“Do you reject Satan?”
“I do.”
“And all his works?”
“I do.”
“And all his empty promises?”
“I do.”
Sound familiar? In the season of Lent, Catholics are called to remember our baptism and the promises that were made. And on Easter Sunday, we renew our baptismal vows. I believe that when we say “I do”, we probably mean it from the bottom of our hearts because we sincerely reject all things evil. But Satan is crafty and is a master-liar. Jesus admonished the Pharisees who could not understand that He came from God:
“The father you spring from is the devil, and you will carry out the evil wishes of your father who has been a murderer from the beginning. He didn’t uphold the truth for, in him, there is no truth; and now, when he speaks for himself, he lies. He is a liar and the father of lies.” ~ John 8:44
But didn’t Jesus win the battle for us and open the gates of heaven. So what do we have to fear?
Satan is still bent on collecting as many souls as he can, and the prince of darkness delights in those that fall into his trap. If we act against our conscience, ignore the holy spirit and our baptismal vows, we are slowly separating ourselves from God.
Satan’s garage sale
There is a story about Satan selling some of his tools at a garage sale he was giving.
There on tables grouped by importance were his bright, shiny but deadly trinkets. One could find tools that made it easy to tear others down. And for those who had big egos, there were lenses for magnifying one’s own importance, but if you looked through them the other way, you could also use the lens to belittle others.
An unusual assortment of gardening implements stood together with a guarantee to help your pride grow by leaps and bounds. Also in prominence was the rake of scorn, the shovel of jealousy for digging a pit for your neighbour, tools of gossip and backbiting, of selfishness and apathy.
All of these were pleasing to the eye and came complete with great promises and guarantees of prosperity. The prices were steep but a sign declared “Free Credit Extended” to all. “Take at least one home, use it. You don’t have to pay until later!” Satan would cry out rubbing his hands in glee.
One prospective buyer noticed two well-worn, non-descript tools standing in one corner. Not being nearly as tempting as the other items, he found it curious that these two tools had price tags higher than any other.
When he asked why, Satan just laughed and said, “Well, that’s because these two are more useful to me than the others. I can pry open and get inside a person’s heart with these when I cannot get near them with my other tools. Once I get inside, I can make people do what I choose. They are badly worn because I use them on almost everyone, since very few people know that they belong to me.”
Satan pointed to the two tools, saying, “You see, I call that one Doubt and the other Discouragement. Those will work when nothing else will.”
Doubt and discouragement are insidious and destructive. If we allow these two human conditions to flower and become uppermost in our minds, they become stronger and more insistent, allowing Satan to enter and wreak havoc with our beliefs.
Satan is playing defense
As God’s ARMY (see my article in a previous bulletin), we play offense by God’s side, working with the Holy Spirit to bring families and young people to eternal life. Satan is playing defense and targeting these areas especially to break God’s plan of salvation.
Let us continue to pray the St Michael Prayer fervently, and renounce Satan and all his temptations. God will watch over us.
“No trial greater than human endurance has overcome you. God is faithful and will not let you be tempted beyond your strength. He will give you, together with the temptation, the strength to escape and to resist.” ~ 1 Corinthians 10:13.
by Karen Roberts-Fong
Sources: catholicvu.com; presentationministries.com