By Chris Sparks
“God has not called me to be successful; He has called me to be faithful.”
— St. Teresa of Calcutta
Is there any price you won’t pay to defend your family?
How about to defend our country?
What about to defend vulnerable innocents, like children, the elderly, or the ill?
Is there anything you won’t do?
It’s tempting to say, “I’d do anything to defend the innocent. I’d do anything for my family. I’d do anything for my country.”
But guess what? That’s not living our Catholic faith.
Our Catholic faith tells us that God is ultimately in control and that we are not God. We are not all powerful. We are not perfectly righteous. We can’t trust every thought, feeling, or impulse. We are not empowered to do whatever we believe is necessary in the name of goodness, or truth, or love.
We are bound by the moral law, even in the face of terrible evil (see Catechism, 1789).
Why? Isn’t the victory of goodness worth doing anything in the name of overcoming the devil?
No!
Why not?
Because God is in control. Because the plans and the evil deeds of the devil and his allies are perfectly plain to God. Because the Lord knows all, sees all, and is ultimately in control. The devil will not win in the end. The devil has already been defeated by Jesus through His Incarnation, Passion, death, and Resurrection. Everything else the devil may attempt is less than his strike at God Himself. The devil rallied the world, the flesh, and the demons to lead human beings to put God Himself to death — and yet God prevailed. God endured. God overcame.
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We are bound to obedience to God, not to do anything and everything in His name. We are bound to abide by the moral law, even when that’s hard, even when that means it looks like evil wins.
Now, that doesn’t mean we don’t oppose evil or take action to defend the innocent. There are certainly times where we have to stand between evil people and their victims, where we should call law enforcement, or serve in the military to defend our country, or practice law. There are good and valid paths through which faithful Catholics can take action in this world to defend the right and oppose wrong.
But there are also paths, weapons, and strategies of warfare that are forbidden to us. It means that even when our enemies are not bound by justice, we are bound by justice. Even when our enemies will break all just laws and ethical imperatives in order to get what they want, we have to abide by the laws of God and the just laws of man. It means that there are no circumstances under which the commandments to love God and neighbor are suspended.
We are not permitted to hate our enemies; we are required to love our enemies (see Mt 5:43-48). We are not permitted to take limitless action in the name of a good thing, but are rather required to value goodness above all else, including victory, prosperity, or success.
We are called by God to walk the hard road to Calvary, to carry our cross in imitation of Him, and to conquer primarily by self-emptying, not by force of arms (see Mt 16:24-26).
Through the grace of God, trusting, loving prayer can work miracles that worldly means can’t even approach. We have a particularly powerful means to overcome every evil through the Divine Mercy message and devotion. Jesus promised St. Faustina:
I desire to grant unimaginable graces to those souls who trust in My mercy. (Diary of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska, 687)
Through the Chaplet you will obtain everything, if what you ask for is compatible with My will. (Diary, 1731)
I promise that the soul that will venerate this image will not perish. I also promise victory over [its] enemies already here on earth, especially at the hour of death. I Myself will defend it as My own glory. (Diary, 47, 48)
I am offering people a vessel with which they are to keep coming for graces to the fountain of mercy. That vessel is this image with the signature: Jesus, I trust in You. (Diary, 327)
At three o’clock, implore My mercy, especially for sinners; and, if only for a brief moment, immerse yourself in My Passion, particularly in My abandonment at the moment of agony. This is the hour of great mercy. In this hour, I will refuse nothing to the soul that makes a request of Me in virtue of My Passion. (Diary, 1320)
As St. John Paul II said in Memory and Identity, his last book, “[T]he limit imposed upon evil, of which man is both perpetrator and victim, is ultimately the Divine Mercy.”
So this Lent, lay down your worldly weapons and pick up your spiritual arms. Lay down the gun, and take up the Rosary beads. Write down a list of all the evil people, organizations, or situations that concern you. Then set to work. Pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy while venerating the Divine Mercy Image, especially during the 3 o’clock Hour of Great Mercy, meditating on the Passion. Help set a limit on evil in this world by drawing deeply from the wellsprings of the Divine Mercy, from the grace that flows from the Heart of Jesus.
And keep praying. Persist in prayer and intercession. Remember the example of Moses:
The Amalekites came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim. Moses said to Joshua, “Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hands.”
So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill. As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up — one on one side, one on the other — so that his hands remained steady till sunset. So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword. (Ex 17:8-13)
Don’t be discouraged if after one Chaplet or one 3 o’clock hour spent in prayer, an evil is not resolved or a miracle has not been granted. Persist in prayer!
Pray for me, that I may practice what I preach. I’ll pray for you.
Chris Sparks serves as senior book editor for the Marian Fathers. He is the author of the Marian Press book How Can You Still Be Catholic? 50 Answers to a Good Question.
