You Are Not Untouchable

 

One of the most unnerving and wiley capital sins--if not the most--is pride. It is probably the sharpest arrow in the Devil's quiver because it was Satan's pride which was his ultimate downfall. Remember, Lucifer ("Light-bearer") was a seraphim, the highest choir of angels who see and adore God directly. In the beginning angels had free will, and Satan exercised it: "I will not serve." One-strike policy. 

Thanks be to God, by the gift of grace, we have the opportunity to repent and turn back to God in this life when we turn away by this gift given to the angels, that of free will, for "the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting" (Ps 100:5). 

To bring a soul down by pride--even would-be saints one ladder rung away from their salvatific repose--is one of Satan's greatest and most effective strategies (see the icon above depicting The Ladder of Divine Ascent). That's why it's so important to constantly employ and cultivate the virtue of humility, and pull up at the root even the tiny strands of pride which have the potential to give birth to sin, and ultimately, death (Ja 1:15). 

But there is another sin closely related to pride that is very damaging to the fortification of the soul as well, and that is presumption. The Devil leverages this sin early on in the Garden in a way ("Did God really say you must not eat the fruit? You will not surely die."). In a similar vein to his own demise, the one-strike policy applied to man before the Fall. Eve's disobedience was enough to banish them for all eternity, and though God never stopped loving and caring for them, they had forfeited their protected sanctuary in the Garden, and enmity was introduced.  

Presumption is predicated upon the belief in God's mercy apart from the exercise of the will to repent:

"It may be defined as the condition of a soul that, because of a badly regulated reliance on God’s mercy and power, hopes for salvation without doing anything to deserve it, or for pardon of his sins without repenting of them."

I want to take this in a different direction if I may. For the arrows of presumption on which Satan has leveled his bow seek to strike to the heart of creation itself, as St. Lucia of Fatima predicted, "The decisive battle between the Lord and the kingdom of Satan will be over marriage and the family.” 

Spiritual blindness is not limited to those in the secular world. Many "good Catholics" have had their intellects darkened and wills compromised by the smoke of Satan permeating throughout the culture and within the Church Herself. These are Sunday (sometimes even daily) Mass goers, those who cantor or lector, are on the parish council, homeschool, have large families, maybe have even evangelized publically or written books or apologetics on the faith...basically are checking all the boxes and living their best Catholic life from all external goalposts. 

And yet, nothing is off-limits for the Devil, and these folks can become prime targets in this decisive battle. Attack the family through confusion and disorder (dysphoria, sodomy, etc), strike at the heart of marriage through adultery and pervert the generative function through pornography, lust, and covettetness. It is a notch in the bedpost for Satan.

It's a predictable strategy, and we can't say we weren't warned (St. Lucia, Our Lady of Fatima, above). And yet, it's working. Those who felt secure in their marriages and families, and their Catholic identity, PRESUMING their spiritual security, seem to be inexplicably falling left and right. Marriages of ten, twenty, even thirty years, founded on a firm foundation, open to life and fruitful, sacramental) are being attacked and corrupted through a kind of spiritual tear-gas wafting through the cracks in the doorjamb. The Devil smokes us out, and then cuts us at the knees. Then he lifts them up and turns them upon their wives, their families, and the Church herself to deny and denigrate everything that came before their fall. He predicates this flanking upon his own fall from grace. 

The Ladder of Divine ascent is a worthy icon for meditation. It should fill us with a holy fear, that no man, no saint, is secure in this life until he rests in the bosom of the Savior and hears the words "well done, good and faithful servant." I once asked an old monk when I was a teenager, "Father, do we ever reach a point when we are not tempted by lust?" And he answered dryly, "Yes. When you die."

I have quoted it again and again, but the scripture is true: "Take heed, lest you fall" (1 Cor 10:12). You are not untouchable, you are not immune. The more beautiful and wholesome your family, the more the Devil wants to take you out and thwart your spiritual generation. 

This should fill us with a despairing fear ("Who then can be saved?" (Mt 19:25)), were it not for the fact that death has been conquered, and grace is greater than sin. This does not mean we cannot sin, but we cannot be compelled to sin apart from our will. When we step into the Devil (the chained dog)'s pervue, we become vulnerable to his bite. St. Paul says "FLEE from sexual immortality" (1 Cor 6:18). Presumption moseys and yawns and assumes the best; vigilance braces, constantly scanning til daybreak the horizon for the enemy, and prepares for the worst. 

I think it's worth noting that the Devil can also use scrupulosity (for those prone to it) against us in this battle. A man should be confident--not in Himself, but in Christ--not paranoid. He should be limber enough to pivot when he needs to, not so tense that he breaks in the slightest wind. The Devil hates common-sense, because common-sense is founded in reason and right order. Common sense says "maybe it is more prudent to eat alone than go out to lunch with a female colleague." Common sense says one should keep firm but healthy boundaries in place without being a legalist. Common sense says don't scratch an itch unless you want it to get harder to resist. The Devil loves legalism, which is what scrupulosity is rooted in. 

It is clear (but still unnerving) how many marriages are seemingly inexplicably falling apart as a result of sin and blindness. Perhaps we need to consider this sin of presumption in the context of our standing with God, but also within our marriage and families as well. You are not immune. You are not untouchable. But you do not have to live in fear, as long as you build your house on rock, not sand, and fortify your sanctuary (your home, your marriage, your family). Be vigilant, because the stakes are high the more you ascend, and the fall from those rungs will break more bones than just your own.