Did the Devil still win?

Ok, duh, of course not. The devil never wins. 1 Corinthians 15:57 suggests that we’ll always be victorious if we continue to follow Christ.

No doubt, it’s incredibly awesome that the planned Satanic black Mass that was supposed to take place last night at Harvard was cancelled. Surely, this was the result of millions of prayers, fasting, acts of penance, works of mercy and charity, and perhaps a change in the hearts of the event’s sponsors. There is some rumor that the Satanic group held the event anyway at another location, but I’ve heard conflicting accounts about this.

Even though the event was cancelled and there was a holy hour held and people joined in praising the Lord(things the Devil absolutely hates) both at Harvard’s St. Paul Catholic Church and all around the country (we had a moment of celebration last night at our annual Center for Catholic Studies Banquet), did the Devil still make himself known to us in some way? Yep.

We all know that the one thing the Devil hates more than anything is the light; this is why he’s called the prince of darkness, this is why he is so often associated with mischief and deceit. He hates the light, or should I say, the Light. Satan prefers to spend his time in the shadows not making himself explicitly known; the more people he can fool into thinking he doesn’t exist or isn’t active, the more freedom he enjoys in going about his business.

Well, Satan was certainly made known this week in the local news of Harvard’s Crimson newspaper, through press releases from the Archdiocese of Boston and the Harvard Catholic Student Association, and of course through the national news media. If he’s so against being blatantly posted all over newspaper headlines and the evening news, this whole debacle doesn’t seem to make sense. Or does it? Apparently Satan thought it was worth the risk if he could enjoy some other gains, and I think he certainly has.

In his book The Screwtape Letters, C.S. Lewis presents a series of letters between a demon, Screwtape, and his demon nephew, Wormwood. The first letter in the book ends this way:

“But the best of all is…to give him a grand general idea that he knows it all and that everything he happens to have picked up in casual talk and reading is the ‘results of modern investigation.’ Do remember you are there to fuddle him. From the way some of you young friends talk, anyone would suppose it was our job to TEACH!”

Many think the Devil is trying to teach us something new about how to live and that his new and evil ways are so revolutionary and fun to follow. The Devil knows nothing new; everything he knows he knows because God allows him to know it. He has nothing new to teach us, nothing new to reveal to us. He knows this. He’s not here to teach us, but to fuddle us. He’s here to ruin plans, to make mountains out of molehills, to mess things up and cause to scramble and lose our peace of mind and charity of heart.

By stirring up this mess at Harvard, the evil one distracted us from real news like the kidnapping of 300 Christian Nigerian girls by Islamic extremists. He took our time in prayer away from those things for which our hearts truly yearn and instead made us turn our prayer time into a focus on him and his power. If he can’t remain hidden, then he desires to be exalted.

This week, Satan certainly fuddled with us, didn’t he? His name was all over our TV screens and newspapers and in our minds and thoughts and prayers. But he didn’t win. His coming out into the light of day for this short time brought far more Godly people out online and in the streets of Boston and in the churches of Christians of all denominations to sing the praises of God. By his action, he caused more Masses to be offered, rosaries to be prayed (Mary kicks the devil’s butt literally every single time), and hours spent with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. Even in his best efforts, Jesus always wins. The great High Priest always wins. Goodness always wins, Truth always wins, Jesus Christ who is the Son of God, Savior of the world, and friend of sinners always wins.

Go fuddle somewhere else, idiot.

 

In Christ,
RA