Category Archives: Spiritual Warfare

Sin and the Dimensions of Providence

January 18, 2023Sin, Spiritual Warfaretwowingstogod@gmail.com

One of the themes that St. Paul reflects upon in his letter to the Romans is the role that Sin plays in Divine Providence. He does not say it using those terms directly, but it is clear from his statement that God “where sin abounds, grace superabounded” (Rom 5:20) that there is an important reflection for the Romans (and us) to make related to Sin in their own lives. It is this theme that I would like to take up here.

Recall what has been said a number of times previously in regards to Providence. It has two dimensions or aspects. The first relates to God’s overall plan for Creation. At the center of the plan is Christ. This is why St. Paul keeps coming back to the typological relationship between Christ and Adam in Romans 5-7. The sin of Adam becomes the type of all sin and becomes in a very real sense the cause of the Incarnation. I am not taking sides in the Scholastic debate over whether the Son would have become man if there was no sin, only dealing with reality as we have it.

Adam’s Sin and God’s Providence

What we very often don’t think about is that God could have stopped Adam from sinning. And He could have done so in a way that still protected Adam’s freedom of choice. He could have stopped the Devil from entering into the Garden. He could have given Adam an actual grace by which his intellect or will were strengthened against the temptation of the Devil. He could have inspired Adam to pray against the temptation. He could have sent His Guardian Angel to crush the head of the serpent. He could have continually done this so that Adam never sinned (this is exactly what he did with Mary) and Adam would have been the freest human person ever.

So, then we must ask why God permitted Adam to sin. Permitted is the key word because God did not cause Him to sin. Yet He chose not to stop him and so there must have been some good that otherwise would not have been. That good was the Incarnation of His Only Begotten Son. Again, this is not an answer to the debate, but a fact that it was better for the Son of Man to save us from our sins than to be merely incarnated. It reveals something of God and His glory that otherwise would not have been shown forth.

It is also a fact that God permitted that particular sin of Adam. Again, Adam could have fallen any number of ways. But God allowed that particular sin with all its circumstances for a very specific reason. Adam sinned exactly as he did because it brought about and prefigured the specific act of redemption God wanted. Felix culpa! “O happy fault that merited so great of a Redeemer.”

But Adam was not a mere pawn or instrument in the divine economy. God also had Adam’s good in mind when He permitted him to fall exactly as he did. This does not mean that Adam received the good, only that God allowed his sin in order to give him some good. It is impossible to know what the specific good or goods that God would give to Adam as a consequence of that particular sin, but one can readily see how this would be possible. For Adam needed humility and trust in God’s Providence, both of which could have been given to him as a consequence of his sin. God would not permit the sin to happen if there was not some personal good that was also possible.

Admitting the possibility though does not mean that Adam received the consequent goods. Repentance is the gateway to receiving those goods. This is what St. Paul means when he cautions the Romans not to think that grace was a direct result of the sin (Romans 6:1). It is a result of God’s omnipotence that He can bring good from our sins. For sin is literally nothing and only God can bring good from nothing. Try as we might, we can never do evil and expect good to come from it.

Providence’s Second Dimension

What we have been discussing is the other way in which sin plays a role in God’s Providence—personally. God’s Providence is not just in His governance of the world as a whole, but also His governance of the world as if you are the only one that matters. He will not cease providing you and me with what we need at each and every moment of our lives. It is a direct effect of His wisdom and His love; wisdom in His governance of all things for my personal benefit and His ceaseless willing of my good. God doesn’t just will my good generically, but personally and at each and every moment of my life.

While we might intellectually assent to this, we cannot realize it without asking why God permits us to fall into some sins and not others? Most certainly there are sins from which we personally could never escape. Those seem not to plague. Others keep us humble and aware enough of our faults that we do not sin in more serious ways. Others help us eventually to see that we have been trapped by a lie of the Evil One. Not sure why God permitted it, ask Him.

This is a spiritually fruitful practice not just because it helps us to grow in self-knowledge, but also because it helps us to see what God wants to give us and heal us from. In order for this to happen we cannot hide in shame from our sins or try to rationalize them away. Trusting in God’s mercy we must face them head-on in a spirit of repentance. Once repented, we are opened to receiving the greater grace within God’s permission. As St. Thomas says in a gloss on Romans 5, some sinners “by the help of divine grace are humbled when they consider their sins and so obtain a greater grace (Ps 16:4)”. In short, when we sin we must run to repentance and filled with both sorrow and love, anticipate the good that God has for us

The Religion of the Antichrist

November 11, 2020Abortion, Church, Church and State, Culture of Life, Defending the Faith, Devils, End Times, Marxism, Spiritual WarfareAntichrist, Communism, Devil, First Saturday Devotion, Intersectionality, Karl Marx, Our Lady of Fatima, Pro-Choice, Sexual Revolution, Vatican IItwowingstogod@gmail.com

When the wall separating east from west in Berlin fell, millions of people were freed from the shackles of Communism in Eastern Europe and Russia. The man who was instrumental in this happening, St. John Paul II, saw it as part of his divine mandate to facilitate this monumental event. But as a Catholic who had a great devotion to Our Lady of Fatima, he knew that was not the end of the story. Russia had spread her errors practically unabated for 75 years; reaching even into our own country. These errors were not Communism itself, but instead the ideology that underlies it—Marxism. Marxism is alive and well and is poised to become a global religion through the likes of not just China’s hegemonic aspirations, but the World Economic Forum’s Great Reset, WHO’s universal healthcare plan (led by Marxist Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus), Black Lives Matter and a whole host of other organizations.

A Global Religion?

To call Marxism a global religion, may, at first glance, seem to be an exaggeration. Of course, properly speaking, it is not a religion at all. Religion is always ordered to God which means that there can be only one true global religion. It is the one founded by God Himself in the Catholic Church. But the Devil is always on the prowl to ape Christ including by forming his own global religion. Marxism is the “religion” of choice and should properly be seen as the religion of the Antichrist.

That Marx himself was under demonic influence can hardly be disputed. Several of his biographers, many of whom are sympathetic to his cause, have mentioned this. Paul Kengor, in his new book The Devil and Karl Marx, does a thorough job of compiling the case for Marx’s diabolical connections. Viewed in this way, it also helps to understand the beguiling effect that Marxism has on a lot of people because of its inherent power of mass Demonic Oppression. The Fathers of the Second Vatican Council were aware of this as they included several schemas on “The Care of Souls with Regard to Christians Infected with Communism” in their preparatory documents. Unfortunately, these schemas never saw the light of day and would have been a great aid in fighting an “invention so full of errors and delusions.”

The Great Imitation

Besides the global aspirations of Marxism, there are other, more insidious ways in which it will imitate the true religion. In taking on human flesh in the Incarnation, Christ sought to both repair and elevate human nature making it capable of sharing in the Divine Nature. In simplest terms, Marxism is an attempt to fundamentally transform human nature through the instruments of politics and culture. It may have failed to control economics, but that was not the end of it. Using the Sexual Revolution, Cultural Marxists have been wildly successful in “transforming” human nature in the sexual realm. No longer does human nature thrive through monogamous marriage, the family, and private property. Parents are not uniquely suited to mold their children according to their nature, but instead human nature is malleable and should be molded into the image deemed useful by the State. Free will, the mark of the Divine image in man (c.f. CCC 1704-1705), is an illusion and replaced through conditioning according to their social structure (or through the correction of “Unconscious Bias” as the remains from obsolete social structures and implemented through “Corporate Training”).

Christianity worships Christ Who made Himself a victim for our sins (c.f. 2 Cor 5:21) while Marxism worships the Victim Class. Man’s nature is not social and marked by complementarity but instead is competitive. It is to be informed by the narrative of oppressor versus oppressed. There is a never-ending search of the new victim class in order to keep the worship going. Virtuous men and women, those who are most like God are scorned and those who have been intersected by the most “axes of oppression” are exalted.

Finally, just as Catholics offer the blood of the Innocent Lamb of God to the Father, Marxists offer the blood of innocent children through abortion to the Devil. Marxism and abortion are always a package deal because Marxism, like all religions, needs to offer sacrifice. The Devil throughout history has always demanded the blood of the innocent in sacrifice. Marxism in all its instantiations always includes abortion. It was Russia that became the first country to legalize abortion in 1920 and thanks to the Marxist feminists of the 1960s, the United States followed suit. You can often identify a Marxist by how insistent they are that abortion is a “right”.

The Spirit of Christ animates the Christian religion and so the spirit of the antichrist animates the religion of Marxism. The globalists who seek a One World Order are Marxists at heart. Once a critical mass is met, then the world will be ready for the antichrist. This is not an inevitability however and so Catholics must fight against Marxism in all its manifestations. The Church was once instrumental in fighting Communism, but now it too has been infected with Marxists. We need to pray that Christ will once again cleanse the Temple by setting his sights not on the money changers but the Marxists. We have Our Lady of Fatima on our side and we can fight its spread through the First Saturday Devotion. We can also zealously combat the errors where we see them and educate ourselves on this most pernicious enemy because there is one other thing the religion of the antichrist does—seeks to wipe out the believers of the True Faith.

Jumpstarting Reform

August 31, 2019Devils, Eucharist, Fasting, Spiritual Life, Spiritual WarfareChurch Militant, Demons, Eucharist, Fasting, Liturgy of the Hours, Mortification, Spiritual Combat, St. Paultwowingstogod@gmail.com

In the opening chapter of his short book, Letter to a Suffering Church, Bishop Robert Barron calls the scandal within the Church “a diabolical masterpiece”. The Bishop’s point is that everything that has happened within the Church over the last half century has been clearly and methodically planned out such that the sulfuric stench cannot be overlooked. Bishop Barron only mentions this insight in passing as he attempts to instill hope in those who have suffered greatly as a result of the latest scandal. It is befitting, however, if we are to fully come up with a plan of reform, that we linger just a while longer on this fact.

First, we must admit that as ghastly as the abuse crisis has been, from within the satanic strategy, it is but a means to the devil’s overall plan to destroy the Church. What this means is that if we focus only on the abuse crisis then we will be putting a band-aid on a bullet wound. This is not to say that we do nothing about it or that we do not address it directly—band aids are necessary treating wounds, but only after the source of the wound is treated. And the source of this wound in the Church is exacerbated by the fact that we deny that someone is actively working to destroy the Church. It is the steady refusal over the last half century to admit of the Church’s militancy. The Church is not a field hospital, but an army. It may have field hospitals, but it is not the Red Cross. It is an army because it is at war and its battleground is dominion of human souls.

Breeding Soft Soldiers

This repeated refusal to admit of the Church’s militancy has not changed the fact that she is Militia Christi, but it has made the soldiers soft. The Church may be feminine, but she is not effeminate. There is no more visible sign of effeminacy than sexual vice, especially of the kind that many clerics are accused. But this softness affects not just the clergy but the laity as well. We are the “soft generation” that is doomed to be the “lost generation” if we do not tighten up formation.

Notice that I did not say the softest generation, for there are far too many generations in the Church who have fallen prey to softness. Church historian Roberto De Mattei describes the story of the Sack of Rome in 1527 as a “merciful chastisement” because reform in the Church had stalled and it served to jumpstart it. “The pleasure-seeking Rome of the Renaissance turned into the austere and penitent Rome of the Counter-Reformation.” His point, although only implicitly made, is that chastening, either divinely or self-inflicted, is always a necessary pre-cursor to reform. Softness must be rooted out one way or the other.

Like any army, once the enemy is clearly identified, a battle plan must be drawn up. Since this is first and foremost a spiritual battle, we must use spiritual weapons. Every renewal in the Church has come on the heels of a small remnant that committed to using these weapons and specifically aiming them at the enemies of the Church. When the Church becomes soft, it is these three weapons, prayer, penance and mortification that are eschewed. So, if we are to re-enter the fray, we must grasp the hilt of these three swords and wield them against our enemies.

Prayer

The mention of prayer is not meant to insinuate that people are not praying. It is to direct our prayers towards a very specific intention—to strengthen and protect the Church from her enemies. This intention is best fulfilled by praying with the Church in her two “official” prayers—the Mass and the Liturgy of the Hours.

I have written many other times about the necessity of regularly, that is daily and not just weekly, participating in Mass so I won’t belabor the point yet again but lead with a simple question: what sacrifice in your life do you need to make so that you can become a part of Christ’s saving mission begun at Calvary and continuing at the altar of your local parish? The Eucharist is an infinite source of grace that Christ is just waiting to pour out upon those who offer it with Him.

The second form of prayer is one that I have not discussed much in the past and that is the Divine Office. Commonly called the Liturgy of the Hours, it is the prayer of the Church that is offered seven times a day. Seven is no arbitrary number, but the Church’s answer to the fact that “though the just man falls seven times a day, he will get up” (Proverbs 24:16). This getting up and returning whole-heartedly to God by singing to Him His songs of praise in the Psalms and Canticles and recalling His saving acts throughout history. The Liturgy of the Hours are by their very nature penitential and thus perfectly suited to our times.

Those in the clerical state are required to pray the Liturgy of the Hours under the pain of sin. Many unfaithful priests do not. The laity can pick up the standard voluntarily and run with it, keeping those unfaithful priests, many of whom are directly responsible for the sad state of the Church, in their intentions. And because it is a free gift and not required it is most pleasing to God, even if due to our state in life it requires a great sacrifice to pray seven times. Desperate times call for heroic sacrifice. If it seems daunting find someone who can pray it with you or teach you, or read one of the recent books written to draw the laity into the Divine Office.

Penance and Mortification

These two terms, penance and mortification, are often used interchangeably. Grasping the distinction is important only insofar as it relates to our intention. Penance is reparation for sins committed, mortification is like pre-pentence in that it is aimed at rooting out the weaknesses that cause us to sin and have to do penance. In practice they should go hand in hand.

Sins of the flesh and the demons who specialize in them are specifically targeted by fleshly penance and mortification. “These can come out only with prayer and fasting”. Fasting is the “fleshly” penance par excellence because it trains the Christian soldier to control all of his fleshly appetites. It is the antidote to the softness that has hamstrung the Church. It is no wonder that we no longer hear about it from the pulpit or that the Church does not require it more often than twice a year. We need to be giving more and offer it in reparation for the Church’s soft sins. The upcoming battle will require tremendous sacrifice and only those who have trained themselves to forego what is necessary in favor of the “one thing that is necessary” that will persevere.

There are many ways to fast and all are good. The point is to start by making sacrifices at each meal and add from there. You will find a method that fits with your state in life. The method that St. Thomas recommends amounts to skipping one meal a day and that principle seems to work well although the combinations are endless. One that works very well for the laity because it is the least disruptive to family life is from dinner to dinner. You eat dinner on day 1 and then eat only two tiny meals during the day and then have a full meal at dinner the next evening. The point is not to kill yourself but to offer something to Jesus. When this intention is kept in mind, you will find that your desire to be generous with Jesus quells any hunger pains.

There are other bodily mortifications and penances that are helpful, especially when we think about those practices that make us soft—cold showers, sitting upright in a chair with both feet on the floor, setting AC/heat at a level where you are slightly uncomfortable, rocks in shoes. The point is to directly attack our need for comfort in a spirit of penance.

St. Paul was perhaps the greatest cultural reformer and a pillar of the Church. One could argue that his success was attributed to the fact that he had a clear understanding of who he was fighting against and armed himself spiritually for the battle. “Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against…the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Eph 6:12). If we want to jumpstart the reform of the Church, then we should likewise enter into the spiritual battle.

The Un-Person

August 28, 2019Devils, Spiritual WarfareDemons, Jesuits, Politics, Satan, Spiritual Combattwowingstogod@gmail.com

It what is becoming a recurring theme. Fr. Arturo Sosa, SJ, the Superior General of the Jesuit Order recently told an Italian magazine that the “devil exists as a symbolic reality, not as a personal reality…The devil exists as the personification of evil in different structures, but not in persons, because [he] is not a person, [but] is a way of acting evil. He is not a person like a human person. It is a way of evil to be present in human life.” This statement comes on the heels of a similar statement two years ago in which told another magazine that “we have formed symbolic figures such as the Devil to express evil.” This, of course, contradicts the unbroken Tradition of the Church, rooted in Sacred Scripture, that the devil is in fact a person and with his minions in tow, he actively works to destroy humanity out of envy. Fr. Sosa is not alone in his belief however and therefore his position merits a thorough examination.

One might be tempted initially to dismiss the whole discussion. The reality of evil in the world, it seems, is a human problem and therefore the nature of its source is not really important. If you want to believe in an actual devil or a symbol, then what difference does it make? As we shall see, and without danger of hyperbole, it makes all the difference in the world.

Let us first call to mind what we mean when we speak of the devil as a person. At root, a person is a being that has intelligence and the capacity to choose. Lucifer along with the rest of the fallen angels were endowed with these inherent capabilities by God at their creation. Rebelling against God, their intelligence and perverse will remain fixed on the destruction of His human creatures. Endowed with a power over nature, the demons work with extreme intelligence to set in motions plans for this destruction. These diabolical plans are carried out both directly and through human cooperation. Any notion that evil does not have a personal power behind it then would not fit with the reality of what the Church knows to be true. Fr. Sosa, on the other hand, would have us believe that the devil “exists as the personification of evil in different structures” (emphasis added). Removing the personal element, we now find evil as presented to us in “different structures”.

Why the Difference Matters

The difference is no mere subtlety but amounts to a vastly different Christianity. If evil exists and is aided and abetted by the devil, then the battle is primarily a spiritual battle. Knowing who our true enemy is, we engage in the appropriate battle. The devil who is pure spirit is only susceptible to spiritual combat. Aided by grace and the Communion of Saints, we engage first and foremost on a spiritual front—“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Eph 6:12). Using an image from St. Thomas Aquinas, men are like horses and the demons are like riders. When we dislodge the riders, the horses run free. Souls are saved in the midst of this combat.

Compare this to evil in “different structures”. If there is no person behind the evil then the battle is no longer spiritual but political. This sounds very similar to the ideas of Rousseau, Marx, Nietzche, Stalin, and Mao. They all sought to create political solutions to remove the structures of evil, even at the edge of a sword. They became demons themselves. But even if they were to find some utopic solution, it would still mean demonizing any men and women that opposed them. In short, if you deny the existence of demons, then you will most certainly create them. And because the proper home of demons is hell, souls will most certainly be lost.

The Devil as the Un-Person

The substitution of the political for the spiritual solution is precisely why Fr. Sosa’s ideas are not just stupid, but dangerous. They open up a Pandora’s Box of sorts that ultimately tears at the roots of true Christianity. His very ideas are diabolical because it creates “structures” that are turned away from God and de-personalize man. When then Cardinal Ratzinger was asked the question in 1973 about whether there was a personal devil he said, “If one asks whether the devil is a person, then one must in an altogether correct answer that he is an Un-Person, the disintegration and corruption of what it means to be a person” (Ratzinger Reader, p.44).”

What the future Pope was saying is that the diabolical disorientation that Fr. Sosa is proposing ultimately leads to more “Un-Persons” and not some cute theological trick. It is clear based on past evidence that he truly believes this to be true and thus should be corrected as the International Association of Exorcists did last week. For our part, we too need to realize that there is a powerful person who hates each one of us more than we can possibly imagine and our only refuge is in the Blood of Christ, the only Person Who can save us.

If Harry Met Paul

July 17, 2019beauty, Culture, Devils, Moralilty, Spiritual WarfareBooks, Children, Demons, Harry Potter, Paganism, Tolkien, Wiccatwowingstogod@gmail.com

The former Chief Exorcist of Rome, of pious memory, Fr. Gabriele Amorth is well known in Catholic circles for his books on the demonic. He is well known outside of Catholic circles for his repeated criticism of the Harry Potter series. Speaking mainly from the experience of casting out thousands of demons, he once said, “behind Harry Potter hides the signature of the king of the darkness, the devil.” This was met by mockery outside the Church and deaf ears within. Many Catholics, clergy included, see “nothing wrong with Harry Potter” and thus allow and encourage children to read the series, see the movies, visit amusement parks and play video games. Fr. Amorth is not the only exorcist who has warned against the series and even Pope Benedict cautioned against it during his time as Prefect of the Congregation of the Faith. Deaf ears can often lead to blind eyes and thus it is imperative that we have a coherent explanation and not merely scare tactics of why Harry Potter is dangerous.

To begin, we must concede that for a parent to offer an “it is harmless” defense of anything is not good parenting. Even if there is such thing as a “harmless” story (as opposed to helpful or harmful), it is questionable parenting to use that as a criteria for what you expose your children to. Junk food for the body might be permitted, junk food for the mind ought not to be. But in truth it is an attempt to feign neutrality when in fact there is really no such thing as a neutral story. Inundated by television and movies, which condition us to accept views of the world uncritically, we can easily forget how powerful a story is to convey a world view. We tend to equate entertainment and goodness.

Why Stories Matter

Stories are, to borrow a phrase from JRR Tolkien, a sub-creation. The author creates a world of his own imagining and then animates that world. But it is not a creation ex-nihilio, but a sub-creation. To be intelligible it must rest upon reality as it really is. A good story should also be entertaining, but to be good it must wrap a narrative around a particular aspect of reality so as to let the light of truth shine upon it. A bad story may also be entertaining, especially if we are uncritical of what we are reading or seeing. In fact, it often is in order to mask the ugliness of the story. Ultimately what makes it a bad story is that it distorts reality. It puts forth a false idea of truth and goodness, redefining them in subtle ways.

Stories have such a powerful effect on children because of their unbridled capacity for wonder. Wonder gives them a much more expansive view of reality which makes them particularly apt to see the message attached to the narrative. They don’t just read a book or watch a movie, they insert themselves into the world created by the author and move about. This is why a whole generation of now adults grew up playing Star Wars and why another generation is growing up playing Harry Potter. If you don’t want your children pretending to be magicians, using magic for good or ill, then you would not want them to read these books. Children will play in the stories they hear and read.

There is also a bit of a mixed message that is being sent. Magic, sorcery and divination are all presented as intrinsically evil by the Church (c.f. CCC 2117) but presented as something that can be used for good by the Harry Potter books. Since “intrinsically evil” implies one can never use it for good, this sends a rather mixed message. In short, on the one hand we have a story where the hero uses it and on the other we have stories in Scripture where it is strongly condemned regardless of how it is used. Deuteronomy 18:9-12 describes magic as an abomination before God and tells how a believer should respond in the face of it. One need not wonder what would happen if Harry met St. Paul given the latter’s interaction with the magician in Acts 13:6-12. The point though is that a child will not naturally allow a contradiction to exist and thus will reject one story and accept the other. One can hardly imagine that, without proper guidance and formation, the child will almost always choose the more entertaining story.

What is Magic, anyway?

A fuller understanding of magic itself will help us better grasp the inherent danger; a danger that is growing daily as our culture is re-paganized. There are about 20,000 books on Amazon that describe different Wiccan spells so we are talking about more than just mere sleight of hand or some fringe movement if we merely follow the market. Magic is not a sub-creation created in the mind of the author, but something that exists in the real world. Magic is about harnessing superhuman power and using it to overcome our natural limitations. So, when we speak about magic what we are really talking about is angelic power. Angels by their nature can act upon material creation simply by willing it. They can manipulate pre-existing matter in any matter that they wish. This is exactly what those schooled in magic and the occult are trying to do.

The problem is that evil angels, demons that is, are willing to share this power with human beings. Not in order to help them but to entrap them. They give them superhuman powers through spells and the like in exchange for control of them. By grasping at a power beyond them, they submit their own human strength to the demons. The demons are only too happy to comply because it makes them “like God” because it is a cheap imitation of God’s power of miracles. Ultimately it is an attack on God and the humans are simply pawns who end up bearing the brunt of it.

The Harry Potter books never say where the magic comes from, but it comes from the place that all magic comes from hell. It can seemingly be repurposed for good, or else it would lack appeal, but ultimately this good is a mere smokescreen for the evil that lurks behind its power. This repurposing of magic for the good is the theme behind another fantasy story, one that acts like the magic elephant in the room anytime Harry Potter is discussed–The Lord of the Rings.

Magic is a key element in the Lord of the Rings as well, and yet, most would say these would be categorized as good stories. To grasp how it is different from Harry Potter we must return to what was said earlier about the source of magic. If magic, at its core is angelic power, then there is nothing wrong with angels using it. It is their natural power. Those who naturally use magic in the story, namely the Elves and Gandalf, are not human. Gandalf is not a man but an angelic being called a Maiar who had taken human form. He and the Elves are, in Tolkien’s sub-creation, angels. It is natural for them to use “magic” and thus they are not seizing something that does not belong to them, but applying their given powers in pursuit of the good. The story makes clear that all those lesser creatures who ultimately try to harness that power, even if for good use, ultimately come to ruin. It is a story ultimately against magic and not for it. And in that way it is vastly different than Harry Potter which celebrates its use by men and women.

Temptational Judo

February 9, 2019Incarnation, Moralilty, Passion of Christ, Sin, Spiritual Life, Spiritual Warfare, The Life of JesusSins of Thoughttwowingstogod@gmail.com

Truth be told, we really don’t like thinking about sin, let alone even talking about it. But ignoring it is like trying to deny the existence of death. We can pretend that it doesn’t exist for only so long before we must face the facts. And just as a healthy spiritual life consists in regularly confronting death, so too, despite the vociferous objections of psychologically (as opposed to spiritually) trained clergy, does it include regularly pondering our sins. Not to relive them, but to relieve the damage we do to ourselves because of them. So rather than avoid thinking about them, I would like to suggest we spend some time thinking about our sins of thought.

That we can sin in our thoughts is something many of us unconsciously reject even though we confess publicly that “…I have greatly sinned in my thoughts.” Our Lord too chastised the Pharisees many times for their thoughts—“why do you think evil thoughts in your hearts?” (Mt 9:4). We tend to think of sin as something external, something that must be consummated if you will. We absolve ourselves saying “I can’t help what I think, but I would never do it.” But to even think it is, in a certain sense, to “do it”. As the Book of Wisdom tells us “perverse thoughts separate us from God” (Wis 1:3). Our will may not be fixed strongly enough to actually carry through or we may not do it because we fear the consequences or we may just lack the opportunity. But to think it is to want to do it.

To Think It is to Want to do It

This may seem extremely old fashioned or overly rigid until we realize that the terrain over which spiritual combat with the devil is fought is our minds. Think of the battle between Satan and Our Lord in the desert—the Tempter wanted to change Our Lord’s mind. This is a perfect image because the ongoing battle is between which mind we will garb ourselves in—the mind of Satan or the mind of Christ. And so, we must explicitly make known what we mean when we say “to think it is to want to do it.”

This battle is one that is fought in fog and confusion. Not all of our bad thoughts are equally bad nor are all of the thoughts our “own”. This makes it hard to tell the difference. But in order to lift the fog we must let the Son shine on our thoughts. To help us in doing this, St. Alphonsus Liguori puts before us three moments by which to evaluate what is going on.

First there is the suggestion. This is where the evil thought is presented to the mind. Where it “comes” from is not really that important. The devil can suggest bad thoughts by manipulating our memory and imagination or it can arise “spontaneously” by following a train of thought or our memory running amok. There is obviously no sin at this point, although it is knocking at the door. Next there is the delectation “when the person stops,” St. Alphonsus says, “to look at the bad thought, which by its pleasing appearance causes delight.” We are still not at the point of sin, unless we reach the third moment, consent.

Reversing the Moments

Working backwards we must admit that the exact point of consent is often difficult to decipher. It almost has a “how far can I go” type quality to it. That is why we should flip this around and look at evil thoughts not as a near occasion of sin, but as an opportunity for merit. In doing so, we enter into the workings of Divine Providence in capturing the grace that God made available when he allowed the temptation to arise. This is the mind of Christ Who practiced temptational judo in meriting for us salvation. Ultimately, this is why we do not so much worry about the source of the temptation and see it as coming from the Providential hand of the Father.

It is a relatively short journey for the evil thought to pass from temptation to sin because it is linked by the delectation. The bait covering the hook of sin is always some pleasure and in this regard sins of thought are no different. There is something pleasing in the evil thought—some aspect of revenge, venereal delight, or other guilty pleasure. That is why we cannot remain passive. Sin ultimately is a willingness to pay the price of evil to buy the pleasure attached to it. Therefore we can never be passive in the face of a temptation. Once we have moved to pleasure we have already, in a certain sense gone past the point of no return.

Vigilance then is the key. We must, at the moment the temptation arises, reject it completely. Call it what it is and pray for the grace of perseverance. Go to Our Lord in the desert and capture the grace He won for you for this very moment. Let it not be won in vain.

And this, then, is why reflecting on our sins of thought is so much a part of a healthy spiritual life. These temptations of thought are the building blocks of holiness. Each time we say ‘No’ we are conformed more and more to the image of the Son in the desert. St. Francis de Sales thought that mortifying our thoughts and imagination was one of the keys to holiness. He thought it absolutely necessary to kill any daydreaming or useless trains of thought because it gives us the power to control our own thoughts and recognize temptations for what they truly are the moment they arise.

The End Times and the Anti-Mary

January 23, 2019Advent, Devils, End Times, Family, Mary, Spiritual Warfare, The Life of JesusAntichrist, Immaculate Heart of Mary, Marian Consecration, Our Lady of Fatima, Second Coming of Christ, St. Louis de Montforttwowingstogod@gmail.com

Christians of every age have wondered whether they were living in the End Times. Each of these ages had their own reasons to believe that Our Lord’s return was imminent. In that regard our own age is no different. But our times are unique in a very specific way, one that is not often spoken of. The Second Coming of Christ will be like a negative photographic image of the first. He came in weakness, He will come in power. He came in silence, He will come with trumpet blasts. He came as Redeemer, He will come as Judge. He came as Lamb, He will return as Lion. Just as this principle of photographic negative applies to the New Adam, it also applies to the role the New Eve will play as well. And in this, we find signs that the end is near.

Mary’s First Coming

The future Queen of Heaven and Earth was the Queen of the Hidden Life during her earthly sojourn. She “kept all these things in her heart” rather than shouting them to the housetops. The only time she “let loose” of both her mission and her Son’s was in the privacy of her cousin Elizabeth’s home. And even after the Resurrection she remained in prayer, preferring not to speak and to avoid any chance that a cult were to rise up around the Mother of God. She who was a true wonder of the world, lived in the temple of her heart in ancient Ephesus while the pagans streamed to the Temple of the virgin goddess Diana in that same city. She was not only humble, but silent with only a single spiritual counsel—“do whatever He tells you.”

As Queen and Universal Mother she has not abandoned her children. Throughout the ages she has left her throne in Heaven and appeared to her children to give them an urgent message. These apparitions have been a regular part of the life of the Church over the past millennium. In the last few centuries however, they have grown in both frequency and publicity. She is no longer the silent maiden, but the regal Mother voicing her concern for her children. When we view this in light of the “photographic negative” principle, this makes sense. If she played a primary, albeit silent, role in the First Coming, we should only expect that she play a more visible and vocal role in the Second Coming. And the messages of her apparitions seem to suggest that the time is short. We may not know how short is short, but it is safe to say that she is clearing the way for His second Advent.

Reading the signs of the times and seeing the Marian apparitions in this light means we should treat the messages, especially at Fatima where the most visible public miracle ever occurred, with the utmost seriousness. But there is another sign that is related to this that ought to give us pause.

The Spirit of the Anti-Mary

We know that one of the signs of the Second Coming is the reign of the Antichrist. We aren’t told when but we are told how long he will reign (42 months). Throughout history there have been types of the Antichrist that gave us a glimpse of just how dark those days will be. But they have all passed. Eventually the true antichrist will rise and I would like to suggest that this eventuality is closer than we may think.

The Devil is the great ape of God, trying to “be like god” and mimic what He does. The Antichrist will be his greatest facsimile of the true Christ, for he will dupe many people into thinking he is the real thing. But being the great counterfeiter, we should expect that he will try to replicate the life of the true Christ is every way, but especially in a specific way—by having the anti-Mary precede him.

Who can doubt that the spirit of the anti-Mary is already rearing its ugly head among us under the guise of feminism? But only Mary is the true feminist, receptive in everything God has to give. Feminists reject femininity as receptivity and try to seize everything for themselves, including masculinity. The “handmaiden of the Lord” was the most liberated woman who ever lived, finding freedom in living out her feminine calling. The anti-Mary must liberate herself from even her own feminine nature, ending in absolute slavery. Mary modestly hid her beauty behind a mantle and veil, anti-Mary wears little except a pink cat hat on her head. Mary humbly “ate the bread of dependence” provided by Joseph at Nazareth and was filled, anti-Mary is gluten free and looks out only for number one. Mary loved God and submitted to Him in her Jewish religion, anti-Mary hates God for making them a woman and sees religion only as a weapon in the hands of oppressors. Mary prophetically whispered, “this is my body given for You,” anti-Mary shouts “my body, my choice.” They speak only of women’s rights, but Mary speaks of a woman’s unique duties.

The diabolical fraud has been perpetrated, clearing the way for the reign of the anti-Mary. And this is what makes our times utterly unparalleled. Other times may have had their shadows of the Antichrist, only our age is animated by the spirit of the anti-Mary. It is this uniqueness that suggests we may be entering into the time of the final battle. There is a great battle being waged between Mary and the anti-Mary and we must fly to the foxhole of her mantle. It was with this in mind that St. Louis de Montfort spoke of the Apostles of the End Times as having a particularly Marian spirit and devotion. It is also why Our Lady has reminded us that even though the anti-Mary is seemingly everywhere, that, in the end her Immaculate Heart will triumph.

Building the Culture of Life

January 19, 2019Bioethics, Catholic Social Teaching, Church and State, Contraception, Culture of Life, Defending the Faith, Devils, Politics, Spiritual WarfareEphesians 6, Fasting, march for life, Pro-Choice, pro-lifetwowingstogod@gmail.com

Culture, it has been said, is its own parent. It is like a feedback loop in that it forms its members who in turn form it. Many remain wholly ignorant of this aspect of culture and simply go with the flow. But even those who consider themselves as “counter-cultural” are not immune to its nascent effects. More specifically we must admit that even those who battle against the culture of death are not immune to it. “Its ubiquitous tentacles,” St. John Paul II once said, “succeeds at times in putting Christian communities themselves to the test” (Evangelium Vitae, 21). The test comes not so much in caving in, although that of course is always a threat, but the test comes is keeping their true Christian mission always in sight.

If the movement to build a culture of life suffers from one defect it is that it tends to define itself as a protest movement. That is, it tends to define it as against the culture of death. The March for Life, as great as it is (and it is great), is really a large protest movement against the injustice of abortion. Supposing Roe v Wade was overturned tomorrow, would such a march still continue? The overturning of Roe v Wade would certainly be a movement towards a more just society but the culture of death would continue. That is because the culture of death cares little about the body count, but instead is designed such that conditions lead to wholesale spiritual death. That an innocent child is sacrificed is really just collateral damage—the real victory comes in the spiritual death of the mother, father and “health-care” providers of the abortion.

The movement for a culture of life is one that is based upon the principles that lead to spiritual life. In other words it must be a Christian culture and that is why JPII saw the culture of death as a threat to Christianity as well. When we make it only about protecting human bodily life and not also about building a culture that actively promotes spiritual well-being then we have only kicked the can down the road. When Christians remember their mission to be leaven and that the goal is not to defeat the enemies of the culture of life, but to convert them then the culture of life will be founded. What would happen if, in addition to the March for Life, we got those same 300,000 people regularly doing penance for the souls trapped in the culture of death? We may pray but that is only half the equation. This kind can only go out with prayer and fasting. Christians, if they are to share in the mission of Christ, must be willing to do penance for the sin of the world as if it was their own. We have forgotten our mission as Christians.

We have forgotten our mission, because we have forgotten who the enemy is. We “battle not against flesh and blood but against the principalities and powers” (Eph. 6:12). That is why I spoke above about the culture of death as if it were personal. It is orchestrated and its conductor is the “father of lies”. The humans are simply his orchestra. But, changing the metaphor to one used by St. Thomas Aquinas in which he says the people are like horses and the demons riders. If you knock the rider off, the horse not only goes free, but joins your cavalry. Every person that works at Planned Parenthood is not the enemy but a potential convert.

Identity politics is a perfect weapon at the hands of the demons because it demonizes other men and women. This is how even Christians are easily duped into fighting the wrong battle. Think of how many times we say “they want to do this, or they think that.” When pressed we realized that we can’t really identify who they are. That is when we know that the true enemy of mankind is at work. As well orchestrated as the culture of death is, how one thing seems to build upon another, we must admit there is an evil non-human genius at work. We should not be surprised for Satan has, from the beginning, been working on his blueprint. His mission has been and remains to build a culture of death (“you will not die”). At certain times in history he has been more successful than others, and certainly our own time is remarkable in that regard, nevertheless he has always been defeated in the same way—the power of the Cross. The battle between the culture of death and the culture of life therefore is not primarily a legislative one but a spiritual one and we must use spiritual weapons to fight it. Only when we remember this will the culture of life prevail. We must remember our mission.

Spiritual Combat and the Mass

January 9, 2019Devils, Eucharist, Family, Grace, Prayer, Sacraments, Spiritual Life, Spiritual Warfare, The Life of JesusHoly Mass, Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, Source and Summit, Spiritual Combat, Vatican IItwowingstogod@gmail.com

As Christ panned the landscape from His throne upon the Cross, He saw both friend and foe. The foes included not just the Roman and Jewish leaders that wanted Him dead, but the demons who had incited them to carry out His execution with the maximum amount of cruelty. Likewise he saw not just His Mother, St. John and the holy women, but also all of His friends throughout the ages that would willingly join Him. From the vantage point of the Cross, He saw a great battlefield forming before Him. He saw very clearly who His real enemies were and asked for forgiveness for their pawns. The spiritual combat that had begun in the Garden with Adam and Eve reached its zenith when the New Adam and the New Eve finally crushed the head of the Ancient Serpent. A new weapon, the Cross had been introduced. For the Cross was a key not only heaven’s opened not just Heaven’s gates but a portal into hell. No longer outgunned, the Christian grasps the Cross like the hilt of sword and chases the demons back into hell. Calvary is the terrain over which all spiritual combat traverses. This truth is almost self-evident. It is perhaps the “almost” that causes us to miss a very important corollary. Just as the demons were actively engaged on the field of Mount Calvary, they are still actively engaged in the Mystical Calvary, that is, the Mass.

Active and Conscious Participation and Spiritual Combat

The Second Vatican Council exhorted Christians to “active and conscious participation” in the Mass. The “activity” is not on the part of more ushers, lectors and extraordinary ministers of the Eucharist, but in the hand to hand combat begun on the hill of Calvary and continues over the pews of our little parish churches. If the Mass is what we profess it is, the sacrifice of Christ made present to us explicitly so that we might participate in it, then it also demands that we take a side in the great battle and engage. This is the activity of the Mass. The “conscious participation” is the awareness of what we are actually entering into. The Mass is a great battlefield in which each and every Christian engages in spiritual combat—not just in some abstract sense, but in actual hand to hand combat. And, as in all spiritual combat, knowing you are engaged in a battle is, well, half the battle. Once we become aware of it, we realize how we have known it all along. Obviously there is a great ideological battle that has taken place that has obscured this truth and so we must begin by setting our minds and hearts firmly upon this truth.

Hand to hand combat is never just a “spiritual” thing but something real and practical. First there is the battle that occurs remotely. The great enemy of mankind hates the Mass and will do anything he can to keep us from being there. Obstacles are thrown up left and right to leaving on time. Otherwise peaceful families suddenly experience strife. Family members experience agitation and begin to quarrel. Accusations are thrown back and forth. The difficult child becomes more difficult while the impatient parent becomes more impatient. Clothes and keys can’t be found. The battle lines have been drawn and Pilate is reminding you that he has the power to make it all go away. Many will fall by the wayside because, after all, “what is truth?” Then there are those who, having their peace stolen, will set out on the way, leaving the Cross behind. Calling to mind what the Divine General did, the true soldier of Christ embraces the Cross and sets out on the Way. Knowing that he is headed to the Front is not enough however. He will serve as Simon of Cyrene by offering his cross for those in the first two groups who may not have the strength to carry theirs.

Once the Christian arrives at the Front, he is confronted with a new temptation—“to come down off the Cross” (c.f. Mk 15:30). In fact this is the primary weapon that the demons use against us. He will throw every distraction he can before our imagination. “What are they wearing?” , “Look at her! Look at him!”, “why doesn’t she pay attention to what her kid is doing?” “What do I need to do after Mass?”, “What is Father talking about?”. The demons coordinate their attacks, tempting one person to do something and then setting the judgment in the mind of another. You may have made it to the Front, but they can neutralize you through distraction. Again in recognizing it for what it is we have won half the battle. And with recognition, we derail the train of thought and hop back on the Cross with Christ Who has been waiting there for us from all eternity. This is a battle and each time we join Christ on the Cross we not only draw deeply from the fruit of the Tree of Life but are dealing a blow to the Evil One.

Take note Pastors, Liturgical Coordinators and Music Directors. This is why the liturgy should be completely devoid of any novelty. A well-disciplined army, one that has drilled so often that the battle itself becomes second nature, is a successful army. The war may be over, but we are trying to limit casualties in the mop-up operation. Novelty on the part of priests and coordinators only serve to distract and cause the army to fall from formation. So too with the music, it should be chosen not for its entertainment value, but for its ability to keep us engaged in the battle.

In all that was said so far it might seem then that the whole purpose of us going to Mass is to avoid distraction so that we can focus on what is going on. That is to see the battle only in terms of defensive tactics. The primary purpose of the Mass is to enable each one of us and all of us (that is the Church as a whole) to make the sacrifice of the Cross our own by way of participation. And this participation involves three different postures, each one based on those found at the Foot of the Cross on Calvary.

The Three Postures

The first posture is the Marian posture. Those who unite themselves with the Mother of God and adopt this posture are those for whom Mass involves personal suffering. Think for example of the special needs parent and child. Or think of the person who had great difficulty in crowds. Or the person who is undergoing a great personal crisis. Or even the parents of young children for whom 60 minutes sitting still in one place is a great challenge. These people are actively suffering with Christ

Those with the Marian stance are not only suffering with Christ, they are in a very real sense, suffering for Christ. They could just as easily decide that it is simply too hard to go to Mass and skip it. They may even be justified in so doing. But their love for Him precludes it. That is why the second posture, that of the holy women, is also necessary. The holy women at the foot of the Cross were there not only because they loved Christ, but because they also loved His Mother. It was not just His suffering that moved them, but hers as well. Their offering to Christ was one of prayer and support for Him and His Mother. The holy women (and men) of the Mystical Calvary, rather than giving in to the temptation to judge the Liturgical Marys in their midst, they support them through their understanding glances and prayers.

Finally, there is a Johannine posture. Motivated by a deep friendship, the Church’s first mystic was moved to great sorrow for his sins and a loving contemplation of the events unfolding before him. The Liturgical Johns work hard to remain in this posture throughout the entire Mass, moving from sorrow to thanksgiving as they try to penetrate ever deeper into the Mystery unfolding before them.

Before closing, it is important to mention that although the three postures are mutually exclusive, it does not mean you must select one each time you go to Mass. Very often God makes it abundantly clear which role you are to play in a given Mass and, even, during a particular part of a given Mass. In other words, you will always be playing one of those parts, but not always playing the same part.

Revisiting Our Sins

December 12, 2018Conscience, Freedom, Grace, Sin, Spiritual Life, Spiritual WarfareChurch Scandal, Sermon on the Mount, Sorrow for Sin, St. Augustine Pearstwowingstogod@gmail.com

One of the most committed sins is to re-commit our past sins—at least that is what many of the spiritual masters say. What they mean by this is not that we habitually fall into the same types of sins, but that we habitually call to mind the details of our past sins. What makes this practice so spiritually carcinogenic is that by hitting the play button we are opening ourselves up to a great temptation to reignite the pleasure of the sin. In a very real sense we can “re-commit” the sin by consenting to the pleasure it brought (and still brings) us. For this reason, they say we should never rehash the details of our sins, even if our goal is to stir up sorrow, once we have confessed them. Scripture tells us that God forgets our sins so that we do too.

We may not even be aware that we are doing this because of an ingrained habit of making “look but don’t touch” moral calculations. We reason that as long as we don’t actually “do it” then merely fantasizing about it is not a sin. But sin is an act of the will so that whether or not there is any external expression of the sin is really secondary. We can commit a sin merely by consenting to thinking about something sinful. This is precisely what Our Lord is getting at when He tells His followers that they can commit “adultery in the heart” (Mt 5:28).

Revisiting the Details

By rehashing the details of past sins, we always run the risk of taking pleasure in them, that is, in taking pleasure in something that is sinful. So rather than rehashing the details, we should only recall vagaries about them. The pleasure is in the details, the sorrow is in the offense. So when we dwell upon our sins, it should always be only to recalling the offense. St. Augustine up to the time of his conversion lived a famously reprobate life. But notice that we he speaks in the Confessions of his actual sins that he provides what seems to be a rather absurd example of stealing pears. What little detail there is, focuses not on the details, but on the offense itself. And for all the rest of his sins, he is silent on the details.

Augustine’s approach is also instructive in another key way. One of the evangelical devices that is often employed is the “witness talk.” Often, rather than modeling it on Augustine’s Confessions, they treat it like a Confession. The convert will go into great detail to show just how degenerate they had become, usually pointing to specific acts. The focus then is not on God’s mercy, but their sin. The speaker may no longer take pleasure in the details, but the details satisfy a certain curiosity of the listeners who have been conditioned by the world to take pleasure in the salacious details of other men’s sins. Instead of edifying the audience however they end up scandalizing them. Better to take Augustine’s approach and focus only vaguely on the sin.

This is especially relevant in the ecclesial climate, rocked by scandal, that we find ourselves in. There are many bloggers/podcasters who devote entire episodes that detail the particular sins of particular men involved in the scandal. By so doing they are simply expanding the reach of the active scandal of the men who have done these horrible things. Not only are they feeding their curiosity but by providing all the gory details they may be leading others away from the Church. Again, it is not that we should be silent in the face of great evil perpetrated by clergy, but there is no need to include specific details. You can get your point across by simply saying a priest engaged in homosexual behavior without telling all the gory details surrounding the acts themselves. This is sensationalism and only further glamorizes the evil. We should avoid listening to these tabloid approaches to the scandal.

Opening Up to Grace

Jesus’ admonition to avoid “adultery in the heart” was not only an appeal to try harder, but a call to embrace the freedom He paid so dearly to secure for us. This should not be seen as an accusation but an invitation to remove the impediments to grace. Our memory and imagination are a battlefield in which we are engaged by the enemy of our soul. Because they are material faculties the demons may be granted access to them in order to tempt us. The demons can call upon our memory banks and stimulate certain images in an attempt to get us to go down a particular train of thought. This is an attempt to gain control of our will. Simply being aware of this can help us go a long way in the spiritual battle.

But we absolutely must learn to mortify our memory and imagination. This is why the saints all caution us against what would seem like otherwise harmless daydreaming. By giving attention to every image and memory that pops into our minds we become conditioned to being controlled by them. Same also with a constant barrage of images that comes through modern technology. We crave (even chemically as many studies are coming to show) the constant stimulation and lose all control of our imagination. In this state, the demons can run roughshod over us because we do not even see them coming. They are simply cooperating with the process and leading us away from the harmless to the harmful.

By training ourselves to ignore these random images and memories our bodies become habituated to only producing them when they are willed. This makes us less susceptible to the attack of the demonic because we know immediately when they are acting. The memory and imagination, the source of all of our distractions in prayer, now become prayer’s servants and grace becomes completely operative. We are free from the tyranny of the imagination and memory and free for Our Lord to fill us with His life. Our past sins no longer have any power over us.

Light in the Darkness

October 26, 2018Church, Church Authority, Prayer, Spiritual Life, Spiritual WarfareChurch Scandal, Daily Mass, Eucharist, John Paul II, Novo Millenio Ineuntetwowingstogod@gmail.com

At the close of the Great Jubilee Year of 2000, Pope St. John Paul II drafted a blueprint for the Church in the next millennium in his Apostolic Exhortation Novo Millennio Ineunte. Through his Petrine office, the Pope played the prophet by emphasizing that the Church must “shine ever more brightly” in the third millennium. Not prone to echo merely pious sentiments, the Holy Father’s words are a clarion call to us Catholics living in dark ecclesial times especially by reminding us that Church’s luminosity is nothing more than a reflection of the light of the face of Christ in every historical period. Darkness sets in then when we have “not first contemplated His face.” Confronted with scandalous silence piled upon scandalous actions, many Catholics feel abandoned by the Church. But once we allow the prophetic character of JPII’s program for restoring the Church’s luminosity to invigorate our lives we realize that it is not the Church that has abandoned us, but we the Church. By failing to contemplate the face of Christ we are incapable of “letting our light shine before men”(c.f. Mt 5:16). But if we listen to what the Successor of Peter told us almost 20 years ago, we can find a path back to the light.

Before outlining his program, we would be remiss if we ignored an important point that the Holy Father makes: “We are certainly not seduced by the naive expectation that, faced with the great challenges of our time, we shall find some magic formula. No, we shall not be saved by a formula but by a Person, and the assurance which he gives us: I am with you!” (NMI, 29). Notwithstanding, the program is not something new but a revitalization of those practices that are at the heart of the Christian life. These things are pathways to the face of Christ.

The Plan…

The first is a commitment to a holiness that is devoid of any mark of “minimalist ethic and a shallow religiosity” (NMI, 30). We must each strive to attain a “high standard of ordinary Christian living” by which we judge everything on a scale of sanctity. What I mean by this is that we live in a detached manner asking whether each and everything we do is contributing to our holiness. God is, by His loving Providence, is providing at each and every moment means to grow in holiness. We need only say yes and fully embrace what He has planned to give us from all eternity.

The “scale of sanctity” is related to the second pillar of the saint’s program: grace. Fidelity to grace is the key to growing in holiness. The pursuit of holiness is not enough because it is not something we can ever obtain on our own. It depends solely upon how much sanctifying grace we are given. As the word grace (gratis) suggests it is pure gift. What that means is not that we must sit back and wait for it, but that we must be active in receiving the gift. Receptivity and passivity are not the same thing. We must have the docility to receive it in the manner in which God intends to give it to us, but also seeking out those encounters in which God bestows those gifts.

The remaining three pillars are related to those encounters. The first is the rediscovery of the face of Christ in the Sacrament of Penance (c.f. NMI, 37). Mercy is for the contrite and it is through the Sacrament of Penance in which our contrition and Christ’s mercy meet. In an age in which sin remains bound by self-appointed victimhood, freedom is found by approaching the mercy seat of the One Who became a willing victim for us. These true encounters with Christ, mediated by a Priest, should be frequent enabling us to see them as necessary even when our sin is not grave.

Likewise, the Sacrament of the Eucharist must be restored to a primacy of place. The Pope “insist[ed] that sharing in the Eucharist should really be the heart of Sunday for every baptized person” (36) but we should be willing to go further and make the sharing of the Eucharist the heart of every day. By contemplating the face of the suffering and resurrected Christ in the Eucharist, we are being conformed to Him Mass by Mass. If we really believe that Christ is present and the source of all life, “where else would we go” but to Mass? Our Lord will not be outdone in generosity so that when we generously make ourselves available for Daily Mass, we find it harder and harder to stay away.

Marked by the communal prayer of the Eucharist, we must also contemplate the face of Christ in prayer. Prayer, especially mental prayer, is the ordinary means God uses to gift us with His grace. Reading the signs of the times, especially the “widespread demand for spirituality,” the Pope called upon the Faithful not only to pray, but to be educated in the art of prayer. This meant going the great spiritual masters of the Church like St. John of the Cross, St. Teresa of Avila and St. Thérèse of Lisieux. More explicitly the Holy Father is saying that rather than looking elsewhere, especially in New Age spirituality, for “methods” of spirituality, that we should all re-connect with the mystical tradition of the Church. All too often Catholics are told to pray, but in truth do not know how to. Therefore parishes should become not just places of prayer, but schools of prayer where prayer is taught.

…And the Difference it Makes

While this plan will help individual Christians, it isn’t immediately apparent how it will help the Church. Holier lay people aren’t going to fix corrupt prelates, especially when those prelates sit in the high places of the Church. To see things this way however is to make a very worldly mistake, namely, seeing the Church as an institution and not as an organism. The Church, the Mystical Body of Christ, is the extension of the Incarnation throughout time (c.f Mt 28:20 and this previous post). The Church is holy because Christ is the Head. The Mystical Body is holy because it has the Holy Spirit as its soul. All those who share the indwelling of that same Spirit are members of that body. But it also has members that have become diseased and are no longer capable of acting as parts of that same body. And just as a body has varied means to heal diseased parts of the body, so too the Church has the same power because it is always the Person of Christ who acts, even if He uses other members of the body as instruments.

Holy Members of the Church, both Militant and Triumphant, are healthy members of the Body that act to heal the diseased members of the Body. They represent the true hierarchy of the Church. The hierarchy of the Institutional Church, a hierarchy that will disappear, is meant only to be a sign of the true hierarchy. Sometimes it fails as a sign and that’s when it is incumbent upon the true hierarchy to step up—not to lead the Institutional Church per se, but to be translucent members allowing the light reflected from the face of Christ to shine through them. And if we put St. John Paul II’s plan into action and seek his intercession, that will be enough to heal the Church and be a light to a desperately dark world.

God’s Choice?

August 30, 2018Church, Church Authority, Divine Mercy, End of Life, Fasting, God's Will, History, Magisterium, Pope Francis, Prayer, Sin, Spiritual WarfareAbuse Scandal, Fatima, Penance, Reparationtwowingstogod@gmail.com

As criticism continues to mount against Pope Francis amidst this time of ecclesiastical turmoil, a growing number of peacemakers have emerged, who, in an attempt to diffuse the situation, are quick to offer the reminder that “he was chosen by the Holy Spirit.” One can certainly appreciate the attempt to maintain unity. Especially because the Pope is the most visible sign of Catholic unity. But this path to peace is a theological dead end. The Pope is not “chosen by the Holy Spirit”, at least in the sense that the peacemaker means it. Cardinal Ratzinger, the future Pope Benedict XVI was once asked whether the Holy Spirit is responsible for the election of a pope to which he replied:

I would not say so, in the sense that the Holy Spirit picks out the Pope. . . . I would say that the Spirit does not exactly take control of the affair, but rather like a good educator, as it were, leaves us much space, much freedom, without entirely abandoning us. Thus the Spirit’s role should be understood in a much more elastic sense, not that he dictates the candidate for whom one must vote. Probably the only assurance he offers is that the thing cannot be totally ruined…There are too many contrary instances of popes the Holy Spirit obviously would not have picked!

In his usual pedagogical succinctness, the Pope Emeritus gives us several important reminders, not only on the election of the Pope, but also on the nature of the Church, especially in times of crises such as we are currently facing.

The Holy Spirit and the Conclave

As Benedict is quick to point out, one need only study history to see that this hypothesis is highly questionable. History is rife with scoundrels who came to occupy the Chair of Peter. It is always a good idea to study Church history and remind ourselves of this, especially because most of us have lived under the reign of popes who became saints. It is only with great intellectual dexterity that we could admit that the Holy Spirit “picked” both these saints and someone like, say, Pope Alexander VI.

One might object that, even if it is a highly informed one, Cardinal Ratzinger was just offering an opinion (“I would say so…”). The tradition of the Church would suggest otherwise. Lex orandi, lex credenda—as we worship, so we believe. The Church, among her various liturgies, has a Mass for the Election of the Pope. The Church Universal prays that the Conclave will be docile to the promptings of the Holy Spirit. This implies that they can also operate under the promptings of mixture of other spirits as well.

Free will of the Cardinal electorate then is operative and “anyone” can be chosen. Yet we are also treading on the horizon of free will and Divine Providence. The man chosen to be Pope will be God’s choice, but only in the sense that the papal election, like all things, falls under God’s Providence. We may be certain that the Holy Spirit directly wills the election of a given man as Supreme Pontiff, but through the mystery of Providence will allow another to take his place.

Our Lord told St. Peter that the gates of hell would not prevail against the Church. What He meant by this was that no matter what, the Church would not fail. The Barque of Peter may take on water, but it will never sink. The Holy Spirit will allow the Church to take on water, but will always keep her afloat. That is the extent of His protection.

This however is not the end of the story because of God’s Providence. Regardless of whether it is a good Pope or bad, the Church will always get the Pope it needs. Providence dictates that God will always provide the People of God with what they need.

Reading the Times

There may be a mutiny on the Barque of Peter and the Holy Spirit will pick a strong captain to lead a counter-mutiny, stopping the flow of the water. Or, He may allow another man who joins the mutiny and ignores the water that continues to flow onto the boat. Eventually all the compartments are flooded, washing the mutineers overboard. The end result is the same, the corruption has been washed away and the Church was given exactly what she needed.

In a very real sense then the Pope is always God’s choice but only as an instrument. As a type of the Church, Israel shows us this. History continually moved in the direction towards the coming of the Messiah, the only question was whether the king and the people would cooperate. Israel would flourish, grow fat, play the harlot, be chastised, and continue through the remnant. This pattern is revealed so that we will come to recognize and expect it in the Church. Either way history will continue to move towards the Second Coming.

In turbulent times this ought to serve as a great comfort. The infestation of corruption in the Church is finally coming to a head and God is going to root it out. He will use Pope Francis as his instrument. The only question seems to be which type of captain Pope Francis will be. Either way these scandals should not push us towards despair, but should instill hope into us. God will not be mocked for sure, but neither will He ever abandon His people. He is always on the lookout for co-redeemers—those people who will pick up the Cross with Jesus and lay down their lives for the Church. Only acts of reparation will repair the Church and each of us has an obligation to do this. Every man must come on deck, stem the mutiny and start bailing water or risk being carried overboard. “Penance, penance, penance!” the Angel of Portugal told us through the children of Fatima. The time is at hand. Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us!

On Being a Jerk

August 23, 2018Sin, Spiritual Life, Spiritual Warfare, VirtueDetachment, Ignatian Indifference, Poverty, St. Paul, St. Thomas Aquinastwowingstogod@gmail.com

One of the funniest scenes in one of the funniest all-time movies is from The Jerk. The protagonist , Navin R. Johnson, played by Steve Martin, gets into an argument with his wife (played by Bernadette Peters) and tells her “Well I’m going to go then. I don’t need any of this, this stuff and I don’t need you.” As he leaves the room he eyes an ashtray and says “except this ashtray.” As he plots his course out of the room he picks up several more exceptions (including a chair) until his hands are completely full. What makes this scene particularly funny is not that Johnson is acting like a jerk, but that it makes all of us look like jerks. Creating our own list of exceptions to what we truly need is at the root of most of our unhappiness. That is why it takes a truly wise man like St. Thomas to tell us that there are really only two things we need to make us happy, neither of which is a chair or an ashtray. In the midst of describing the perfect political regime in his treatise On Kingship, the Angelic Doctor reminds the reader that only virtuous action and “a sufficiency of material goods, the use of which is necessary for virtuous action” are needed for a good life.

The reason for the first one, virtuous action, is rather easy to grasp. Only the man who is capable of truly governing himself has the power to use his freedom to pursue goodness, truth and beauty. The virtuous man is a free man. The vicious man is a slave—to his pride, his vanity and his passions. Enslaved to the egotistical trinity, he is easily drudged to other men. Profound unhappiness ensues.

Becoming a Jerk?

But even if we get the first one right, there is always a risk that we will get the second one wrong. It is the second one that keeps us from becoming jerks. Given that the good life consists in virtue, then everything else is evaluated by its capacity to foster the life of virtue. To be fair, St. Thomas does not say this exactly. Absent the rare man who has the capacity to practice heroic virtue, most men truly need material support to become virtuous. These things include food, water, clothing, and shelter for the man and those in his care. In St. Thomas’ day and age the scant material condition of many men made it extremely difficult to become virtuous. He thought that it was the King’s job to foster an environment in which men were able to obtain these things with relative ease. That is his point.

But there is an important corollary to what the Dumb Ox is saying. What St. Thomas did not envision however was a time when material conditions had changed so drastically that a “regular” man’s virtue would be threatened because of an excess of material goods. We live in such an age where the material comforts of even the poorest are beyond the wealthiest aristocrats of earlier ages. Virtue now is threatened not so much by a lack of needs, but because of an excess power to obtain our wants.

We might be tempted to a knee-jerk reaction and think that the response is to only focus on those things we absolutely need. To be clear, there is nothing wrong with wanting things we do not absolutely need. It is not a matter of either/or. A rich life includes wants as well as needs. The problem is that the jerk wanders about grabbing what he can. He wants things for the wrong reason. What are the wrong reasons? All of them, save one, that the thing helps him in some way to live a life of virtue. Virtue causes in us the habit of wanting the right things.

True Wisdom of the Saints

The wisdom of St. Thomas is perennial. He has given us a rule to live by in both lack and plenty. In this age of plenty there are many Christians struggling not to get caught up in the economic materialism of the age. This rule guides us in deciding what we will buy and what we won’t. It keeps us from falling prey to the trappings of the world that are meant to lull us to sleep. And, most importantly, it gives us a rule to pass along to our children. Life is about wanting the right things for the right reasons and avoiding becoming a jerk.

St. Ignatius of Loyola in his Spiritual Exercises introduces the concept of indifference which serves as a perfect complement to St. Thomas’ principle. We should, according to the saint, be indifferent to the means that God uses to make us holy. All that we care about is that a thing is making us holy. Everything else in this world is just a means—instruments used for our growth. When they cease to serve that purpose, we let them go. Lacking something? Thank divine Providence because your need for virtue is being filled in that lack. It is this holy indifference that also keeps us from becoming attached to things we already have. St. Paul likewise tells the Philippians that this indifference is a key to unlocking joy: “Now I rejoice in the Lord exceedingly, that now at length your thought for me hath flourished again, as you did also think; but you were busied. I speak not as it were for want. For I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, to be content therewith. I know both how to be brought low, and I know how to abound: (everywhere, and in all things I am instructed) both to be full, and to be hungry; both to abound, and to suffer need” (Phil 4:10-13)

The Gatekeeper said that only those who live out the evangelical command of poverty can enter the Kingdom of Heaven. And herein lies the great value in the teachings of the three saints—it gives us a means to live a life contrary to the anti-poverty of the age. Might it take heroic virtue to turn away from the excess material pleasures our world offers? Perhaps. One of the conditions of sainthood is heroic virtue. And in the end, that leaves us with a true either/or; either we will be saints or we will be jerks. Don’t be a jerk.

St. Catherine of Siena and the Latest Church Scandal

August 9, 2018Church, Dialogue, Divine Mercy, Fasting, Mercy, Saints, Sin, Spiritual Warfare, SufferingPenance, Reparation, St. Catherine of Siena, Theodore McCarrick, US Bishopstwowingstogod@gmail.com

For anyone who thought that the clergy sexual abuse scandal was something that was left in the past, the recent revelations regarding former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick have shown that the cancer has metastasized. Round two promises to be uglier than round one, especially since the former Cardinal’s actions were widely known throughout the American Church and beyond. The laity could be excused for harboring a feeling of déjà vu, especially given the overall weariness with feeling like sheep without a shepherd. They might even be excused for looking for looking for ways to take matters into their own hands; might that is until they read the writings of one of the Doctors of the Church.

St. Catherine and the Dialogue on the Clergy

Best known for her ecstatic dictation of a dialogue with God the Father, St. Catherine of Siena lived in an era marked by clerical corruption. In fact, she was instrumental in reforming the Church by executing some of the very things the Father dictated to her. There are large sections in her Dialogue in which God tells Catherine what must be done about sinful clergy. These words, rooted deeply in the Gospel message are particularly relevant for lay people today and merit special attention given the state of the Church today.

The Father begins His dialogue with Catherine reminding her of the great dignity of priests and prelates regardless of their personal sin. He tells her that “it is impossible to have a greater dignity than theirs” because He has made them “My Christs” (Dialogue, 113). This dignity attaches to the office and thus cannot be wiped away no matter how often the clergy attempts to deface it through personal sin. He is well aware that with this dignity comes a great responsibility and that “by sinning they are abusing the souls of their neighbors” and will one day have to answer for it; “Their dignity in being My ministers will no save them from My punishment…they will be punished more severly than all the other because they have received more from My kindness. Having sinned so miserably they are deserving of greater punishment” (121). But from the perspective of the laity there is always a certain dignity such that “To Me redounds every assault they make on My ministers.” He goes on to say that “a person can do no worse violence than to assume the right to punish My ministers” (116). What the Father is reminding us is that it is the Church’s role to punish the sinful clergy and not the laity (unless appointed by the Church to do so). This applies even when the Church seems to ignore it or turns a blind eye. This, as we shall see in a moment, does not mean the laity need to act like sheep led to the slaughter but that they have an active role in bringing about justice.

This role is revealed to Catherine by the Father when He begins “to show her the wretchedness of their [the sinful clergy] lives” (121). First He describes how the sin is made manifest in their unwillingness to correct others. The ministers “let My members grow rotten for want of correction…because of fear of losing their rank and position or because they themselves are living in the same or greater sins.” It is as if they are blind leaders of the blind (117).

The Sins of the Clergy

And what, besides human respect, are these “same or greater sins”? The Father “reveals these miserable sins of theirs,” the “stench which displeases not only Me…but the devils as well.” These sins are the sins which are so hateful to Me that for this sin alone five cities (Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim and Zoar) were struck down by My divine judgment. For My divine justice could no longer tolerate it, so despicable to Me is this abominable sin…So you see, dearest daughter, how abominable this sin is to Me in any person. Now imagine how much more hateful it is in those I have called to live celibately” (124).

These words may have been spoken in the 14^th Century, but they are as relevant today as they were then. The parallels to our situation today are uncanny so that through St. Catherine God the Father has left us a blueprint for how the laity ought to respond . Catherine grasps that these sins are revealed by Providential design. The Father says, “Sometimes I reveal these miserable sins of theirs to My servants (just as I did to you) so that they may be even more concerned for their salvation and hold them out to Me with greater compassion, praying for them with sorrow for their sins and the insult they are to Me ”(124). God the Father wants the laity to bring these sinful clerics before Him in merciful prayer so that He might be further glorified in His mercy. Of this response, many of our contemporaries have already spoken. But Catherine knows the Father is asking for more from us when she pleads, “O eternal Father, be merciful to Me and to these creatures of yours! Otherwise take the soul from my body, for I do not think I can stand it anymore. Or give me some respite by showing me where I and Your other servants can find refuge so that this leprosy will not be able to harm us or deprive us of our bodily and spiritual purity” (124). She begs the Father how it is that she might escape this leprosy that is infecting the Body. The Father tells her, “charity will make you put up with your neighbors with true patience by enduring pain, torment, and weariness no matter what their source. In this way you will flee and escape the leprosy” (124). In short, the Father is asking St. Catherine and each one of us not only for prayer, but for penance. He is calling upon the laity in a very specific way “to fill up in their flesh what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of His body, which is the Church” (Col 1:24).

From within the context of the renewed universal call to holiness, God has providentially arranged for the outward show of sanctity of the Church to depend in a very particular way on the laity. In an age infected with clericalism this is a most important message. If the laity are truly to be God’s other “Christs” as well, then they must continue His mission of reparation. This trial by fire is a clarion call in an ecclesial environment that has shunned penance for generations. Now the future of the Church depends upon it. The Holy Spirit may have promised it would not fail, but a renewed laity can make it thrive. That renewal begins with lives dedicated to penance and reparation. St. Catherine of Siena, pray for us!

The Terror of Demons

November 15, 2017Devils, Last Things, Sacraments, Saints, Spiritual WarfareFour Last Things, Happy Death, Remember Death, St. Joseph, Terror of Demonstwowingstogod@gmail.com

When St. Pius X officially sanctioned the Litany of St. Joseph in 1909, he acknowledged him to be both the Patron of the Dying and the Protector of Holy Church. It was Pope Pius IX who first invoked him under the title of Patron of the Universal Church and he did so because dedicated his life to safeguarding the two most important members of the Church, Our Lord and Our Lady. Tradition also names him Patron of the Dying because he died the most blessed of all deaths in the presence of the same two whom he had so vigilantly protected during his earthly sojourn. But it is the title that bridges St. Joseph’s dual patronage, Terror of Demons, which constitutes his most active roles in the lives of individual Christians. There is a danger of seeing the litany as merely a catalogue of things that St. Joseph can do; the carpenter who is the jack of all trades. These last three titles have an interconnectedness that stocks our personal arsenal in times of great trial. In truth, they arm us for the greatest of trial each of us will face, death.

All of the spiritual masters of old suggest that we reflect upon death regularly, not just to know about it, but to remember it. They do so not just because it helps keep things in their proper perspective, but because it is the moment when our souls are in the greatest peril of being lost. During our lives, the great majority of us see the devil as the Cheshire Cat but for all of us he will reveal himself fully as the prowling lion intent on the ruin of our soul (1 Pt 5:8). When his time is short, his wrath is greatest (Rev 12:12).

Why the Battle is So Fierce

Why this time of trial is so severe may not be entirely clear so that by adding some clarity we can steel ourselves for those inevitable moments. Through His death and resurrection, Christ destroyed “him who has the power of death, that is, the devil” (Heb 2:14). But He did not take away death, but instead freed us from “the fear of death” (Heb 2:15). Death itself is the last enemy to be destroyed (c.f. 1Cor 15:26) and still remains the playground of the Devil. Just as in the rest of life, the devil is given power because it provides matter for our growth in the theological virtues. On the cusp of death our faith and hope are sorely tried and through their fervent exercise provide a growth in our desire for God, “having a desire to be dissolved and to be with Christ, which is much better” (Phil 1:23).

By freeing us from the fear of death Our Lord not only gives us a share in His victory but empowers us to make the victory our own. Thrust into spiritual combat with the devil, the faithful are enabled to defeat the “strong man.” Our Lord’s victory on the Cross does not merely defeat the devil, but destroys him (c.f. Heb 2:14). That is, He renders Satan’s power at the time of death ultimately ineffective. To be defeated by the Word made flesh is one thing, but to be defeated by hairless bipeds is quite another. Satan’s destruction comes about because he can no longer bind severely handicapped human creatures. Through the mysterious action of grace each of us can truly say that the victory is mine.

Armed for the Final Battle

The Church was given the power to arm the faithful for this final battle through the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick. The Council of Trent says that among the effects of the Sacrament is the power to “resist more easily the temptations of the devil who lies in wait for his heel” (Council of Trent, Session 14). While the Sacrament bestows this power ex opere operato, the effect within the individual believer depends upon his subjective disposition to receive the grace.

By anticipating the fronts on which the attacks are likely to occur, we can be better prepared for the ensuing battle. It is our faith and hope that are put to the test during this final battle and so we need to examine how these two virtues are tried—faith through doubt and credulity and hope through despair and presumption. In his book, Spiritual Combat, the 16^th Century author Dom Lorenzo Scupoli examines these four areas and gives some tips to make us battle ready.

In his attacks against faith he will attempt to stir up anxiety about what is to come by planting the seeds of doubt about the faith of the Church in our minds. The battle is not however to have a ready defense so as to argue. Our Lord’s temptation in the desert reveals the Devil to be a liar and a sophist and able to twist and distort even the most blatant of lies. Instead we must have the interior habit of faith—a firm clinging to the truth of all that the Church teaches. The more ingrained that habit is, the stronger will be our defense. In any regard we are to offer no pearls to the demonic swine. As Scupoli says, “if the subtle serpent demands of you what the Catholic Church believes, do not answer him, but seeing his device, and that he only wants to catch you in your words, make an inward act of more lively faith. Or else, to make him burst with indignation, reply that the holy Catholic Church believes the truth; and if the evil one should ask in return, ‘What is truth?’ you reply, ‘That which she believes.’”

The devil will also tempt us towards credulity through false visions. Knowing the likelihood of an attack on this front, we should turn away from any visions in humility by seeing ourselves as unworthy of visions. Even if they turn out to be true, God ultimately is pleased with our humility and therefore will not hold it against us. Instead acts of trust are to be made in the mercy of Jesus and the prayers of Our Lady and St. Joseph.

The second front by which the demonic sortie is likely to come is by attacking hope. Our past sins will be thrown at us all with the goal of despairing for our salvation. Humility and trust in the blood of Christ are the weapons of choice. Remembrance of past sins is a grace when it is accompanied by sorrow for having offended God and humility. But when these thoughts unsettle you, they come from the Wicked One. True sorrow is a gift of the Sacrament of Confession and will bear great fruit in this time of trial. Genuine humility, borne out in the crucible of the humiliations of life is a steady shield. To the extent that we develop these virtues now, they will be ready at hand in the time of trial.

Scupoli says that presumption is the final battle arena. Confronted with despair there is always the temptation to begin to list all of our merits. In the face of this, Scupoli says we should “abase yourself ever more and more in your own eyes, even to your last breath; and of every good deed done by you, which may come before you, recognize God Alone for its Author. Have recourse to Him for help, but do not expect it on account of your own merits, however many and great be the battles in which you have been victorious. Ever preserve a spirit of holy fear, acknowledging sincerely that all your precautions would be in vain, if God did not gather you under the shadow of His wings, in Whose protection alone you will confide.”

The logic of the Litany of St. Joseph now comes into view. If he is to be the Patron of a Happy Death, he necessarily must be a Terror of Demons. It is his prayers specifically during our battle that make him the Terror of Demons, chasing them from us by the power of his mere presence. By captaining the final battle of the members of the Church Militant, he is there to usher them into the Church Triumphant making the Church truly universal. By fostering our own personal devotion to St. Joseph, we too may come to share in his inheritance.

The Hidden Vice

August 2, 2017Sin, Spiritual Life, Spiritual Warfare, VirtueDante, envy, Jealousy, Seven Deadly Sinstwowingstogod@gmail.com

Soren Kierkegaard once remarked that envy was hidden and unconscious for most men. This might explain why we find the seeds of it scattered throughout our culture. There is the advertising industry for example which is built entirely on the goal to stir envy for things that we don’t really want except for the fact that other people have them. So deeply embedded is envy that it is even institutionalized in the pitting of the poor against the rich (or women against men or nearly every other class conflict) in a quasi-communistic class struggle that our liberal democracy has adopted. Therefore, it is instructive to shine a light on the havoc this vicious habit can create in our lives.

Envy has long been considered to be one of the Seven Deadly Sins, or, more aptly named Seven Capital Sins. These “sins” are called Capital sins not because they are sins per se, but because they act as motivating forces for the actual sins we commit. In short, one does not commit envy, but instead commit a sin because you are envious. Envy is like a tree that produces rotten fruit. Until we expose the roots of the tree, we will never be rid of its fruit. The tree of envy is known by its tendency to, as St. Thomas says, experience “sorrow in the face of another’s good.”

The Sorrow of Envy

While this definition is correct, it needs to be nuanced a bit so that we do not chop down the wrong tree. There is a holy envy that St. Thomas calls zeal in which we experience sorrow not because another person has something, but because we don’t. We look at some good that another person has that we know we do not have and our sorrow moves us to work zealously to obtain that good thing. In other words we grieve not because the other person has the good, but because we don’t.

Envy, on the other hand, grieves simply because the other person has that good. It has a competitive quality about it in that the other’s greatness seems to subtract from my own. This is why envy follows on the heels of pride and is the “second sin.” Lucifer committed the sin of pride and then begrudged mankind for the good that he had lost. It is by the envy of the devil, death entered the world, and they who are allied with him experience it” (Wisdom 2:24). The first sin of man was pride, “to be like God.” The second sin was “crouching at the door” (Gn 4:7) when sadness over God’s favor toward Abel, led Cain not to “do well” but to kill his brother.

It is ultimately envy that led directly to the death of Our Lord. As Venerable Fulton Sheen articulates, “Annas was envious of His innocence; Caiaphas was envious of His popularity; Herod was envious of His moral superiority; the scribes and Pharisees were envious of His wisdom…And in order that He might no longer be person to be envied, they reputed Him with the wicked.” Envy was the cause of the death of Peter and Paul and a cause of division in the early Church. When the Corinthian community begins to form factions, Pope St. Clement sends them a letter reminding them just how deadly envy can be.

There are two reasons why envy is an especially strong temptation for us as 21^st Century Americans. The first is that we are a people that is obsessed with equality. When everyone is equal in all ways, envy will seem justified and you will hardly recognize it for what it is. If we are all equal, then we must do all that we can to level the playing field.

I alluded to the second reason earlier when I mentioned about the competitive nature of envy. In a world that is mostly governed by a philosophical materialism, envy will seem like merely a recognition of the truth. If life is a zero sum game then what you have actually takes away from what I have. If I am poor it is because you are rich—you have taken more than your fair share and there is nothing left for me. But most of life is not a zero sum game, especially when it comes to spiritual goods (which tend to be the things we envy most) related to personal character.

Because envy remains somewhat hidden to us, we may only recognize it by its effects. When I see another person’s greatness somehow diminishing mine, there will always be the accompanying temptation to detract that person. Somehow dragging another person down acts as a way of raising ourselves up. If we step back and see truthfully however we will acknowledge that we can only envy those when we think better than ourselves in some way. As Pope St. Gregory says, “We witness against ourselves that the other is better” (Moralia of Job, 84). Knowing this, we should be very slow to make judgments about other people. Envy causes us to find chinks in the armor of everyone we meet looking for ways in which we are superior to them. It also explains why we often don’t like someone else, even though we cannot explain why. “There is just something about them I don’t like” usually means “there is just something about them that makes me envious.”

This tendency to misjudge another person that accompanies envy is also a good reason why we should be very slow to believe things that we hear about other people (Fulton Sheen goes so far as to say we should not believe 99% of what we hear about other people). Envy is the most common cause of gossiping and one of the reasons why we should avoid entangling ourselves in it. It is also the reason why you can’t go wrong thinking the best of another person until you have hard evidence to the contrary.

The Antidote to Envy

While the Devil essentially says to mankind, “As I envied you, so now you must envy one another,” Our Lord offers the antidote to envy, “As I have loved you, so must you love one another.” Vices can only be overcome by an opposing virtue so that envy is overwhelmed by charity. When tempted to envy, we should perform some charitable act towards that person. It can be as simple as saying a prayer for them or offering a kind word to or about them. Fasting or making some other sacrifice for that person, especially that the gift we envy might flourish, can remove any traces of envy in our hearts. Once we have skin in the game, that is invest in the person and their gifts by making a sacrifice, we cannot help but to root for them.

Dante, in the Purgatorio, offers us a second virtue to overcome envy. As he meets the envious in the Second Terrace of Purgatory, he finds them scrambling about, deprived of the gift of sight by having their eyes sewn shut with iron wire. They become like blind beggars depending upon each other to avoid falling off the Mountain. In this way they learn to rejoice in other’s goods. In being forced to depend upon each other they learn magnanimity. The magnanimous person has a “large soul” in that they can rejoice in the good of another as if it were their own. The magnanimous person is not offended by natural or even supernatural inequality, but simply rejoices in the good that is to be found.

In each of the terraces of the Mount of Purgatory, Dante also proposes a Marian example of the virtue. For envy he offers Our Lady’s intercession at the Wedding of Cana as the example. It is Our Lady’s magnanimity that causes her to see the threat to the joyful celebration and take the concern (“Woman how does your concern affect me?”) on as if it were her own. This is why the 12^th Century Saint Bernard of Clairvaux once counseled “If you are tossed upon the waves of pride, of ambition, of envy, of rivalry, look to the star, call on Mary the star of the sea.”

Our Lady, Star of the Sea, pray for us.

The Media and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil

July 8, 2017Bible, Culture, Media, Passion of Christ, Scripture, Sin, Spiritual Life, Spiritual WarfareAgony in the Garden, John Henry Newman, Knowledge of Good and Eviltwowingstogod@gmail.com

“If it bleeds, it leads.” If there is a single maxim that guides the main stream media in their reporting, then it is this. The principle itself is based on a simple calculation: the more carnage, death and human depravity in a story, the higher it appears in the reporting hierarchy. We, of course, are all quick to condemn the media for this. But not so quick that we don’t watch it first. The main stream media is a business, a big business at that, and guided by the law of supply of demand. It is all based on ratings and with so many ways to monitor what we are watching, they know exactly how much is consumed. In other words, they lead with the blood because we watch it. The more we watch, the more we get. Inundated by it, we feel powerless to keep from watching. We watch while covering one eye. But like all things we feel powerless to avoid, it is illuminating to ask why we do it.

Rather than strictly psychological, the answer is more theological in nature. Its genesis is found, well, in Genesis. Returning to “the beginning” of mankind, we find man and woman in Eden made in the image and likeness of God. In His likeness, Adam and Eve are practically unlimited, able to eat from every tree in the Garden except one. Unlike God, they have a single limitation; they cannot eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Their test then will be whether they are willing to accept this limitation or not. The Serpent, the inventor of “if it bleeds, it leads,” leads with “You shall not die” and tells the story of how Adam and Eve can be like God if they will simply take from the tree and eat.

The Knowledge of Good and Evil

Even if the tree itself is symbolic, the limitation itself is real. In order to understand our bloodlust we must first understand exactly what the tree represents. Adam and Eve attempted to know evil without experiencing it. That is, they tried to know it from the outside without participating in it from the inside. This capacity of knowing evil while not experiencing it is something that only God can do. Only God is all holy and can be unstained by it. As Blessed John Henry Newman puts it,

“You see it is said, ‘man is become as one of Us, to know good and evil,’ because God does know evil as well as good. This is His wonderful incommunicable attribute; and man sought to share in what God was, but he could not without ceasing to be what God was also, holy and perfect. It is the incommunicable attribute of God to know evil without experiencing it. But man, when he would be as God, could only attain the shadow of a likeness which as yet he had not, by losing the substance which he had already. He shared in God’s knowledge by losing His image. God knows evil and is pure from it—man plunged into evil and so knew it.” (Parochial and Plain Sermons, Ignorance of Evil).

This is also the sin of Lot’s wife when she is turned to a pillar of salt. Overcome by the curiosity to know the evil of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah without being touched by it, she quickly finds out that to know it, is to share in it. But Scripture is most clear on this when we examine the accounts of Our Lord’s Agony in the Garden. It is the God-Man and only He Who can know evil without actually participating in it. So great is the protest of His human nature that He sweats blood.

One might rightly ask at this point how it is that merely watching “bad news” has anything to do with the knowledge of good and evil. It is in seeing this particular aspect of it that we can begin to separate ourselves from it. Why is simply hearing about “bad news” not enough and why do we crave the details? Why are we unsatisfied with a report such as“13 people were killed in an attack today” but have to know how it happened (video even if it contains the “graphic material” is especially wanted), who the perpetrators were, what their motivations were, etc.? It is because what we learned theologically is proven empirically (or else it wouldn’t be the main part of the consumer news cycle). In short, it shows we cannot just know about evil, we want to know it like Adam knows Eve, that is experience it fully.

What the Tree Offers Us

This doesn’t mean we want to pull the trigger but just don’t have the courage. For most of us its meaning is more subtle than that. It means we want to experience the pleasure attached to the evil even if we do not actually commit the act. It is what the Church calls the glamor of evil, the primal curiosity that brings pleasure from evil acts. We can call it virtual reality evil—all of the thrills with none of the bills. It is what keeps us from looking away at bad car accidents, watching Youtube videos of accidents, going to the movies to see the latest “psychological thriller” and the reason why serial killers gain celebrity. The Devil really is in the details.

The illicit pleasure is not the only effect or really even the worst. This habit of dwelling on depravity is soul deadening. It causes us to view evil through a carnage calculator that relativizes it against the last one or against the greatest acts of reported slaughter. We slowly become immune to evil and see it solely for its entertainment value. I once saw a lady drive into a storefront and no one went to help her even though there were 20-30 bystanders each with his phone in hand recording the accident. Not only does it make us slow to love, but also suspicious and fearful of our neighbor. When bad news gets significantly more play time than good news, we become masters of suspicion and avoid other people, assuming the worst of them.

Returning to man’s Retake in the Garden of Gethsemane we find the strength to overcome the ubiquity of bad news. Our Lord was the one who “resisted sin to the point of shedding His blood” (c.f. Hebrews 12:4) not just to show us His divine power put to win for us the grace to remain pure of heart amidst so much evil. We should become cautious and discerning viewers of the news, even sites and channels we would consider reputable. Avoid getting drug into the details and focus only on headlines. All too often there is nothing we can do personally to combat a particular evil and so knowing the details is simply curiosity rearing its ugly head. Get in the habit of asking yourself why you need to know anything more and you will quickly realize that you don’t.

When St. Paul wrote the Christians in Philippi he knew they too were living in a culture where evil had been glamorized he had what is the most practical of advice, “whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable–if anything is excellent or praiseworthy–think about such things” (Phil 4:8). We would do well to focus on these things as well, turning away from the bad news so that we can more fully embrace the Good News.

Donald Trump and the Witches

March 1, 2017Devils, Spiritual WarfareCurses, Donald Trump, Witchestwowingstogod@gmail.com

At Midnight on February 24^th, a group of witches cast on spell upon President Donald Trump. The ritual must be repeated at Midnight on the date of every waning crescent moon during his presidency. Witchcraft is nothing new; they have been casting spells on men and women for many centuries. What makes this mass spell unique is that it has taken on a “viral” quality with the rite being posted online with an attempt to take it to a wider community. For most of us, the thought of witches in black hats around a bubbling cauldron with broomsticks in hand casting a spell on Donald Trump is somewhat ridiculous. But for those who are actively engaged in spiritual warfare they know how serious this can be. In openly declaring their intent to cast a spell, battle lines have been drawn and Catholics must step into the breach to engage in this spiritual battle.

Regardless of whether one is a card-carrying member of the Donald Trump Fan Club, as Christians we have an obligation to pray for him as the leader of our country (1Tim 2:2). In other words, we should bless him rather than, as the witches propose, curse him. These prayers of blessing protect him both from harm and from doing harm. Despite protestations to the contrary that the witches merely wish to “bind him”, the intent of any spell or curse is to do evil to the person.

Curses and Divine Providence

Whether the curse is effective or not is left up to Divine Providence. God may allow it to happen or He may actively oppose it. Not recognizing this can often be an obstacle in understanding how someone becomes “infected” by the demonic. Most of us understand that by dabbling in the occult we can open ourselves up to falling victim to demonic activity. It does not happen in 100% of the cases, but the likelihood increases as the frequency of contact increases, especially for a person who has fallen out of a state of grace.

What is often not understood however is that it is possible, through no fault of the person, that they come under the control of the devil and his minions. We can become spiritually sick in much the same way that we can become physically sick. It may be that we do things that jeopardize our physical health (like drug abuse, overeating, etc.), but this is no guarantee that one becomes sick. Likewise, many people become sick with some disease through no fault of their own. Certainly, suffering in the innocent, especially at the hands of the demonic, stretches our capacity to understand, but it is still possible for it to occur.

Satan: The Great Ape

One of the most common ways in which this can happens is through the invocation of a curse. Satan is the great ape, constantly trying to mimic God’s power. Think of the curse as an “anti-grace.” Grace seeks to aid a person through divine intervention, while a curse, according to the recently deceased Chief Exorcist of Rome, Fr. Gabriele Amorth, is defined generally as “harming others through demonic intervention.” Satan apes God’s power that He exercises through the Sacraments by creating curses.

Like the Sacraments, curses usually require a minister. This is where witches and wizards enter the picture. They act as ministers once they are commissioned and perform a ritual on a given material object that is somehow connected to the victim. In this case, there are several objects including an image of the President.

Not all people who practice or commission witchcraft are consciously worshipping Satan. What they are consciously doing is invoking a supernatural power. There is no denying this. The source of that power does not require them to acknowledge him and may in fact prefer that they don’t. Still, they are acting as his ministers and, in borrowing from his power, will end up falling under his power. Access to that power comes with a price. This is why the viral nature of the spell placed upon the President is so dangerous. It may never touch the President personally, but most assuredly it will do harm to those who dabble in it. This is a win-win situation for the evil one. He is sure to gain power over someone because of this.

What to Do

The Church as the custodian of the Real Thing—the Thing that blesses and never curses—has an obligation to act in this case. The problem is, as Fr. Amorth pointed out, priests do not take curses and witchcraft seriously. They are not alone as most of the Faithful also see witchcraft as some antiquated superstition rather than a real threat to souls. If they did, then both clergy and laity would be offering Mass for the protection of the President and for those who act out of ignorance in performing the rite. They would have recourse to the Rosary and its inherent power to crush the head of the serpent. They would go to the Sacrament of Sacraments, that is the Precious Blood of Jesus, and seek protection there. The Litany of Precious Blood is perhaps one of the most effective prayers against curses and demonic activity in general as most Exorcists will attest.

Spiritual and Religious

February 4, 2017Church, Creed, Culture, Spiritual Life, Spiritual WarfareCatholic Church, Lucifer, SBNR, Spiritual but not religioustwowingstogod@gmail.com

“I am spiritual, but not religious.” It has become the fastest growing religious affiliation. So popular is it, that it now has its own acronym—SBNR. Its appeal is that it supposedly frees its adherents from the trappings of organized religion so that they may become more “spiritual.” What it means to be more “spiritual” remains a mystery because any formal dogma or Creed would signal its death knell. Usually it is about “connecting to God within.” Although the popularity of SBNR has grown, it is not something new. In fact one could say it is the second oldest religion in the world, beginning when Lucifer decided that he too would spend eternity as spiritual but not religious.

Ultimately the fall of Lucifer and his minions was a permanent refusal to have any obligations towards God. The eternal cry of the demons is “non serviam”—“I will not serve.” They desire to be like God, but shun religion. Although their fall was instantaneous, many of the adherents to SBNR slide in the same direction—many not realizing what they are agreeing to when they recite the SBNR mantra.

What is Religion?

Without a doubt, some of the issue has to do with vagaries surrounding the word religious. The English word religion is derived from the Latin religare, to tie, fasten, bind, or relegere, to gather up or treat. First and foremost, religion is the moral virtue that consists in giving to God the worship and service He deserves. It is part of the virtue of justice which consists in rendering to each his due. Because He is the Creator of all things and has supreme dominion, God in a singular way has a special service due to Him. This service is worship.

Herein lies a source of confusion, namely why God creates us and then commands that we worship Him. This is worth investigating because it is often an obstacle for the SBNR congregants. We offer worship to God, as St. Thomas Aquinas says, not for His sake but for ours. We cannot give to God anything He doesn’t already have. Instead He creates us as rational creatures not just because we manifest His goodness or glory, but because we, among all visible creation, have the capacity to appreciate it. In other words, we worship to both show our appreciation and to grow in the pleasure that His goodness brings to us.

The SBNRer may willingly concede that they do owe something to God in terms of worship, but they prefer to connect to God privately “in their souls.” This ultimately stems from a denial of what we are as human beings. As body/spirit composites, we are capable of both internal and external acts of religion. In a certain sense the internal take precedence, but these internal acts can never be wholly free from the external and must be guided by them.

As human beings, our bodies and our spirits act in unison with each other. That which is in the mind, must first have been in the senses. You cannot perform a wholly interior act without also affecting the exterior. Just the very thought of God or Jesus, invokes an image in our material imaginations. We worship both from the inside-out and the outside in. Our external acts of devotion effect our internal acts of devotion. One is more likely to have increased devotion in their heart to God kneeling (an external sign of supplication) in front of a Crucifix than if they are staring at a blank wall sitting on a bed.

The implications of this are obvious. There are some external acts that are better than others at increasing devotion. This is certainly true in the subjective sense—we all have our favorite environments in which to pray—but it is also true in the objective sense. God is equally present in the bathroom as He is in the chapel, but it is the chapel that has been consecrated (i.e. set aside) as a place of prayer that is objectively better than the bathroom. This is why praying in front of the Blessed Sacrament is called Adoration. You can adore God anywhere in spirit, but in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament that Adoration occurs in “spirit and truth.”

SBNR and Organized Religion

As you probe more deeply into the motives of the typical SBNRer, you will find that really what SBNR means is that “I am spiritual, but I loathe organized religion.” They view religion as something wholly personal and subjective. But if it is really true that we owe God worship and that certain forms of worship are better than others, then a loving Father would teach us what those forms are. The history of mankind outside of, first Judaism and then Christianity, has been man groping for these forms. Some of the forms were innocuous like offering incense to the local god, while others commanded human sacrifice. God commands definitive forms of worship to keep us from falling into two equally dangers traps—one of defect and one of excess.

There is the trap that once we realize that worship is really for us, we will worship in a way most pleasing to ourselves. This has not only led to the Non-denominational denomination with their mega-churches and “praise and worship services” worthy of a pep-rally, but also the pop music masquerading as liturgical music in Catholic churches. The second trap is that of excess. The truth is that no form of worship will ever feel adequate because no merely human form of worship is. So we keep upping the ante so to speak leading to some of the religious atrocities we still see in certain cults and Middle Eastern religions. We need God to tell us what is acceptable and what is not.

God does not merely tell us, but He comes and shows us. Through the sacrifice of His Son, He shows us the most pleasing form of worship—the one act that is enough. He gives us the power to make that sacrifice our own—both through Faith (subjective) and through the perpetuation of that same Sacrifice in the Sacrifice of the Mass (objective). The One True Religion is the one that offers that Sacrifice because it is not just any organized religion but the Religion organized by the Holy Spirit Himself.

The Catholic Response to SBNR

SBNR is really a protest movement against religious tolerance. Properly understood, religious tolerance assumes that there is a true religion and that we are willing to tolerate some people who hold only part of that truth. Tolerance respects human freedom to discover the truth. But religious tolerance has come to mean that all religions are equal. If all religions really are the same, then why should I have anything to do with any of them? But, if one of them is different because it is true, then it does matter. As the One True Religion is only the Catholic religion that can lead the SBNR away from sliding down the Luciferian slope.

This claim to be the One True Faith may seem arrogant, but it is no more arrogant than the claim that 2+2=4. It is a statement of truth and it is a truth that has been handed down to us. I am not the inventor of my religion, but its grateful recipient.

The Inventor died to give this religion to me. Before dying He deeded it to its caretakers. As proof, notice the first time that Jesus mentions His suffering on the Cross—it is only after setting up the Church upon Peter the Rock that He tells of His redemptive death (c.f. Mt 16:18-21). Those same caretakers wore martyrs’ crowns rather so that the Faith was passed on to me. Thousands upon thousands of martyrs and confessors boldly preached that religion so that I would have it. Now it is my turn and your turn to pass it on to the next generation. We cannot hide our light under a bushel. We should not apologize for being Catholic, but we should apologize for not being Catholic enough. Only we can show SBNR what it means to truthfully and joyfully be spiritual AND religious.

Psychological or Demonic?

January 18, 2017Devils, Spiritual Life, Spiritual Warfare, Suffering, Virtueanxiety, mental health, mental illness, possessiontwowingstogod@gmail.com

As followers of Christ, true God and true man, it is hard to avoid the truth that we inhabit two worlds—the seen and the unseen. This is so basic a tenet of Christianity that we easily forget it and gravitate towards one or the other, the natural or the supernatural. We have all met people who supernaturalize everything, referring all that happens in our world to the angelic and demonic. On the other hand there are also those who tend to only accept natural explanations for what happens. Our Lord however taught us to keep one foot in each of those worlds. There were the sick whom He healed and those whom He exorcised. There is perhaps no arena where this dichotomy is more obvious than mental illness.

On the one hand there are those who think that the remedy is simply to pray the problem away. Prayer must always be part of anyone’s therapy (more on this in a moment) so this is a difficult point to contend. But for most people prayer isn’t enough. Or, more accurately, the answer to their prayer is found through the help of therapists. God rarely acts in a vacuum. He always uses secondary causes when they are available to carry out works of His Providence. We may pray and pray for healing, but only receive it when we go to the doctor. Does this mean that God did not deliver? Of course not. He simply wanted to share His power of healing with one of His creatures.

Removing the Stigma

Within Christian circles, mental illness is stigmatized. Mental health problems are not just problems because someone’s faith or trust in God is not strong enough. That can always be the case, but it need not be the direct cause. There are people of incredible faith that nobly carry the cross of mental illness. If anything, those who think this way are the ones who do not understand the Faith.

An authentic Catholic understanding of the human person, as both body and soul, leads to the recognition that because of our fallen nature, defects in our bodies can spill over into the way we see reality. Think about the person who is drunk—their judgment is impaired. Did the alcohol somehow drip into the seat of judgment, the intellect? No, but when our senses are impaired we cannot judge correctly. That which is in the intellect, was first in the senses as the Scholastics were fond of saying.

So too with the person with mental illness. They may have a bodily defect which causes them to judge reality incorrectly. Or, their early experience or exposure to a trauma may have hindered their ability to judge reality properly. Perhaps they need a medication to restore the body back to its proper function so that it can send clean data to the intellect. They may additionally need counseling on how to judge reality correctly.

As an aside, many Catholics fear receiving counseling because the counselor may not be Catholic. This is a reasonable fear, but just because they are Catholic doesn’t make them good therapists. What one should look for is someone who has a correct definition of mental health. Mental health consists in the ability to judge reality correctly. This means they have an understanding of man as a body/soul composite with a purpose outside of himself. Only once this is established would you assess their clinical capabilities. In this regard, it is no different than choosing any other kind of health care provider. If a cardiologist thinks that a healthy heart is one in which only one ventricle is functioning, you would not choose him, even if he was the most clinically gifted doctor in the world. Simply asking the therapist what his or her definition of mental health is, can often protect you from wasted time and doing more harm.

Psychology and Catholicism have been in conflict since the advent of modern methods, but this need not be the case. Anyone who reads St. Thomas’ Summa on human nature and the virtues realizes he would have made an excellent psychologist. This is because of his correct anthropology. There has been a rediscovery of sorts of St. Thomas’ works and many schools are teaching them to those training in psychology.

It used to be that anyone who was mentally ill was thought to be possessed. In this regard the pendulum has swung to the opposite extreme where everyone assumes that the problem is clinical. However, just because there were cases in the past where a supernatural explanation was sought when there was a natural one, doesn’t mean that they weren’t right some of the time. Supernatural explanations still remain valid. While not everyone who is mentally ill is demonically tormented, this does not mean nobody is. In short, sometimes when someone claims to be hearing voices, they actually are.

A Third Way?

This opens up a third possibility—one in which we acknowledge that we are standing in two different worlds. This is the one that most people overlook because they fall into an either/or mentality, when in many cases it is both/and. The person can be suffering from some natural mental illness which is only exacerbated by the presence of the demonic. The devil is a bully and loves to kick people when they are down, especially when he can hide within some natural illness.

One of my boys suffers from Autism and this has made him a target of the diabolical bully. It was his condition that attracted the evil one and made it easy for him to hide while he tormented my son. The demonic oppression got so severe that we had to seek the prayers of an Exorcist. Through the prayers of Exorcism, he was freed from the oppression. But, and this is a very important but, he was not healed of his Autism. His symptoms were greatly reduced and his response to therapy since then has been overwhelmingly positive. But the clinical condition remained—for that God is using natural means. For the supernatural problem, He used the supernatural solution of the Rites and Authority of the Church (as a side not, for those of you interested in hearing about my son’s story, I did an interview with my friend Pete for his podcast in which this among other topics related to Spiritual Warfare).

The point is that there are many cases where the problem is really both natural and supernatural. For the good of the person we need to recognize this as real and likely option. In the majority of cases it will not be necessary to seek out an Exorcist, but still spiritual remedies will need to be applied.

This is where the “just pray and it will go away” folks have a point. There is almost always a mixture of the natural and supernatural causes involved and it is always good advice to apply spiritual medicine to all mental health problems. Prayer alone may not be sufficient, but it is always necessary. Psychotherapy should always be accompanied by an intense prayer life and an active Sacramental life, including regular Confession and Communion, along with a healthy dose of Eucharistic Adoration. When someone has been in therapy for a long time, making minimal progress adds these practices to their regular therapy they usually begin running towards mental health.