Fighting this world’s evil our faith in God

We have all been shocked by the recent tragedy that has taken place in Pittsburgh. A gunman opened fire on people worshipping in the Tree of Life Synagogue, killing 11 and seriously wounding many others. This senseless act of violence reminds us that evil does exist in the world.

From a Christian perspective we believe that Satan is called ‘the evil one.’ He is our enemy and actively works to lead us away from God. He is often very subtle and seductive in his approach and wants us to believe that he does not exist. From what we are witnessing in the world today, it is quite evident that he is real.

Satan was a good angel and we are told in the Book of Revelation that because of his pride he led a rebellion against God in heaven. “And war broke out in heaven; Michael and his angels fought against the dragon. The dragon and his angels fought back, but they were defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. The great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.” (Rev.12:7-9)

Satan lost the battle in heaven, and he also lost the war.

Christians believe that by his cross, Jesus has triumphed over sin and death. This is the final victory and Satan has been defeated once and for all. Love has triumphed. All that the evil one is able to do now is to tempt and to deceive. He is the quintessential source of fake news and alternative facts who wants to lead us away from God. He tries to rob us of happiness and fill us with bitterness.

I do not think that I am alone in noting that there seems to be less respect, compassion and love for one another in our world today. I also see a growing number of angry people who respond to stressful situations with violence rather than patience. This can be seen in more than just road rage statistics.

What is most disturbing is that division seems to be growing in our world. We see it in our families, churches, communities and in politics. We seem to prefer to attack the person rather than the idea or argument they propose. From a Christian perspective, this is the result of sin and evil in our world; however, we do have a remedy.

The answer to overcoming evil is Jesus. If we believe in him then we are strengthened and we need not be afraid. Faith matters because it can help us to overcome anger, hatred, pride, despair, and division. The more we immerse ourselves in what is good and holy, the more we radiate what is good and holy. One of the greatest ways that this can be done is through prayer. When we pray we place ourselves in the presence of God and enter a divine conversation.

When the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray he taught them the Our Father. This prayer is common to all Christians and offers the pattern for what we are to say to the Lord. In the final part of the prayer, Jesus teaches us to ask God to help us to fight temptation and to protect us from the evil one. When we are confronted with evil acts we can easily lose heart. Our Christian faith teaches us that when this happens Jesus shows us the way to what is good, true and beautiful. We have to believe that it is still a wonderful world because love has triumphed!

Gerard Bergie is bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of St. Catharines. bishop@saintcd.com