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Video-catechesis by Fr. Serafino M. Lanzetta, held on Radio Buon Consiglio on April 6, 2020. If evil is a deprivation of good, then what is the devil? Or, with St. Augustine, if the devil is the author of evil, where does the devil come from? Admitting evil as an entity in itself, leads either to believing that the devil is an evil and eternal God, enemy of the good God, or that, although a created and finite entity, he is still wanted by God. Therefore, in the final analysis, God would be the author of evil. Evil in itself does not exist, but is only an absence of good. The devil is a good creature who rebelled against God and therefore became evil. Sin is the root of this perversion of freedom, both in the devil and in man. It is reassuring, however, that Satan is a finite being, therefore a limited problem. If we live in God, his diabolical threat becomes a spiritual help: it pushes us to live as true Christians, armed with faith, hope and charity. That is, to be saints.