在一天即將結束時自問：『今天我的心裡發生了什麼？有什麼我不認識的進來了嗎？鑰匙放好了嗎』？這將有助於我們免遭許多壞東西傷害，包括我們自己能做的，如果魔鬼進來了，他們是狡猾的，最後就會詐取一切。」
--Pope Francis, 10 October 2014, Santa Marta
Pope Francis: Put a lock in your heart
