Fr. Thomas M. Pastorius
September 6, 2015
Spiritual Ponderings
The Devil’s Ways

Satan appeared before a small town congregation. Everyone started screaming and running for the front church door, trampling each other in a frantic effort to get away. Soon everyone was gone except for an elderly gentleman who sat calmly. Satan walked up to him and said, "Don't you know who I am?"
The man replied, "Yep, sure do."
Satan asked, "Aren't you going to run?"
"Nope, sure ain't," said the man.
Satan asked, "Why aren't you afraid of me?"
The man replied, "Been married to your sister for over 48 years."

The above joke about the devil demonstrates two important facts about the devil. The first is that the devil is scary. He is after all a fallen angel that is focused on our destruction. The second important fact is that we have nothing to fear from the devil. Jesus has already defeated him. The devil is not God’s equal. For some time now, I have wanted to do a series of reflection on the devil because I see people often making one of two errors in regards to understanding the devil. Some people give the devil too much power and other people barely believe that he exists. Neal Lozano in his book: Unbound: A Practical Guide to Deliverance warns us about these two errors:

There is a profound truth in these few sentences by C.S. Lewis: “There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them. They themselves are equally pleased with both errors.” It is hard to maintain a healthy balance. It is as if the devil himself pushes us toward one of the two extremes.

St. Ignatius of Loyola in his spiritual writings mentions three enemies that we have to be aware of in our spiritual life. The first enemy we must face is ourselves. Even though we have been redeemed by Jesus Christ, we still suffer the effects of original sin (a lack of trust in God’s love for us) and because of this sometimes we choose to do things our way instead of trusting in God. In order to be a person of faith and the best person we can be, we have to learn to trust in God and do things his way all the time. Not because God is a dictator that punishes us but rather because our God is our loving creator who knows what is best for us.

The second enemy that we face is the world or culture that we grow up in. The society that we live in does not make it easy to live the life God is calling us to. For example it was easier for the people in the North to know that slavery was evil than it was for people in the south because slavery was accepted in South and not in the North. It is hard to be chaste in a culture that is filled with sexual images. This is part of the reason why the Church invites us to prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. These three spiritual movements can help us see where God’s plans and the world’s plans are different. I believe Archbishop Fulton Sheen says it best in his book The Life of Christ: In the Beatitudes, Our Divine Lord takes those eight flimsy catchwords of the world—“Security,” “Revenge,” “Laughter,” “Popularity,” “Getting Even,” “Sex,” “Armed Might” and “Comfort”—and turns them upside down. To those who say, “You cannot be happy unless you are rich,” He says, “Blessed are the poor in spirit.” To those who say, “Don’t let him get away with it,” He says, “Blessed are the patient.” To those who say, “Laugh and the world laughs with you,” He says, “Blessed are those who mourn.” To those who say: “If nature gave you sex instincts you ought to give them free expression, otherwise you will become frustrated,” He says, “Blessed are the clean of heart.” To those who say, “Seek to be popular and well known,” He says, “Blessed are you when men revile you and persecute you and speak all manner of evil against you falsely because of Me.” To those who say, “In time of peace prepare for war,” He says, “Blessed are the peacemakers.”

The third enemy is finally the devil. Neal Lozano in his book: Unbound: A Practical Guide to Deliverance explains it as follows:

Recently my wife and I watched the movie Hook, which tells the story of the grown-up Peter Pan. Peter now has children of his own and has forgotten his former life in Never Never Land. Captain Hook, seeking revenge, comes and steals Peter’s children. Hook’s plan is based on this scheme: the best way to get revenge on “the Pan” would be to win the affections of Pan’s children and become a father to them. He wins the heart of Peter’s son, Jack. He presents evil as good, distorts truth about his mom and dad, and brings suspicious on their motives. Gradually Jack begins to dress like the captain, and he forgets who he really is.
This story is an allegory for the human drama. Satan saw the dignity God gave to man and woman, created as they were in His image. Perhaps Satan even had a hint of mankind’s destiny in Christ. In his hatred, Satan struck back at God by seeking to destroy His children. The cunning serpent-Satan recognized Adam and Eve a potential to mistrust God’s love and he sought to capture their hearts and affections and become a father to them.

I also encourage you to pray the prayer of St. Michael.
Saint Michael the Archangel, Defend us in battle. Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil; May God rebuke him; we humbly pray; And do thou O Prince of the heavenly host, By the power of God, thrust into hell Satan and all evil spirits Who wander through the world For the ruin of souls. Amen