Jesus called him the Murderer. The devil seeks to kill the grace of God in our soul and then take our soul to hell.

Given these titles and roles, it is little wonder that Christian art has depicted Satan as an ugly, horrible beast with horns. Even in the morality plays of the Middle Ages, Satan could appear in disguise but was always recognized by his limp, a sign of his fall from heaven.

Nevertheless, we are confident that the power of God will always triumph over that of Satan; good over evil and love over hatred. St. John reminds us, “It was to destroy the devil’s works that the Son of God revealed Himself” (1 Jn 3:8).

We take the presence and power of Satan seriously. We continue to ask the candidates in our baptismal liturgy, “Do you reject Satan? And all his works? And all his empty promises?” We must make that rejection every day. If Satan tempted our Lord in the desert, he surely will tempt us. He knows how we are weak and when we are vulnerable. St. Peter warned, “Stay sober and alert. Your opponent the devil is prowling like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (1 Pt 5:8). Moreover, when we do commit sin, we must sincerely repent of it and seek forgiveness, never allowing Satan to gain a foothold into our lives.

Archbishop Fulton Sheen provided us with a keen insight into Satan. “Do not mock the Gospels and say there is no Satan. Evil is too real in the world to say that. Do not say the idea of Satan is dead and gone. Satan never gains so many cohorts as when, in his shrewdness, he spreads the rumor that he is long since dead. Do not reject the Gospel because it says the Savior was tempted. Satan always tempts the pure—the others are already his. Satan stations more devils on monastery walls than in dens of iniquity, for the latter offer no resistance. Do not say it is absurd that Satan should appear to our Lord, for Satan must always come close to the godly and the strong—the others succumb from a distance.”