- How can we offer spiritual resistance to the evil spirit of Herod and those who promote abortion? I wonder if it’s the same spirit that causes suicides?
Let us begin by saying that, on an objective level, it is always the same spirit that induces a person to kill, whether it be to kill another person (and in this case, an innocent child); whether it be to take his own life.
It is important to be aware that, in attacks of this level against God’s commandments, spirits are involved. Without this invisible dimension, such terrible events cannot be understood, or they will be perceived only on the human level. But then, an important aspect of resistance, which must also and precisely be offered at the spiritual level, would not be realized either.
On the human and psychological level, there can be varying degrees of guilt. In both forms of killing – abortion and suicide – there can be blindness, there can be some kind of coercion – either internal or external -, there can be circumstances that propitiate killing, such as not being rooted in faith, with the values it communicates to us, having received the wrong education, having grown up in an environment that is hostile to life…
In the case of abortion, it is the killing of a person who needs special protection. That means that, to get there, one must have overcome certain natural resistances that would get in the way: motherhood, fatherhood, responsibility, natural affection for a child, among many others…
In the case of suicide, the aggression is primarily directed at one’s own person, although, in the end, it often becomes an accusation against the other persons, for not having prevented it and not having taken sufficient care of the one who took his life…
So we can easily see that the starting position is different in abortion and in suicide. A person who aborts and who induces others to abort is not necessarily a candidate for suicide; nor is someone who is in danger of suicide necessarily, at the same time, a potential promoter of abortion. However, there is one psychological aspect in common, which can have a negative influence on each other: disregard for life and, therefore, disregard for God’s commandments.
In order to offer spiritual resistance, both the personal and the spiritual dimension should be taken into account, although it is certainly easier to identify the spiritual one; in this case, Satanic. The one who is acting here is the “murderer from the beginning” (cf. Jn 8,44), and he uses the concrete psychological situation of the person to achieve his evil purposes, and he may even before have had influence in bringing the person to the state in which he finds himself.
Prayer
The evil spirit can be rejected through prayer, especially by invoking the Virgin Mary, asking her to crush the head of the snake. Furthermore, one can offer those sacrifices that are part of our way; fasting, which has a particular weight in the spiritual combat; the prayer of the Rosary and, of course, the Holy Sacrifice of the Eucharist. Special prayers, such as those coming from so-called private revelations, can also come into play.
Evangelization
In a broader perspective, taking into account the two dimensions that converge here; namely, the personal and the spiritual, it will be evangelization that will counteract that spirit that induces people to murder. We can assume that both abortion and suicide occur much more in people without a strong faith. God’s grace influences the whole psychological constitution of the person, strengthens his soul and makes it capable of resisting evil. Moreover, God’s commandments give him the necessary guidance.
There is another, more inner dimension, that can be integrated into the fight against the spirit of murder:
The path of sanctification
The more we are aware that we are members of one Body, namely the Church, the more we will understand that everything we do has repercussions. So, if I make a serious effort to overcome the spirit of murder in myself, I will be positively influencing the world. I am referring, for example, to speaking badly of others or treating them without love; to the disordered sexual life, to the offense of God’s commandments in general, even if it is “only” in thoughts… All this causes death on many levels. On the contrary, every time we cooperate with God’s life-giving grace, we are engendering true life. As we turn more and more towards God on the path of holiness, or in other words, as God finds more space in our hearts and actions, the power of evil is weakened.
Participation in concrete acts of resistance
There are pro-life movements that one can join. In addition, every signature on a petition addressed to politicians or other influential people, every letter will be valuable to the resistance, insofar as it is witnessing to the sanctity of life.
And we cannot forget that constant prayer for the conversion of those promoting the abortion-agenda is most important!
Harpa Dei accompanies the daily scriptural interpretation or spiritual teaching of Br. Elija, their spiritual father. These meditations can be heard on the following website www.en.elijamission.net
