Have you heard it is said that God and the devil are two equal opponents, like the “yin and the “yang”?

To see the common cartoon-depiction of God and Satan arm wrestling, click here. Due to copyright laws, I cannot put it in my blog. You can see a similar A.I. image of Jesus and the devil all over the internet.

This concept is a common heresy that has crept into Christianity: the insertion of the Chinese philosophy of a “cyclical life” and its “balance” of contradictions. Like all Modernist heresies, it implies that Christianity is just one religion among many, and, because of this, it can fit nicely within any human philosophy or world power and have no claim on objective truth.

Christians know this to be false (and dangerous). They also know that God and the devil are not equally powerful.

Why? Because truth and love cannot be separated, and because love is stronger.

Love is stronger than evil

In his first epistle to the early Christians, St. John made it clear that God is love. And since nothing is more powerful than God, it stands to reason that God is stronger than the devil.

But how can we know this? Well, like everything else in Catholicism, through both theological and empirical results. That is–through faith, reason and scientific evidence.

Let’s look at the theology first: Like the rest of the fallen angels, the devil is a not equivalent to God because God created him. Like us, he is a mere creature (though pure spirit) made by God (CCC 395). Yet unlike us, he and the rest of the fallen angels are far intellectually superior to us, so we don’t stand a chance against his diabolic assaults on our own.

So if neither God, nor we are equal opponents of the devil (God can squash him like a fly), then who is?

Holy Mary and the great general of the heavenly angels, St. Michael the Archangel. That is why exorcists say their intercession is paramount in every successful exorcism: They are God’s primary chosen instruments to fight against evil on our behalf (along with the saints).

It is God’s love that sustains the world and the creatures in it, holding it all in place even now (CCC 301). That means, God’s love has a power we cannot fully comprehend–even bringing good out of all evil that ever has, or ever will exist. That’s a lot of power! And at the end of the world at the Final Judgement, we will see just how love was, and is, stronger than evil (CCC 1038-1040).

Love is stronger than our weaknesses

Even now, to the constant humiliation of Satan, God allows us–weak creatures though we are–to triumph over evil with His power.

This is what Jesus meant when he told St. Paul that His power was “made perfect” through Paul’s weaknesses when Paul complained to Him about his mysterious “thorn in the flesh” and a “messenger of Satan” that tormented him. Paul’s afflictions (both the “thorn” and the satanic harassments) became the opening for Jesus’ strength–proof that love is stronger than our weaknesses, which the devil tries to exploit.

In fact, Jesus’ primary Messianic mission was (and still is) to bind and defeat the devil and his hold on us. His many exorcisms and the Parable of the Strong Man recorded in the Gospels prove this to be true. In His defense against the Pharisees’ claim that He exorcised a demon by the power of Beezebul (a high-ranking demon), Jesus challenged them, “How can one enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man?” (Mt 12:29). In the parable, the “strong man” is Satan, but Christ is the “stronger One”, Who alone has the power to bind and exorcise evil.

So now we apply reason to the theology: When the Psalmist proclaimed that God is our “help and shield” (Ps 33:20), how could Jesus (who is God) be our “shield” if there is nothing to shield us from?

Which brings us to the third component of Catholicism–the evidence:

Love is stronger than fear

What is your biggest fear? I can tell you one of mine is to be alone–completely alone–isolated, unloved, rejected, unwanted and cast out. It makes me shudder just thinking about it. But this is all unfounded, because we are never alone. It is only an illusion.

But isn’t this problem of loneliness reaching “epidemic” proportions today? On my home webpage I included the results of a recent study (in May of 2023) released by the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, which declared that a staggering number of Americans are suffering from an “epidemic of loneliness and isolation” that increases the risk of premature death by 60%.

It compared the mortality rate of this loneliness to smoking up to 15 cigarettes a day!

It is said that God told us in Sacred Scripture to “be not afraid” 365 times–one for every day of the year. Do you think he was trying to tell us something?

Yes! He was trying to tell us that love is stronger than fear (and loneliness).

How do I know this? He told His people through the Prophet Isaiah, “Though the mountains fall away and the hills be shaken, My love shall never fall away from you nor my covenant of peace be shaken, says the Lord, who has mercy on you” (Isaiah 54:10 NABRE).

Even after all the infidelities of the Israelites, God was telling them He would give them a messiah and redeemer. Someone who would lead them to their final “Promised Land” (the heavenly Jerusalem).

He was basically saying that no matter what happens, not to fear. In the end, it’s His love that will rescue us, and it is He Who will give us everlasting peace.

Love is stronger than sin

This Sunday is the Feast of Divine Mercy, or “Divine Mercy Sunday.” In His apparitions to St. Faustina Kowalska (1905-1938), Jesus entrusted her with propagating His message of Divine Mercy to the world.

She did this through obeying his instructions to commission an artist to paint the “Divine Mercy” image of Himself, learn and spread the Chaplet of Divine Mercy and petition the pope to establish a universal feast day of “Divine Mercy” on the Sunday after Easter.

In this way the world would come to know the great mercy of God. All this she did and, at His instruction, recorded all Jesus’ revelations in her diary before she died of tuberculosis at the age of 33.

Her diary brings to life Jesus’ entire mission, which was to draw people back to Himself, especially at the onset of the 20th century, when the world was (and would be) under great duress with horrific wars and genocides.

Jesus told her: “My gaze from this image is like My gaze from the cross” (Diary, 326). In other words, His entire reason for coming to earth was to heal us from the wounds of sin (no matter how appalling) through His grace, and bring us into eternal joy.

The entire purpose of Him asking St. Faustina to spread the Divine Mercy devotion is to show us that love is stronger than sin.

How do I know this? Because He told her.

Jesus said, “I do not want to punish aching mankind, but I desire to heal it, pressing it to My Merciful Heart” (Diary, 1588).

Finally, through Christ, God teaches us that:

Love is stronger than death

Sin leads to death–the death of the soul– and very often, the body.

Yet God’s plan did not originally include death. Death is the result of the sin of our First Parents. Jesus Christ came to conquer death for us so that we can tear through it like a veil to get to the other side, which is everlasting light and the triumph of life.

That is why the martyrs have the courage to endure; they have a reason to live, and a reason to die. They know the Way, the Truth and the Life (John 14:6) is waiting for them, because they know that love is stronger than death.

That means, Christ’s crucifixion on Good Friday was His instrument to His triumph over death, and when St. Longinus plunged his spear into Jesus’ side, blood and water poured out, which was life offered for the world.

Therefore, Christians should not fear death. Christ’s triumph over death was ironclad and complete, and His kingship reigns forever, and Christians should not be afraid to declare Jesus Christ as king.

The battle cry of the Crusaders reflects what we will all see at the General Judgment:

“Christ is victor, Christ reigns, Christ commands!”

In the end, we will all be subject to His authority, justice and everlasting love– which is the cause of every Christian’s joy.

“Then I saw heaven opened, and there was a white horse! Its rider is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. […] On his robe and on his thigh he has a name inscribed, “King of kings and Lord of lords” (Revelation 19:11,16).

Happy Easter!