By Judie Brown
There is an Academy Award-nominated short documentary entitled The Devil Is Busy. The film deals with abortion, but not in the sense we faithful might expect. Spinning a tale about the Georgia abortion clinic featured in the documentary, an MSN article states, “At the center of the film is Tracy, the clinic’s head of security, who works the front lines as protesters gather outside. Her job goes beyond maintaining order. She strives to safeguard the dignity and humanity of every patient who walks through the doors.”
This drama is focused on all the “good” that abortion practitioners provide, regardless of what the facts might tell an objective examiner. This is a perfect example of how the evil one plies his wares, creating confusion and sowing deception. It is the age-old story of good versus evil, as presented through the eyes of those who detest Christ.
Archbishop Charles Chaput has been teaching the truth about Satan and his minions for years. He once said:
Evil talks a lot about “tolerance” when it’s weak. When evil is strong, real tolerance gets pushed out the door. And the reason is simple. Evil cannot bear the counter-witness of truth. It will not co-exist peacefully with goodness, because evil insists on being seen as right, and worshiped as being right. Therefore, the good must be made to seem hateful and wrong.
That is the crux of the problem with evil. Where good exists, and especially where it flourishes, the evil one works harder than ever to deconstruct, destroy, and demolish the good that a devout human being is pursuing.
Archbishop Alexander Sample has noted this as well, saying in a statement prepared to counteract Abortion Provider Appreciation Day, “Make no mistake, this is a spiritual issue. It always has been. Because at its core, abortion is not just about politics or law or even ethics. It’s about how we see reality itself.”
Some people fall prey to the devil’s cunning whispers and others do not. This is because some people see themselves as totally dependent on the grace of God to live a good life while others refuse to accept their human frailties and prefer the fog of deceit Satan blows at all of us from his nostrils.
Father Michael Orsi, former Ave Maria law school chaplain, understood this. He once taught:
We are at a precarious moment in our history. . . . For too long, pastors and churches have been bullied into believing that they can say nothing political from the pulpit. . . . . Let me remind you: the Bible is a political document. . . . The prophets, including John the Baptist, and Jesus, lost their lives because they spoke the truth to power.
Today, more than perhaps at any point in the history of the American Catholic Church, we need strong voices from ordained men who do not bow to political power but who confront it with the voice of truth. The devil detests that sort of thing, which is why we are urgently called to not only ask for these strong voices but to pray for them.
Let us remember the wisdom of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which teaches that deception is the work of the devil, reminding us that “there is no truth in him” and that “when he lies, he speaks according to his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”
We see everywhere this detestation for God and for all that is good, so we must be constantly on watch, whether listening to a broadcast, watching a movie, or simply thinking about what certain things might mean. No matter what occurs, we acknowledge that God is always with us.
The prophet Job put it like this: “Whatever you undertake will go well, and light will shine on your path; for he casts down the pride of the arrogant, but he saves those of downcast eyes.”
The devil is in plain sight and he is certainly busy, but understand this truth: The power of God is in our hearts and on our minds, and it guides our way through this life. Thank you, Lord Jesus!