The Willfulness of Satan - A Warning For Us All

When we desire that our lives be something other than that which God wills for them to be, and we begin to see in that desire the source of our fulfillment and happiness, we set ourselves above God and declare that, by our own efforts, we can achieve our fulfillment and happiness.  

 

This is what Satan did.  This is what animates him.  This is what it means to follow him.  

 

In embracing this desire and seeing it put into action, we bind ourselves to the rebellion and run beneath Satan's banner.  

 

If we persist in this, we will begin to worship our own will.  We will then judge all things by it, instead of by God's revelation.  

 

We will begin to despise God, not simply ignore Him.  We will grow bitter toward Him.  

 

If we still carry the externals of being a Christian, we will trim the religion down to something that suits us.  This is why, as St. Thomas says, the man who rejects just one revealed Truth has no faith at all; for all the other revealed Truths are accepted for the sole reason that they appeal to his intellect.  Faith is the supernatural assent of the intellect to all that God has revealed.  

 

We believe because we know God has revealed it.  When we know God has revealed it and decide to reject it anyway, we join Satan.  The Church warns us about this, stating that any man who knows that God willed communion with the Church to be necessary for salvation and still refuses to enter, that man cannot be saved.  

 

Satan did this.  Satan knew that submission to God's will was necessary for glorification and he refused to obey.  When we join Satan's intellectual decision, we become one of his companions.  

 

But, remember, Satan does not have companions - he has slaves.  

 

Thus, when we drift into willfulness, we become part of what has been termed, the "Mystical Body of Satan," also known as the Kingdom of Satan.  

 

Now, yes, many do this and seem to get along well in this life.  But that is Satan's approach - if he already has us in his company by our own choices, he leaves us alone, for we are damned where we stand.  If we resist him, he will attack, since he seeks to dominate all things.

 

As one exorcist put it, in Satan's self-deception, as he sees his kingdom grow and spread throughout the earth, making him feel like he is God, he experiences a sort of intoxication.  He is driven my a mad rage to accumulate more slaves for his dominion.

The Servants of Satan Lack

So those who live by willfulness seem to get along well, but they actually aren't.  In their minds, they have no comfort of grace, no hope from the promise of salvation, no depth of union with God, no peace that transcends this world.  They live by the "here and now," by the fruits of this earth, often desperately seeking to preserve the little kingdoms they have made from the toys and pleasures of this world.  They construct a land of idols, created goods to serve their needs and bring them happiness.

All the while Satan's kingdom grows.  His major work is subtle temptation.  If he can turn our hearts as black as his, he has no further work to do.

Resistance

Resist him.  Resist willfulness.  Surrender to Divine Providence.  

 

Remember that we have all the proof we need that Christianity is true and powerful and that God will provide overwhelmingly for His children when we TRUST IN HIM.

Turn to Him, and to His Most Sacred Heart.  Bind yourself to His will.  

 

Analyze your heart and honestly admit those things in which you are choosing to not trust God:

• Do you fear death?
• Do you fear the manner of your death?
• Do you fear losing your job, your home, your career?
• Do you fear your weakness and the chance of Hell? 
• Do you fear your feelings that God is not the source of peace?
  
• What do you fear, which steals your peace and distracts from your prayer?
  

Have you told God about these things and renounced them?  God wants to take away our fears, but sometimes we treasure them - they are familiar and we often use them to justify the sins by which we escape our fears.

Let Our Lord set you free from fear and you will see through the devil's lies and behold the beauty that emerges from a life of surrender and trust.

 

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