When the apostles asked our Lord about the time when the destruction of Jerusalem would occur. Jesus answers them indirectly, weaving in comments about the end of the world, saying:
“And then many will fall away, and betray one another, and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because wickedness is multiplied, most men’s love will grow cold. But he who endures to the end will be saved” (Matthew 24:1-013)
In one of his Lenten message, Pope Francis focuses on “because wickedness is multiplied, most men’s love will grow cold.” The Pope wants us all “to come back to the Lord wholeheartedly and in every aspect of our life.”
The Pope first warns us about false prophets,
Who can appear as “snake charmers,” who manipulate human emotions in order to enslave others and lead them where they would have them go. How many of God’s children are mesmerized by momentary pleasures, mistaking them for true happiness! How many men and women live entranced by the dream of wealth, which only makes them slaves to profit and petty interests! How many go through life believing that they are sufficient unto themselves, and end up entrapped by loneliness!
False prophets can also be “charlatans”, who offer easy and immediate solutions to suffering that soon prove utterly useless. How many young people are taken in by the panacea of drugs, of disposable relationships, of easy but dishonest gains! How many more are ensnared in a thoroughly “virtual” existence, in which relationships appear quick and straightforward, only to prove meaningless! These swindlers, in peddling things that have no real value, rob people of all that is most precious: dignity, freedom and the ability to love. They appeal to our vanity, our trust in appearances, but in the end they only make fools of us. Nor should we be surprised. In order to confound the human heart, the devil, who is “a liar and the father of lies” (Jn 8:44), has always presented evil as good, falsehood as truth. That is why each of us is called to peer into our heart to see if we are falling prey to the lies of these false prophets. We must learn to look closely, beneath the surface, and to recognize what leaves a good and lasting mark on our hearts, because it comes from God and is truly for our benefit (Message for Lent 2018).
Each one of us is different. We ought to identify how the false prophets manipulate us personally. For some it will be for the false hope of material wellbeing—how many play the LOTTO seeking this false hope? Others it is for the momentary pleasure and escape of alcohol, drugs, pornography, computer games, or social media… These false prophets manipulate us, telling us that it isn’t a big deal, I’m not hurting anybody, I need a break and a little fun, I have it so hard, etc., etc., and these false prophets end up controlling our lives. False prophets enslave and control, whereas Christ came to set us free with the intoxication of true love!
Notice how the Pope warns us of the activity of the devil. He mentions Satan in many of his documents and discourses. Perhaps Pope Francis knows something we don’t about the influence of the father of lies in our time.
Lent is a time of self-giving self-denial that prepares us to embrace Christ’s ultimate gift of himself on the Cross. So, Carpe diem—Seize the day!—turning to Jesus Christ, the Truth who sets us free from the slavery of false prophets.
Fr. John Waiss
Pastor
