18th Sunday after Pentecost 4.10.09 Spiritual battle
We have just celebrated the feast of St Michael and also of the Guardian Angels, reminders of the spiritual world by which we are surrounded; and of the invisible spiritual battle that goes on around us all the time.
Spiritual battles are mysterious to us because invisible and often at a level of subtlety beyond our perception.
They generally concern interior matters, the battle for the ‘inside’ of us, the possession of our hearts and minds. Do our hearts and minds belong to God or to the evil one?
There was a story during the week of a man who was going to be a seminarian many years ago but presently is organizing a national blasphemy day in USA - a painful example of what can go wrong if the battle is lost.
Every one of us is subject to the pull of angels and devils. The devils tempt us to sin and the angels ‘tempt’ us to good. Each side is holding up to us messages why we should go their way.
There is a right and wrong way to look at everything. The more we can grasp the right way the more we will develop good habits (virtues) and shed the bad habits (vices).
The world around us has many wrong ways of looking at things. Not for nothing did Our Lord refer to Satan as the prince of this world. The world tells us that God does not exist, or if He does exist He does not count for much. We might as well go out and have a good time because this is the only life we have.
Your sins are forgiven you, says the Lord, to the man on the stretcher. And He would add, Go and sin no more. He forgives sin and He gives the power not to fall back into the pit.
Our task is to claim the freedom He has given us; to maintain and nurture it like a plant so that we can hold the progress we have made, and build on it.
It is not so hard as we make it. Evil is powerful but Good is more so. Our greatest asset is the light of Christ which illuminates us; helps us to see what is good, and walk in that. He will help us to recognize the tactics of the devil, who mainly works by deception. When the deception is unmasked he is a lot less powerful.
In ordinary life we learn not to pick up spiders, not to put our hands in the power socket, and other basic safety measures. We can learn from the wrong turnings others take not to end up like them.
We have to work on our salvation. If we do nothing we will probably be lost. Many today operate on the assumption if they don’t do anything obviously wrong they must go to heaven. The Devil can snare us that way too. Just as if we did nothing to secure our house or car we will probably be robbed.
If we do fall then we strengthen the defences. Just as if the house leaked we would fix that part of the roof. We don’t just leave gaps for evil to get in.
It is a battle and must be entered into vigorously if we are to win. The energy we spend on other contests – we could use some of that in the battle for souls. Look at football and how much energy, physical and emotional, is expended on that. If people would be that worried about their salvation!
Both sides are working all the time fighting for our souls. Many people don’t know anything about this battle. They go about as though nothing is wrong when they may be on the brink of hell.
Alertness is the key. Keep watch. Sentry duty. You are set free; go and sin no more and you will rise from your stretcher - and eventually your grave.
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