St. Philip, Bad Confessors, and the Devil

The Church of St. Mark in Florence

In the first chapter of Book One of The Life of St. Philip Neri, Apostle of Rome, Fr. Bacci speaks of St. Philip's frequent visits to the Dominican Church of St. Mark during his boyhood in Florence. This is the same St. Mark's that housed the famous friars Fra Angelico and Savonarola, the latter of whom St. Philip admired and defended. While these two great Dominicans died before St. Philip's birth, St. Philip was familiar with two other Dominicans, Fra Zenobio de' Medici and Fra Servanzio Mini. Testifying to their virtue, Philip often recalled the following event to his disciples:

St. Benedict expelling the devil, from the sacristy of San Miniato in Florence (1388)
Spinello Aretino (Tuscan, c. 1350 - c. 1410)

These two fathers had agreed together to hear each other’s confessions every night, before they went to matins, in order that they might say office with greater devotion; but the devil was envious of so much good, and one night, about two hours before the usual time, he knocked at the cell of Fra. Zenobio, saying, “Up quickly, it is time.” At these words the good father woke and got up, and went as usual into the Church, where he found the devil in the form of Fra. Servanzio, walking near the confessional. Believing it was really his companion, he knelt down to confess, and the devil sat down as if to hear the confession, and at each fault which Fra. Zenobio named, he cried out, “It is nothing, it is nothing.” At last the friar adding a fault which seemed to him of a somewhat more grave character, the devil still said, “It is nothing.” When Zenobio heard this form of speech, he bethought himself a little, and suspecting, not without reason, some diabolical illusion, he at once made the sign of the holy cross, saying, “Perhaps you are a devil from hell,” at which words the evil spirit was confounded, and immediately disappeared.

Sacrament of Penance (c. 1800)
Francesco Novelli (Italian print, 1764-1836)

The devil attempts to prevent a woman from making a good Confession

In the present day, many penitents are often subjected to dangerously soft confessors who attempt to minimize sins. Some priests laugh mortal sins off as "common" or even allude to their own faults in a light-hearted manner. Other priests attempt psychologizing sins of imprudence and impurity, and some may even accuse young men of being too hard on themselves. When it comes to being good confessors, can these priests claim to be that much better than the devil himself when he tested Fra Zenobio? The devil does not need to tempt us with the promise of dominion over earthly kingdoms to gain our servitude, as he did during the unsuccessful temptation of Our Lord in the wilderness. Rather, that simple lie repeated by the Devil under the appearance of Fra Servanzio is enough to rope many into Hell: "It is nothing." Many Americans have been deceived by the false Gospel of "once saved, always saved," even believing continuous repentance to be useless. Meanwhile, many Catholics have been tricked by Protestants and crypto-Protestants into denying the power of Penance, often quoting erroneously from Scripture. The Gospel of the First Sunday of Lent reminds us that even the devil can deceive us with Scripture. Whether the devil chooses to attack the faithful with bad advice in the confessional, bad preaching from the pulpit, or bad YouTube videos promising eternal security, Catholics must remain firm against falsehood and error. Follow the example of Christ in the wilderness this Lent, and you will be rewarded for resisting temptation!

The Temptation of Christ on the Mountain (c. 1308-1311)
Duccio di Buoninsegna (Italo-Byzantine, Sienese, c. 1255 - c. 1318)