The prayer to St. Michael the Archangel written by Pope Leo XIII in 1864 is a very good indication of the struggle which exists between good and evil in a fallen world. Before Vatican II the prayer was recited by the faithful after each Mass. For whatever reason, it was dropped, possibly because the prevalent thought was the intention of the prayer was out of step with modern times. Perhaps those in leadership thought it was better to downplay evil in lieu of the “Good News” message.
From 1864 to the present, enormous amount of tragedy due to evil and sin has been experienced by humanity starting first with two world wars and all of the calamity in-between. Evil is always a part of the fallen world and the devil who is the leader is not only patient, but also methodical in tempting human beings every day and every minute to do his bidding.
The devil is also very clever and when Pope Leo XIII composed the prayer of St. Michael, he was aware the struggle of good versus evil is a lifelong battle for all Christians. The devil knew he must downplay the struggle as “old- fashion”, “extremist”, or just plain “nonexistent.” The first plan of the devil has succeeded.
When the ugliness of evil has been softened and people have been accustomed to accepting parts of evil, they become ripe targets for stage two of the diabolic plan which proves to be a bit more difficult. Human beings are created in the image and likeness of God, meaning there is an affinity to the good, which is God himself. The affinity to the good and the relation with God and his creatures must somehow be damaged because the devil has no power to create his own beings, he has only then power to destruct them. Stage two must keep in mind the essence of a human being and its natural relationship with God, while at the same time eliminating the good of a person bit by bit. Primarily this done by convincing the evil one’s followers what was considered a sin, is not really sin at all. You heard the phrase, “Love is love.” A classic example of using a good to destroy a good. Love is good, but love directed in unhealthy ways is not love at all, but a clear example of sinful behavior.
The final stage in the offensive is what is happening right now—The Normalization of Evil. Again, the strategy begins with softening the minds of people, followed by convincing them what they believe or what they want to do, is not a sin at all. To complete the job, the devil and his workers are hard at work in the normalization process.
Let’s go through a couple of examples: The normalization of same sex attraction. The Church in her Catechism has indicated the sexual relations with two of the same sex is a disorder, yet if anyone in the public square even mentions the instruction, they are categorized as a hater and at the very least homophobic. The sinful behavior has been normalized and the cherry on top is the so-called right to marry.
Transgenderism has also been normalized. What few people recognize is the gay and trans movements are direct affronts to the creative process of God. No longer is a creature created by God as a male or female, the normalization of evil tells a person they have the power to choose how they want to be created. The evil wish is completely outside the power of any human being but nonetheless normalized as something which is good. Quite a lie.
The absurd right of women to choose to kill their babies in the womb has also been normalized by the very word of “right” afforded by the US Supreme Court. I could keep going on but the point is hopeful made.
We are in a struggle now between good and evil, and we must recognize evil is now masked as normal and good. The first step in fighting against evil is to acknowledge what is happening before your eyes. The next step is to fight the lies and to be bearers of the truth. I encourage you to pray the prayer of St. Michael often, which will give you the courage to live in the truth and fight for it.
St. Michael the Archangel,
defend us in the day of Battle;
Be our safeguard against the wickedness and snares of the Devil.
May God rebuke him, we humbly pray,
and do Thou, O Prince of the Heavenly Host,
by the power of God, cast into Hell,
Satan and all the other evil spirits,
who prowl through the world,
seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.