If you are reading this post because the title sparked your interest, then you are probably expecting to read about some out-of-this world experience that brought me face to face with the "father of lies". Unfortunately though (or is it, fortunately?) I have no such experiences to talk about. All my encounters with the devil occurred here in this world and there was no burning fire, black smoke, or smell of sulfur. The devil I met had nothing bad or undesirable about him. And this devil, I meet everyday!
A few weeks ago, while talking with some friends, the conversation somehow veered off into some of the unfortunate incidents that occurred in our society recently. Someone suggested that incidents like the Sandy Hook school shooting, the Colorado movie theater shooting and the Boston marathon bombings show clear demonic presence in our society. Needless to say, within a matter of few minutes, many more got involved in this conversation and seemed like everyone was in agreement about how the devil and his minions had something to do with these unfortunate events.
Though I was actively involved in the conversation in the beginning, as the time went on I felt something strange about the whole topic. As I began paying more attention to the people who were involved in that conversation, I found a group of well-educated and rational human beings (most of them were also members of the same church I attend) involved in a heated discussion about the devil. I also knew from my limited experience through the Faith Forum sessions at our Church that if it wasn't for all those gruesome acts of violence, most of these people would never acknowledge the existence of the devil. And I knew this is precisely what the devil wanted - he wanted us to talk about the devil in the context of the mass shootings and bombings. With the new wave of Evangelization at our church, he knew that it would be impossible for him to hide under the cover of non-existence, so he wanted to reveal himself as the prince of darkness - the evil one behind all that is horrible and gruesome. This has also left him with plenty of room to hide under things that are not so horrible and gruesome to the untrained eye - materialism, carnal pleasures, moral relativism, despair, homosexuality, abortion, euthanasia etc, etc.
We and our ignorance seek the devil in horrors and brutalities - in the dark alleys of the inner cities and among the filth of the third world slums; in brothels where human flesh is cheaper than Angus beef and at the Playboy mansion. And we are happy when we find him there. We are happy because we think that we know where he is. Little do we know that he resides right there within our ignorance. If we are no longer willing to accept his lie that he doesn't exist, then he wants us to find him in places we already expects to find him. So when people began to pay more attention to the evil act of abortion, he gave us a Kermit Gosnell. Now we all know and agree on the horrors of late term abortion, and we want to put an end to it. But all the other abortions that are still going on those "blob of cells" are okay because it is done much more "humanely", in much healthier environment, and by people who doesn't express the characteristics of a psycho. Devil knows all about the dangers presented by a human being in search of the Truth, so he always confronts them with his version of the truth - a version that is much more pleasing and rational.
There is also plenty of beauty in the devil. As I said in the beginning, I do not expect to see the devil with the horns and the pitchfork (at least, not in this world!). Why would I ever want to be friends with somebody that repugnant? Expect to find him in things that are attractive and things that create desire. He is there in ordinary things, especially when those ordinary things seems extraordinary for no apparent reason. Ironically, we have gotten it all backwards in today's society. We are exhilarated looking at a man waving a rainbow flag from the steps of the Supreme court, but we are horrified by the image of a Man with his skin torn off from scourging, wearing a crown of thorns, with blood and water pouring out from his sides, all the while being nailed to a cross. We no longer wants to look up to the Cross and discern the beauty of selfless love. We look for ways to avoid the Cross, rather than embracing it. We find happiness in the instant gratifications facilitated by the devil and ignore the grace filled joy of the holy Spirit, Jesus has earned through the Cross.
(I wrote this article to be published on CatholicStand.com. Please don't forget to visit them)
A few weeks ago, while talking with some friends, the conversation somehow veered off into some of the unfortunate incidents that occurred in our society recently. Someone suggested that incidents like the Sandy Hook school shooting, the Colorado movie theater shooting and the Boston marathon bombings show clear demonic presence in our society. Needless to say, within a matter of few minutes, many more got involved in this conversation and seemed like everyone was in agreement about how the devil and his minions had something to do with these unfortunate events.
Though I was actively involved in the conversation in the beginning, as the time went on I felt something strange about the whole topic. As I began paying more attention to the people who were involved in that conversation, I found a group of well-educated and rational human beings (most of them were also members of the same church I attend) involved in a heated discussion about the devil. I also knew from my limited experience through the Faith Forum sessions at our Church that if it wasn't for all those gruesome acts of violence, most of these people would never acknowledge the existence of the devil. And I knew this is precisely what the devil wanted - he wanted us to talk about the devil in the context of the mass shootings and bombings. With the new wave of Evangelization at our church, he knew that it would be impossible for him to hide under the cover of non-existence, so he wanted to reveal himself as the prince of darkness - the evil one behind all that is horrible and gruesome. This has also left him with plenty of room to hide under things that are not so horrible and gruesome to the untrained eye - materialism, carnal pleasures, moral relativism, despair, homosexuality, abortion, euthanasia etc, etc.
We and our ignorance seek the devil in horrors and brutalities - in the dark alleys of the inner cities and among the filth of the third world slums; in brothels where human flesh is cheaper than Angus beef and at the Playboy mansion. And we are happy when we find him there. We are happy because we think that we know where he is. Little do we know that he resides right there within our ignorance. If we are no longer willing to accept his lie that he doesn't exist, then he wants us to find him in places we already expects to find him. So when people began to pay more attention to the evil act of abortion, he gave us a Kermit Gosnell. Now we all know and agree on the horrors of late term abortion, and we want to put an end to it. But all the other abortions that are still going on those "blob of cells" are okay because it is done much more "humanely", in much healthier environment, and by people who doesn't express the characteristics of a psycho. Devil knows all about the dangers presented by a human being in search of the Truth, so he always confronts them with his version of the truth - a version that is much more pleasing and rational.
There is also plenty of beauty in the devil. As I said in the beginning, I do not expect to see the devil with the horns and the pitchfork (at least, not in this world!). Why would I ever want to be friends with somebody that repugnant? Expect to find him in things that are attractive and things that create desire. He is there in ordinary things, especially when those ordinary things seems extraordinary for no apparent reason. Ironically, we have gotten it all backwards in today's society. We are exhilarated looking at a man waving a rainbow flag from the steps of the Supreme court, but we are horrified by the image of a Man with his skin torn off from scourging, wearing a crown of thorns, with blood and water pouring out from his sides, all the while being nailed to a cross. We no longer wants to look up to the Cross and discern the beauty of selfless love. We look for ways to avoid the Cross, rather than embracing it. We find happiness in the instant gratifications facilitated by the devil and ignore the grace filled joy of the holy Spirit, Jesus has earned through the Cross.
(I wrote this article to be published on CatholicStand.com. Please don't forget to visit them)
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