A Lifetime Vigilance
Push, push, push!
October 8, 2020
Mary, the Ponderer
October 10, 2020PITIK-BULAG: A Lifetime Vigilance
Like malaria, polio, SARS, and other common viruses, the COVID-19 virus poses a great threat to us until the vaccine comes. At the moment, we are totally helpless against it. And the only thing we can do to protect ourselves is to be vigilant against it. The virus is here to stay until the vaccine is discovered. This health war will linger for a while. We cannot put away our face masks, face shields, vitamins, and alcohol. Be on guard. The enemy is invisible and treacherous.
There is another war we are fighting since birth – our struggle against the evil spirit. This spiritual war is more dangerous for it threatens our spiritual life. The enemy is not merely a virus, but Satan himself, the father of deceits, lies, and temptations. If we are not vigilant in protecting our spirits, the devil and his cohorts can easily possess us and destroy our souls. Therefore, we are asked to take this battle seriously. Our enemy knows no rest and he will take advantage of our weaknesses, emotions, and inordinate attachments. The devil hates God as well as His children. He does not want us to discover the goodness and hidden potentials as co-creators of God. He will never rest until we fall into the trap of deceits and lies and become slaves of our sins and addictions.
In our gospel today, the Lord easily cast the evil spirit from the mute person. Aside from healing physical illnesses, the Lord saw the necessity of casting bad spirits from people and set them free from their control. The finger of God works hard to cast away evil from our lives. This is part of saving our souls.
In this spiritual battle, the devil’s ploy is simple, tricky, yet effective. He simply offers empty promises under the guise of deceits, lies, and temptations. Taking advantage of our attraction to wealth, power, and honor, we easily fall into the devil’s trap.
Saint Ignatius of Loyola insisted on the importance of learning the art of discernment of spirits to detect the deceits and lies of the evil spirit. At the same time, it helps us too to detect the movement of the Holy Spirit in our hearts. Knowing the movements of these two opposite spirits, as well as our spirits, we become more aware of how they influenced our preferences, thinking, values, decisions, and actions.
Consideration the following points with regard to the spiritual battle we are in every day:
1. Be aware of the devil’s PERSONALIZED TRAP. He knows our weaknesses and strengths. He capitalizes on our weaknesses to create a personalized trap beyond our resistance. Know your favorite sins. Your vulnerable areas lie there. Strengthened them.
2. Be aware of your INORDINATE ATTACHMENTS. Are you excessively attracted to wealth, power, or fame? Inordinate attachments block us from doing the will of God (Saint Ignatius). Knowing them is the beginning of mastering them.
3. GUARD YOUR FEELINGS. The devil can take advantage of our emotions to entice us to make quick undiscerned actions that we shall regret later. Any ill-emotions you cannot let go at the moment? Any excessive anger, revenge, or jealousy?
4. Be aware of the MOVEMENT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. The Good Spirit is with us too. Unlike the bad spirit who proposes empty promises under the guise of lies and deceits, the Holy Spirit invites us to consider the road to lasting happiness, harmony, freedom, and spiritual maturity. This time, no deceits, no lies, and empty promises. The Holy Spirit is offering the truth to freedom, the way to happiness, and the everlasting life.
5. The Lord is ABOVE THE EVIL SPIRIT. God is in control of the evil spirit. He wants us to surrender our lives and obey His will. Not for His good, but for our good. To fight evil alone is futile. The Lord has authority over evil and his cohorts. He can easily cast out any evil spirit in our lives.
But don’t rejoice much. Continue your vigilance and never put down your discernment skills. Be aware of the devil’s return. He will return with vengeance. He will bring more cohorts with him for another vicious attack. He will never stop until we fall again. He will wait for our unguarded moments for another covert attack. Thus, VIGILANCE AND STRENGTHENING OF SPIRITUAL MUSCLES ARE NECESSARY. Bring your spiritual armor always: prayer, Word of God, fasting, abstinence, sacrifice, humility, and discernment of spirits. Remember, the evil spirit knows no vacation. He wants us to fall into his trap and live in the illusion that money, power, and honor are lasting.
Remembering Pope Francis’ words, “If you do not guard yourself, the devil who is stronger than you will come.”
– Fr. Wilfredo M. Samson, SJ
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October 9, 2020 – Friday
Gospel Reading: Luke 11: 14-26
