Part 4, Chapter 1
We are in a battle. Casualties are happening every day in this battle. It is a fight between good and evil. (Of course, we know that Good has already won, still we need to continue to fight for the salvation of souls so that all receive the gift that God has given us). We need to realize that this battle is going on. It is the world against the faithful. The world doesn’t like the faithful. This is why when one is trying to leave living in the world, it is tough. The world fights to keep us and its most effective strategy is the spiritual battle. “Do what we will, the world must wage war upon us” (Introduction to the Devout Life, 159). We should wage war on the world in a spiritual sense. We are in the Church Militant. We are fighting for our salvation. We need to now the tactics of the world. Think about the ways people who are in the world try to keep us there, “come on it is only one time,” “you used to be fun,” and “you don’t have to do everything that God told you.” These are some of the spiritual attacks that those who are trying to live the devout life experience.
We should expect this battle. It is psychological warfare at its best (really worst)! Those in the world try to do what they can to continue to entice us. Still, they have some help from those fallen angels, but don’t worry we have St. Michael! He defends us in battle; still we need to know that the world is fighting against us in this battle. We could stay naive about this battle, but this strategy doesn’t work. The fight continues on around us. The world doesn’t like to lose any of its children. And God wants to bring His children back to Himself and His love. The world seeks to confuse us; God seeks to show us the way, the truth and the life. The world only loves us when we are worldly, God loves us always!
We will experience a lot of bombardments in trying to live the devout life. (I would like to tell us that it is going to be easy and comfortable, it won’t, (SORRY)). “There is no surer groundwork for the beginnings of a devout life than the endurance of misrepresentation and calumny” (Introduction to the Devout Life, 160). Why are we attacked? Because we are in a battle, a battle for souls, and a battle that leads to eternal life: Heaven or Hell. The battle lines have been drawn and we know how the enemy attacks. What is needed is for us to die for the battle to be won. “We are crucified to the world, and the world must be as crucified to us” (Introduction to the Devout Life, 160). In other words, if we are going to be faithful to God, we can live in the world, but not be of the world.