We are at war

By Engr. Carlos V. Cornejo

We are not referring to a militaristic war such as the looming threat of a Chinese invasion of the Philippines due to the Spratly Islands dispute. I am referring to a spiritual war, and we are all involved, with our souls at stake. It all started when Original Sin was committed by our First Parents, Adam and Eve. Original Sin wreaked havoc on the moral integrity of the souls of Adam and Eve, causing their passions or feelings to rebel against their reason or intellect and making them seek their own happiness in created things rather than from the Creator. We inherited this moral disorder from them, as well as death and sickness, because of Original Sin.

We now have to struggle to control our passions — disorderly feelings for pleasure, pride (disordered self-love), greed (for money), envy, anger, etc. There are many passages in Scripture that refer to this war: “Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division” (Luke 12:51), and “Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground” (Ephesians 6:13). What are the significant implications of this war? First, we have to accept it and not deny it, or face the reality that we all have to struggle, both physically (working at a job or earning a living) and spiritually. Second, it means having a chance to win it and be rewarded. Third, it means we should have a radical change of consciousness, perspective, and values. Life on earth is not a vacation but a battlefield. Vacation will come only in the next phase, or the next life, as a reward.

And who are the main enemies in this war? The old Catechism teaches us that they are the flesh, the world, and the devil. The flesh refers to ourselves and to our disordered self-love that basically wants to exalt oneself over God or tell God, “I want to be happy on my own terms and not yours.” It is a kind of self-worship, the worst kind of idolatry. The “world” refers to the temptations outside of us, such as money, honor, and sinful pleasures that society may offer us. And lastly, the devil, who is envious of man and hates everything that God loves, wants to hurt God by hurting the souls of His children. All three entice us to sin or go against God’s good wishes for us.

Nowadays, there is a denial of sin or, as St. Pope John Paul II would call it, “the loss of the sense of sin,” especially in Western countries. Many no longer believe in the existence of God in that part of the world, and they see morality and sin as impractical and nonsensical. It renders the good news (of a Savior) useless because there is a denial of the bad news (that we are sinners). A free heart transplant is not good news to someone who does not know he has heart disease.

Life in general is not easy, as Mark Manson would say. Working or earning a living is not easy, just as laziness is not easy. Being single is not easy, and being married is likewise not easy. It’s a matter of choosing your battles. And if you are smart, you choose the battle that gives you satisfaction and less regret in life by practicing the virtue of hard work and not the vice of laziness. The same thing applies to the spiritual life. In fact, peace — that the world cannot give and that Christ promised — can only be attained through spiritual warfare. Christianity is a religion of love, but that does not mean it is not a religion of war. Love declares war against its enemies: selfishness, shallowness, sloth, indifference, self-indulgence, and comfort-mongering. God provides us with weapons through the Church by offering us the Sacraments that can be availed of on a regular basis: Holy Mass and confession, so as to acquire graces for the battle. And on our part, we should regularly pray because, as St. Teresa of Avila said, “He who does not pray (regularly) does not need a devil to tempt him.” Otherwise, we will simply fall into sin by ourselves, even without a devil tempting us. Prayer and the Sacraments are the two main weapons for the spiritual battle.