THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH

Her Doctrine and Morals

Third Sunday of Lent

3 March 2024

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The Sunday

Sermon

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Dear Friends,

The conflict between the devils and God began in Heaven, where they were cast out forever. It continues here on earth, and we must do our part in this ceaseless battle. The war between good and evil will end here on earth when Jesus returns. It will end for us when we leave this world, and our station in eternity will be unalterably fixed — either in Heaven or in Hell. (Purgatory is simply the purifying path to Heaven. Moreover, it will ultimately undoubtedly lead to Heaven.)

In Heaven, the angels had to choose whether to go with the demons or remain with God. This is mirrored here on Earth. We must choose if we will go with God or remain with the demons. The angels had a single opportunity to choose; we have our entire lifetime to choose. We can choose and then reconsider and choose again and again for as long as we have our mortal life here on earth. The position that we will have taken when we leave this world determines our lot for the rest of eternity.

Our time here on earth is given to us to make this choice, and due to our weakness, we are given ample time to consider and reconsider our choices. The fallen angels were in God's realm (Heaven) when they chose to depart. We find ourselves in the demons' realm (fallen Earth) and are called upon to choose to stay in the realm of demons or depart for Heaven. In Baptism, we renounced the devils and all their works; we now must spend the rest of our days faithful to those vows. The demons always strive to get us to return to their influence and hold out the many temporary pleasures of this world to tempt us. They do not care what pleasures we pursue and will offer us many and varied ones until they find the ones that will get us to turn away from God as they did.

God has given us the tools necessary to resist the attacks of the devils. In the Old Testament, our armor (protection) was the Law. Those who kept the Law found life. However, this soon devolved into the mere following of the "letter of the Law" rather than keeping the Law in our hearts, souls, and physical bodies. When the Israelites were in Egypt, they imitated the ungodly ways of the Egyptians. When God led them out of Egypt, He gave them the Law. The keeping of the Law soon became ritualistic, mechanical, or robotic. Men kept the letter of the Law but not the spirit of the Law.

The Son of God needed to come and overthrow the devils once again for us. He left us with new weapons in the Catholic Church. In addition to the Law, we now have the Sacraments. The Sacraments give spirit or life to the Law. Sacraments are outward signs instituted by Christ to give grace. With Sacramental Grace, we can keep the spirit of the Law as well as the letter.

We are currently in a battle for our souls; we need armor, protection, and weapons to survive. Sacramental Grace is all these things for us. It is foolish for us not to accept these necessary tools for our eternal welfare when we are given the opportunity. When the Sacraments are made available for us, we should make every effort to receive them worthily. The soldier who refuses or is too lazy to put on the armor that is provided to him has no one but himself to blame for his injuries or death. The Catholic who refuses or is too lazy to receive the Sacraments offered to him has no one but himself to blame for his spiritual injuries or damnation.

Jesus has come and overpowered the demons and chased them out for us. We are warned that the devils do not give up. As the demons weakened the Law by inspiring a mechanical observance of the letter of the Law, they also inspired a mechanical reception of the Sacraments. As many Israelites fell away, so today, many Catholics are falling away through a materialistic or mechanical reception of the Sacraments.

To win this battle, we need to hold onto or return to not only the physical reception of the Sacraments but, even more importantly, we must hold onto the spiritual reception. It is not enough to pray with our lips; we must also strive to pray from our hearts. It is not enough to wash our bodies; we must also wash our souls. It is not enough to feed our bodies; we must also feed our souls. It is not enough to clothe our bodies; we must also clothe our souls.

It is not enough that one devil has been cast out of us. We must remember that there are now eight demons (The original one and seven others worse than the first.) trying to work their way back into our souls. Jesus cast out the first one, and He has given us the tools we need to keep all of them out. We must not grow careless, cold, or indifferent, but we must take up our tools (The Sacraments, prayer, self-denial, and our cross) and employ them. We must fight the good fight, both materially and especially spiritually.

May the Immaculate Heart of Mary inspire, guide, and protect us!