What is a Christian to do, especially if one has already reached for sacramentals, when the darkness is pressing far too close for comfort?
By Chris Sparks
James Bond is in the news lately. No, not for the premiere of a new film in the franchise (the last, “No Time to Die,” in which the British secret agent died, was released in 2021), but rather for the sale of the rights to future Bond everything to Amazon for a record $1 billion.
I grew up loving James Bond.
I loved the movies. I loved the books. I was reading the books at far too young an age because the used bookstores in my mom’s hometown somehow often had spare copies for sale for cheap.
And yet in college, I eventually came to the realization that Ian Fleming, the author of the Bond novels, was right. He once explained:
Bond is not a hero, nor is he depicted as being very likable or admirable. He is a Secret Service Agent. He’s not a bad man, but he is ruthless and self-indulgent. He enjoys the fight — he also enjoys the prizes. … I didn’t intend for Bond to be likable. He’s a blunt instrument in the hands of the government. He’s got vices and few perceptible virtues.
From evil, good?
The heart of the problem with Bond is how he does evil so that good may come of it (see Rom 3:8). Set alongside his enemies, the only abiding difference is that he is on the side of the West, and they, on the side of the Communists. Truly, the errors of Russia had spread to the world, including the ruthless willingness to do “anything in the name of” a supposedly good cause.
Now, I continued (and continue) to watch the Bond movies, to read the books, and to enjoy the stories. But I’m also aware that what’s being depicted is perhaps most valuable as a sort of examination of conscience for us in the West. Like the tragedies of the ancient Greeks or of Shakespeare, the Bond novels hold a mirror up to our assumptions about the world and show us where they will lead.
The franchise should challenge our presumptions about intelligence work, about realpolitik and the sort of ruthlessness we imagine is necessary to ensure national or civilizational security. If we approve of what we see, then we need to repent and change. Our model for right action isn’t the worst our enemy could conceivably do, but rather the Lord Jesus Christ.
Let me step back and approach this from a different angle.
Ordinary spiritual warfare
One of the most common questions we get here at the Marian Helpers Center is about spiritual warfare. People often write or call and ask about how to deal with the demonic if it seems to be manifesting around them, or if they’re enduring a particularly noxious, embarrassing, or annoying temptation or harassment that seems to have a spiritual source.
What is a Christian to do, especially if one has already reached for sacramentals, when the darkness is pressing far too close for comfort?
And the heart of the answer, paradoxically, is look away from the darkness. Look away from the storm. Look away from the danger and the threat, and look instead to Jesus, the Light of the World, standing there on the water in the storm, looking at you with love, ready to reach out and rescue you.
Root and persist
Often, there are no quick and easy solutions to the world, the flesh, or the devil. Often, the solutions are simple but demanding. The heart of the answer: Root yourself in the ordinary Christian life, and persist in it.
Make an appointment with your pastor, regular confessor, or a trusted priest to sit down and talk through your troubles. They will be able to provide you with ongoing pastoral care.
Be faithful to the ordinary practice of our faith. Persist in your ordinary Christian life: receiving the Sacraments according to the laws of the Church; regular spiritual reading, especially of the Gospel (at least a verse or a chapter a day); regular prayer, especially of those devotions to which Heaven and the Church have attached special promises, such as the Rosary and the Divine Mercy Chaplet; regular works of mercy; striving to obey the faith and morals teaching of the Church.
Attach yourself more firmly to Christ our Light, Christ our Hope, Christ the King from whom the demons flee. Hold on to Him, and don’t let go. That’s the solution, not becoming as dark as the darkness you fight.
Light in the darkness
Ironically, some form of this insight is provided thanks to Amazon. In the recent, rather beautifully portrayed "Rings of Power" streaming adaptation of Tolkien’s writings. Lord Celebrimbor, the greatest of elven smiths, says to Galadriel (a type of the Blessed Virgin Mary):
It is not strength that overcomes darkness — but light. Armies may rise, hearts may fail, yet still, light endures, and is mightier than strength. For in its presence, all darkness must flee.
We don’t overcome the devil by becoming like him. We overcome the devil by our imitation of Christ.
Look to the Lord, not to His enemies. Be fascinated by the light of Heaven, not the darkness of hell. Look to the wisdom of God, not the lies of the enemy.
Follow the sacred through the darkness. Focus on the things of God, and pay the devil as little mind as virtue and duty permit. Saint Faustina is our model in this:
Then I heard Satan's voice ... My soul remained silent and, by an act of will, continued to pray without entering into conversation with the Spirit of Darkness. Nevertheless, such an extraordinary disgust with life came over me that I had to make a great act of the will to consent to go on living (Diary of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska, 1497).
Bond’s licentiousness? Never. Instead, serve God, and overcome the enemy.
The name’s Sparks. Chris Sparks. Please pray for me, that I might practice what I preach. I’ll pray for you.
