Fr. Paul D. Scalia: Three Faces of Evil

In his account of our Lord’s temptations, Saint Matthew uses three different words for the Evil One. (Mt 4:1-11) In addition to the devil he also uses the tempter and Satan. Each title or name reveals something different about how the Evil One assaults us and – more importantly – how we allow ourselves to be led into sin.

The Greek word diabolos (devil) means a false accuser or slanderer. It comes from dia-ballein, which means to throw apart. After all, a slanderer is someone who confuses things, throws them into confusion, and leads to false accusations. A diabolos is someone who brings disorder and division – which is an accurate description of the Devil’s work. In fact, it’s a fair summary not just of all that he does but all that he can do. …