The Devil is in the details

I usually begin writing my reflections a couple of days before they’re posted.  I’m writing this on Inauguration Day, 2021.  A lot of the Catholic (and many other) social media posts and memes are asking for the obvious today—Prayers for our new President, Vice President, their Cabinet, and the country in general.  I always do, and I always will—no matter who they are or what party they represent. 

It pierces my heart though, when I read replies to these post from self-described “faithful Catholics” who say they refuse to pray for a President “who is not truly Catholic” because he supports abortion policies contrary to the teaching of the Catholic Church.  The judgements and name-calling by these ‘holier-than-thou’ “Christians” are the very same actions that Jesus tried so hard to rid the Pharisees from doing!  They seem to believe that we shouldn’t pray for a conversion of heart; it’s easier to just condemn those who have lost their way.  Satan never sleeps.  He preys on both the ignorant and the learned and plays them against one another.  The real pity lies in the fact that we don’t accept this simple truth.

"He appointed twelve, whom he also named Apostles, that they might be with him and he might send them forth to preach and to have authority to drive out demons." (Mark 3:13-19)

I wonder how many people today actually believe that demons can affect them.  One of Satan’s greatest tricks is making people believe there aren’t any demons or that they’re just cute little guys in red suits with pitchforks.  But demons are far from little and far from cute.   The Bible tells us, "your opponent the devil is prowling like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour" (1 Peter 5: 8-9).  And in our prayer to St. Michael we ask Jesus to "cast into hell Satan and all evil spirits who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls."  Their job is to keep us from heaven, so that’s something we should be concerned about – or at least aware of.  "Our battle is not against flesh and blood but against the principalities and powers, the rulers of this world of darkness and the evil spirits in regions above" (Ephesians 6:12).  We need to know that we have an enemy, but that in Jesus we have the power to defeat him!

Something I don’t like to talk about a whole lot is my own experience after I saw a demon one night.  At the time, I had no idea what I had seen—in fact, I can’t even describe to this day what I saw.  I just knew I was paralyzed with fear in his presence and felt helpless to do anything.  I thank God that I remembered a story I read as a little boy about one of the saints (St. Theresa of Avila?) who was being tormented by demons.  Whenever she felt their presence, she would simply say, “In the name of Jesus Christ, leave this place!”, and the demons would leave immediately.  It worked for me that night, as well.  The experience led me to learn how to fight back by using God’s Word.  One of the verses that lays the foundation for my confidence to stand against evil is 1 John 4:4: "He that is in you is greater than he that is in the world."  Another is James 4:7: "Therefore submit to God; resist the devil and he will flee from you".

I’ve learned a lot about demons since that night, and I can state with confidence that we don’t need to be afraid of them.  The main thing we need to know is that God is stronger than any evil that can come against us.  The greatest weapon against evil is giving praise to God.  If we praise God in all things, we’ll never be defeated.  We know that God will triumph at the end of time and we, His followers, will triumph with Him.  As one of the most profound memes I saw on the internet today (and shared) said, “Prayer should be your first choice, not your last chance.”