Ignoring Satan
One
War Against Satan
Human life is a war against Satan. That’s why Christ came to earth, to do battle with the Devil. Satan is the strong man, who seeks to keep humanity bound to sin and death. Christ is the stronger man who comes to defeat Satan. And we’re called to engage in the same war against the Devil who is real, who is malicious, who is a being of great sophistication and power.
But, despite the fact that Satan is the great enemy of our life, you’re actually not supposed to think that much about him. He’s an enemy that you fight by not focusing on him. You fight him by fighting something else.
Two
Don’t Worry about Satan
Sometimes we get the idea that the way we fight Satan is the way we see exorcists fighting demons in movies as though the main way to fight the devil is hand-to-hand combat in the dark of night or always having holy water on hand or learning Latin. But that’s not how Christ fought Satan.
In the desert, Christ fought Satan by not giving in to the devil’s temptation. That’s how we fight Satan, by resisting the temptation to sin. That’s why St. Teresa of Avila says she’s not afraid of the Devil. Actually, she said she was more afraid about people who were really afraid of the Devil than she was afraid of the Devil himself. She said none of us should fear the devil and that people need to remember that one venial sin causes our soul more damage than all the demons in hell combined.
So worrying about the Devil is ultimately a distraction in this war. Because what we need to be worrying about is our own sinfulness.
Three
Don’t worry about what Satan is doing in your soul
Again, spiritual warfare just means struggling against your own temptations, not worrying about the Devil, but worrying about your sin. St. Teresa of Avila, as we just saw, worried that people were too afraid of the Devil. But she said that people who are spiritually advanced fear sin, especially major sin, like fire. And here’s the thing, you don’t have to spend too much time worrying about where your temptation to sin comes from.
St. Bernard of Clairvaux once wrote that he could never tell whether a temptation came directly from Satan or just from his own weak humanity. But, he said, it doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter if a temptation comes from demonic harassment, the dominant culture, or just your own disordered impulses. You don’t need to worry about where a temptation is coming from. You just need to know that it is a temptation, and you need to not give into it.
That’s how you fight the spiritual war. And that’s how you win.
Four
Don’t worry about what Satan is doing in the Church and the World
So you don’t need to be analyzing what you think Satan is doing in your subconscious or whatever. Just don’t sin, don’t give into temptation and you’ll beat Satan. And you also, for sure, don’t need to be worrying about what, exactly, Satan is up to in the larger culture of the Church and the World. Satan wants you to be thinking about him, to be worrying about him. Satan wants you to be worrying about the spiritual state of the Church and the World.
What Satan doesn’t want you to do is focus on the spiritual state of your own soul. Because Satan knows that the best way you can thwart his work in the Church and the world is by thwarting him in your own soul. Satan knows that the best way you can fight him is by quietly and humbly and perseveringly working to become a saint.
Fight Satan. Defeat Satan. But don’t think that much about Satan. Just keep striving for virtue and overcoming sin and you’ll beat him.
Five
The “Terror of Demons”
There is one saint who should be our model for spiritual warfare. He wasn’t an exorcist, or a culture-warrior, or a wonder-working, or a great preacher or prelate. And yet he is given the title, Terror of Demons. Because he is one of the greatest fighters against Satan the human race ever produced. He is St. Joseph. A man who quietly worked, quietly served his family, quietly faced the challenges of life and tried to serve the Lord in his few years and the small patch of earth allotted to him.
He is the Terror of Demons because the more of us that are like St. Joseph, the more will Satan’s armies be driven back to hell where they belong.
St. Joseph, terror of demons, pray for us! Help us to be like you, and fight this spiritual battle the way it’s meant to be fought. Amen.
Suggested Resolutions:
Choose one resolution for today to help you grow closer to God, or create your own. Here are some ideas to inspire you.
This week, turn your focus away from Satan and think more about St. Joseph, reflecting on the example he set and praying for his intercession.
Instead of talking about everything wrong in the Church or in the world, adress your own personal vices so you can focus on what you’re really responsible for.