Gonzaga Witness

Issue date: 4/28/09 Section: Faith

There is a Hell, Satan is real, there are demons; they have no interest in your well being, and they want you to suffer. Yet, we need not be superstitious or overly fearful about the power of evil in our world. Evil is a dog barking at the wind compared to God. Jesus has crushed the head of the serpent; the war is won. The sin of our ancestors in eating the fruit of Eden's tree has been overcome by our eating of the Divine Lamb slain at Golgotha-the fruit of the tree of Calvary.
Satan continues to fight, though, and though he knows God has redeemed the world, he still seeks to seduce as many as possible into refusing the free gift of God's love and to reject the gift of redemption. Evil especially attacks us when we do God's will, for fear we may draw others into the light. The closer we get to God's will, the harder evil tries to derail us. Satan and the fallen angels have a bitter hate of humanity, and seek to do what they can to make the human family suffer. Modern sensibilities, even among the faithful, want to deny all this, deny that there are demons, claim evil is wholly impersonal-if sin is acknowledged to exist at all. They are wrong.
On the other hand, it is true that those who see the Devil under every rock are being a bit superstitious. A sane and sober realization of evil in our world is necessary. Satan is the author of sin, and he does not want to stop spreading that discord and pain. He is not directly orchestrating every evil, but he has a hand in many of them, somehow. The Church is unashamed to admit that sometimes demonic activity can play a more active role in our world, oppressing and harassing people. There is even the rare occasion in which possession might actually occur.
Demons may be nothing compared to God, but they can take us easy. They are frighteningly intelligent and utterly malicious. Luckily, the Church gives us incredible armor and weapons with which to fight evil, evil of both of human and demonic origin. First, our baptism is a great protection against any kind evil, as are the many graces we receive by doing God's will, asking the intercession of the saints, maturely utilizing sacramentals, and especially receiving the sacraments of the Church. No evil can stand before the power of God, and so long as we depend wholly on His protection, Satan is reduced to the gadfly he truly is. Unfortunately, we are sinners and we leave ourselves open to his harassments and accusations. Evil has only one lie, articulated many ways, "I am good," and yet we still fall for that same trick, and will until we die. The Rosary is described as the "nuclear weapon of prayers." We can also confront temptation and evil with faith and condemn it in the name of Christ, though that requires a lot more faith than it sounds. We can simply pray that Our Father will defend us, lost children we are. We, by virtue of our baptismal nature, can even pray for the deliverance of others from temptation or demonic influence or harassment. And, when evil is acting openly, as in the case of strong harassment or a possession for example, the Church has more drastic measures she can take, the oft-misunderstood practice of exorcism among them.

Continued...

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