Battling Satan and Winning 

   “Abandon yourself to God and fear not, because if he puts you in the battle, he certainly will not leave you there just so you can fail.” (St. Augustine, “Confessions”) 

   We take great joy and have celebrations when a difficult battle is won.  Whether it be on the sports field, climbing the ladder of success in our chosen profession, or in the horror of war.  When we win, we celebrate.

   Our battle against Satan should be no different.  We know that we are tempted by him every day in his efforts to turn us from God.  When we reject those temptations, when we rebuke the devil and drive him from us the battle we have won is far greater than any mortal battle.  The battle against Satan and his evils is a battle for our soul and eternal life in God’s kingdom.

   We need never fear when we feel we are unable to overcome the temptations, we have the help of God.  When we call upon Him in our fight against evil our battle will be won.  We may think of Satan as powerful, but the only power he has is to tempt, he cannot impose his evil upon us.  When we call upon the name of God, Satan must flee.

   Perhaps the most perfect defense against the evil one is found in the words, “God, come to my assistance.  Lord, make haste to help me.”  With His help the battle will be won.  And when it is won, let us celebrate and give all praise and glory to God.

 A Wonderful World 

   “I see skies of blue and clouds of white.  The blessed bright day, the dark sacred night.  And I think to myself, what a wonderful world.”  (“What a Wonderful World”, lyrics by Louis Armstrong) 

   Negativism is a disease, and it is very contagious.  Too often I find myself guilty of overlooking the beauty and seeing nothing but the ugly.  In truth, it really is a wonderful world.  It is full of God’s majesty and His creative beauty.

   “God saw all he had made, and indeed it was very good.” (Gen 1: 31). To overcome evil we must turn to God and trust in Him.  We have to reject Satan’s urging to see only the evil and ugliness in the world.  We must see the beauty of this world and the beauty within each of us as children of God.   

   No doubt there is evil in the world, we see it everywhere we look.  But the good is still there if we will just open our eyes and look for it.  The problem is we allow ourselves to become jaded and pessimistic.  We start to believe the lie that evil is winning and there is nothing we can do about it.  While we may not be able to change the world, we can change our outlook and find peace within.

   Negativity infects us all at times and I am no exception.  It can be difficult to avoid focusing on the evil that appears to dominate the world.  We sometimes have to look very hard to see how wonderful this world really is.  I pray that I can take my own advice and focus on what is good and leave the rest in God’s hands.  Regardless of how bad it may seem, in the end, He wins.

 We Become What We Glorify 

   “And this is the verdict, that the light came into the world, but people preferred the darkness to light, because their works were evil. (John 3: 19) 

   As individuals and as a society we become what we glorify.  If we glorify evil we will become evil; if we glorify God we may become saints.  This truth seems to be lost in our nation today.

   I am in my mid 70’s.  When I was growing up mass shootings were unheard of in this country.  It wasn’t because there were fewer guns, and it wasn’t because guns weren’t readily available.  High School parking lots were full of pickup trucks with gun racks in the cab holding a rifle or shotgun.

   What has changed?  We have chosen to glorify evil and violence, it has become entertainment.  Think Dirty Harry, Rambo, the Die Hard series and other movies where the hero kills and maims as many people as possible.  Cable TV is filled with guns and violence.  One of many examples is Dexter, the story of a really great Dad who just happens to be a serial killer by night.  Video games give points based on how many you kill before you are killed.  The more you kill the more bonus points you get.

   In addition, the sexual revolution began in my teen years.  It is now acceptable and even encouraged to engage in sex of any kind, at any time with anyone we choose, male or female or both.  Pregnancy is considered an inconvenience and therefore babies are disposable through abortion.  The blessing of marital sex and procreating new life are now seen as nothing more than a means of self-gratification.

   We have become a nation of narcissists caring only for ourselves.  Whatever we want to do we consider our right no matter the harm and damage it may do to others.  It permeates our society in every aspect of life.  Nothing is off-limits if our only concern is self.

   Society is sick and getting sicker by the day.  We no longer look to God for guidance, only our pride and ego.  If my thoughts on this matter offend anyone – good!  As a Navy retiree, I have watched this nation that I love and served deteriorate into one I no longer recognize.  It has become a place of evil, getting worse by the day.

 The Great Liar 

   “He was a murderer from the start; he was never grounded in truth; there is no truth in him at all; when he lies he is drawing on his own store, because he is a liar and the father of lies.” (John 8: 44) 

   The voice of Satan is always the voice of a liar.  Even when he seems to be telling the truth, he is twisting it to his own desires.  He may speak sweet words and lovely thoughts, but they are lies designed to turn a soul from God.

   When I am most at rest in God, when I am at peace within, Satan strikes me the most.  He may not directly attack my faith, but instead will try to raise questions within me.  Am I doing enough?  Is what I’m doing the will of God or my own will?  Am I truly the child of God that I desire to be?  Questioning may lead to doubt and doubt to despair.  If I am in despair my soul is at risk because I am now questioning the promises of Christ.

   I take great comfort in the words of Saint Padre Pio, “Have courage and do not fear the assaults of the devil.  Remember this forever – it is a healthy sign if the devil shouts and roars around your conscience, since it shows that he is not inside your will.”  He has no need to continue attacking those he already owns, taking those who belong to God is his goal.

   When he comes with his temptations and lies, as he certainly will, I must turn to the words of St. Peter, “Be calm but be vigilant, because your enemy the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.  Stand up to him, strong in the knowledge that your brothers (and sisters) all over the world are suffering the same things.” (1 Peter 5: 8 – 9).

 Sainthood 

   When most people think of sainthood they think of those whom the Church has declared as saints, such as St. Augustine, St. Teresa of Avila and others.  But the term saint simply refers to one who is holy, who is known for his or her heroic sanctity and who is thought to be in heaven.  By that definition all of us can, by the grace of God, be saints.

   I want to be holy, I want to be sanctified, I want to be a saint.  Ironically I must give God my permission to make me holy, he will not impose sainthood on me, I have to agree.  I must respond as our Blessed Mother responded to the archangel Gabriel when told she was to be the mother of our Lord; “May it be done to me according to your word.”

   There is no checklist to sainthood, no balance sheet that magically opens the door to heaven.  Even if I do enormous good in the world but do it in order to bring glory to myself rather than to give glory to God, it will bear little fruit in my life.  To become a saint, I must love God and strive to do His will, to give Him all praise and glory.

   St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta said, “Not all of us can do great things.  But we can do small things with great love.”  Unless God so decides I will never do anything great in this life, no one other than family and friends will know my name.  But if God knows me and knows that I love Him and want to serve Him above all else, I can become a saint.

 Listening to God 

“You can’t hear God speak to someone else.  You can hear Him only if you are being addressed.” (Ludwig Wittgenstein) 

   God has a plan for each of us.  He speaks to us individually; the message He gives is intended for us and for none other.  If we try to hear God in what He he is saying to others, we will likely not hear what He wants to say to us.  We are each different and what God is saying to one may be of little help to another

   When three or four people gather in faith and fellowship it’s very likely that none are in the same place spiritually.  One may be in a state of wondering while another is full of confidence and hope.  One may be filled by the Holy Spirit in virtually all they do while another may struggle to hear and follow the Spirit's guidance.  God speaks to each of them and guides them on their path, but the guidance each needs may vary greatly.

   “God has infinite attention to spare for each of us.  You are as much alone with Him as if you were the only being he had ever created.” (C. S. Lewis).  Our human minds can’t comprehend such a fact; it is beyond our understanding.  But that makes it no less true.  God can be and is in all places and all times.  The time He spends talking to me does not lessen the time He has to speak to others, nor does their time detract from mine.

   We are special to God, He loves each of us as if there were no one else to love.  He speaks to us as if there were no one else to speak to.  We must listen to what He says.

 Expectations 

   “No man can master the wind so as to hold it back, nor control the day of death.” (Eccl 8: 8) 

   We go through life with many expectations.  Things we are confident that will happen if we properly plan and prepare.  However, the only sure thing, the only thing we know without doubt, is that this life will end at a time we do not know.  Shouldn’t we therefore plan and prepare for the one certainty of life?

   Life brings many surprises.  The one who expected to achieve great success in their chosen field fails miserably while another is surprised by unexpected success.  Some expect that in the normal course of things they will marry and be happy though many marriages are far from happy and often in divorce.  IRA’s, 401K’s, and savings plans of many kinds are used to ensure we have a comfortable retirement even though many will never reach retirement age.

   It makes perfect sense to prepare for what we hope to find in life.  Without proper preparation and planning nothing of value can ever be achieved.  Most try their best to take those actions they hope will make their life easier and more enjoyable and rightfully so.

   The question becomes are we planning and preparing for the one and only thing we know will occur in our life; standing before Jesus for judgement after our death.  No matter what we have in this world, nothing goes with us but our love of God.  We can’t buy our way into heaven, we must follow the path the Lord puts before us; there is no other way.

   Life is full of surprises and expectations that never come to fruition.  Eternal life is full of love, joy, and happiness in the presence of God.  If we want to realize those hopes of heaven, we must properly prepare ourselves for eternity.