If we look past the upheaval from the rotten fruits of our society’s moral implosion, we detect subtle systematic attempts at dismantling and dispelling anything to do with the supernatural. “There must be a human solution to this problem,” we say. And we keep plodding on with no permanent remedy in sight.
Yet today, there has also been a marked increase in intractable preternatural (diabolic) afflictions that has necessitated more rigorous spiritual combat and supernatural deliverance through the Catholic Church to achieve liberation by Jesus Christ.
Ironically, as our acknowledgement of the supernatural goes down, our need for it goes up.
Dual Citizenship
Yet the devil knows (though we may not) that every individual, family and culture in the world needs religion just as much as we need something to worship.
He also knows that when we dismiss the supernatural, we are dismissing God. And if we dismiss God, we cannot be liberated from evil.
But those who hope in Christ have a secret weapon that begins with the knowledge that all baptized Christians have a “dual citizenship”, and it is because of this that we can have hope.
Like St. Augustine of Hippo’s (354-430 AD) theological masterpiece, City of God, we struggle to live in the “city of man” but belong to the “City of God”–one, natural, the other, supernatural.
Asserting that the fall of pagan Rome was due to sin and not the rise of Christianity (as some claimed), he said:
“Worldly society has flowered from a selfish love which dared to despise even God, whereas the communion of saints is rooted in a love of God that is ready to trample on self. In a word, this latter relies on the Lord, whereas the other boasts that it can get along by itself.”
That sounds oddly familiar, doesn’t it? But let’s go on.
Supernatural intervention
How does Satan get us to dismiss the supernatural? By tempting us to stop asking for supernatural intervention.
Whether it be through self-reliance, shame or simply preoccupation with cheap entertainment, sports, excessive food, drink, exercise, social media or politics,–it doesn’t really matter, as long as it keeps us from seeking God.
God’s fingerprints
The truth is though, everything is a reflection of the supernatural (1 Cor 13:12), because everything belongs to God!
We can see a glimpse of God’s goodness in the sunset, His genius in astrophysics, His generosity in the life-sustaining water cycle, His humor when observing the antics of animals, His joy in the vibrant songs of the mockingbird (up to 200 sounds!) and His perfection in each brand new and unrepeatable human life.
God’s fingerprints are everywhere. So in our appreciation of the material world around us, it does us good to remember that without God, there would be nothing.
Immortality and mortality
But what about when things go terribly wrong? After all, this world isn’t heaven; it’s fallen, imperfect and passing away.
It’s helpful to remember that God’s supernatural nature transcends nature, which means He also has the power to control it. (Contrary to popular belief, we have not mastered science or nature.) Like the apostles in the boat on the Sea of Galilee, God waits for us to call on Him to rescue us from the storms that threaten to annihilate us.
So if we cut off God, we cut off access to His supernatural assistance, but why?
Because it’s the supernatural that sustains the natural, the immaterial that sustains the material, and the Divine that sustains mere mortals.
We like to think we can sustain ourselves, but we know this is not so (though our pride says otherwise). So in this “age of pride”, where does that put us today?
One world order, and fruit salad religion
With the onset of the proposed “One World Order” and the resulting “One World Religion”, at some point in the future, a more organized, intense and comprehensive persecution will seek to purge all other religions save one–that of the Anti-Christ.
This “all-inclusive religion” that absorbs and embraces parts of other religions will seem most prudent to some, and even benevolent to others.
Yet it will entail forcing people to deny basic tenets of Christianity, resulting in a “fruit salad religion” with contradicting doctrines that lead nowhere but towards more confusion.
But isn’t this the idea?
Yet just as the apostles feared plunging head-long into the menacing waves of the Sea of Galilee, we too, must awaken the sleeping Jesus, shouting, “Help!”.
Just as with them, it is only when we cry out to God that He intervenes. And it is only by recognizing our need for His constant intervention that we can receive His supernatural help.
Do we think we can’t make a difference and change the course of history? Being small and helpless isn’t such a bad thing; look at what David was able to accomplish with God at his rearguard.
The difference is, David knew his victory was of a supernatural origin, and he gave all the credit to God.
In this time of upheaval, with the “Goliaths” ever encroaching, we want to be like David who stayed close to God and depended on His saving help, not Goliath– because we know who was flattened in battle in the end.
This reassures us that God’s “got our back” when the “tidal waves” of oppression, hostility and intimidation begin to swell and threaten to flatten us, and He’ll provide a way for us to accomplish His will under the “shadow of His wings”.
“You who live in the shelter of the Most High,
Psalm 91:1-6
who abide in the shadow of the Almighty,
will say to the Lord, ‘My refuge and my fortress;
my God, in whom I trust.’
For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler
and from the deadly pestilence;
he will cover you with his pinions,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.
You will not fear the terror of the night,
or the arrow that flies by day,
or the pestilence that stalks in darkness,
or the destruction that wastes at noonday.”
Source: Saint Augustine of Hippo, City of God, New York: Image Books, 1958. pg. 307.