Allocutio at September 2014 Concilium Meeting by Fr. Bede McGregor OP

THE REALITY OF THE DEVIL

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Recently I became aware that in all my years in the Legion of Mary I had never given an Allocutio on the Devil. He must be delighted with that fact, but extremely annoyed with this Allocutio. Of course the devil is not the central figure of our Catholic faith. The centre belongs to the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, to Jesus Christ as the Incarnation of the second Person of the Trinity, to Mary His Mother, the Communion of Saints, the Mystical Body of Christ, the Eucharist and the other Sacraments and all the articles of our faith. But it would be utter foolishness and naivety to ignore or soft pedal the reality of the devil, whose existence we acknowledge by faith and is verified so often in our existence.

Perhaps it would be helpful to quote some words from a document commissioned and recommended by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith on ‘Christian Faith and Demonology’: ‘The many forms of superstition, obsessional preoccupation with Satan and the demons, and the different kinds of worship of them attachment to them have always been condemned by the Church. It would therefore be incorrect to hold that Christianity, forgetful of the universal Lordship of Christ, had at any time made Satan the privileged subject of its preaching, transforming the Good News of the Risen Lord into a message of terror.’

From its very beginning the Legion has been acutely aware of the existence od Satan. One of the foundational Biblical texts in Legion spirituality quoted five times in the Handbook is the words of Genesis 3:15: ‘I will put enmity between you and the woman, between your seed and her seed and she will crush your head.’ We know of course that it is Jesus who primarily crushes the head of Satan, but in union with the whole Church we believe in the role of Mary in the battle with Satan. So legionaries give a special place to the image of Mary on the Miraculous Medal, which continues a centuries old tradition of Christian art of portraying Our Lady as crushing the head of Satan. The devil appears in the first book of the Bible and continues to appear in all the other books right up to the last one, the Book of Revelation. Jesus opens His apostolate with a direct confrontation with Satan in the desert and throughout His ministry He encounters the devil and especially in His passion and death. But His triumph over Satan, sin and death is absolute and it is this absolute triumph that the Church celebrates in the great Sign of the Cross and that gives us ultimate confidence in our own conflict with the devil.

It is the forthright and frequent teaching of Pope Francis on the existence of the devil and how to deal with him that triggered this Allocutio. For instance: ‘We are all tempted, because…our spiritual life, our Christian life, is a battle,’ the Pope said. This comes from the fact that ‘the Devil does not want us to become holy; he does not want us to follow Jesus. Of course, one of you will say: but father, you are so old fashioned, speaking about the devil in the 21st century!’ To this Pope Francis replied: ‘Watch out, the devil exists even in the 21st century. And we must not be naïve. We must learn from the Gospel how to deal with him.’ In another homily he says: ‘On this point there is no shadow of doubt. A battle exists, a battle in which the eternal salvation of us all is at stake. There are no alternatives even if at times we hear about ‘pastoral proposals that seem more accommodating. No! Either you are with Jesus or against Him.’ The good legionary will resonate with those words of Pope Francis.

Let us point to that rallying antiphon so loved by the Legion: Who is She that comes forth as the morning rising, fair as the moon, bright as the sun, terrible as an army set in battle array?’ So, emphatically the Legion knows it is engaged a battle – the fiercest and most important battle ever waged, a battle over the eternal destiny of souls. Let me repeat: the good legionary is always aware that he is in a battle, a ruthless and relentless one concerned with the salvation of souls. Not to be aware of the reality of the devil, the specialist in dividing people and the telling of blatant or more often the subtlest of lies is living in a fantasy world. But we are the army of Mary and with her and through her we will conquer Satan in our time and place. We remember the words of St. John Paul 11 to our founder Frank Duff: ‘Victory comes through Mary’. Those words were a perfect expression of the profound conviction of our Founder and the spirit of the Legion.

We know that the Legion works in places and cultures in the world where the very existence of the devil is denied and ridiculed and also it works in places and cultures where there is a superstitious preoccupation with the devil sometimes expressed in demonic rituals. So it might be helpful as a basis for discussion at a Patrician meeting or other Legion forum to conclude this Allocutio with two short quotations concerning the existence, nature and limits of the devil. One from the Universal Catechism of the Catholic Church and the other from the Document recommended by the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith mentioned earlier.

“Triumph over Evil: It is to Faith in fact that the Apostle Peter leads us back when he exhorts us to resist the devil, ‘strong in faith.’ Faith teaches us that the reality of evil ‘is a living spiritual being, perverted and corrupting.’ Faith can also give confidence by assuring us that the power of Satan cannot go beyond the limits set by God. Faith likewise assures us that even though the devil is able to tempt us, he cannot force our consent. Above all faith opens the heart of prayer, in which it finds its victory and crown. It thus enables us to triumph over evil through the power of God” (Congregation of the Faith)

“The power of Satan is, nonetheless, not infinite. He is only a creature, powerful from the fact that he is pure spirit, but still a creature. He cannot prevent the building up of God’s reign. Although Satan may act in the world out of hatred for God and His Kingdom in Christ, and although his action may cause grave injuries – of a spiritual nature and, indirectly, even of a physical nature- to each person and to society, the action is permitted by providence which with strength and gentleness guides human and cosmic history. It is a great mystery that providence should permit diabolical activity, but ‘we know that in everything God works for good with those who love Him.’ (CCC395)

Let us leave the last word to Pope Francis: ‘Let us ask the Lord for the grace to take these things seriously. He came to battle for our salvation, and he has conquered the devil.’
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