The Weeping Prophet: Three Things Satan Fears
I've gotten out of the habit of passing along some of the better blog posts for you to read. THis weekend has Anne and the kids at my folks, so bachelor life has afforded me the luxury once again, if only for a time. Enjoy it while it lasts, I still have 2" of printouts to get through. Ha!
The Weeping Prophet: Three Things Satan Fears I've noticed that there are three distinct things that Satan seems to voraciously attack with regularity. Consequently, these same three things seem to consistently repel those who embrace individualized, post-modern "pop-Christianity". These Three: Making the Sign of the Holy Cross, Crucifixes, and Chalices... The sign of the cross made over one's heart is the remembrance of baptismal grace and election as God's beloved. As such, it is also a target for Satan. Satan hates Baptism, because Baptism kills the flesh that he would employ to deceive and tempt by. Therefore, Satan tempts man to despise this outward recognition of Baptism. A good crucifix will not only depict the corpus of our Lord, but also His wounds. Satan loves the depiction of a clean, happy Jesus, which distracts men from the death and shed blood that saves them. Conversely, Satan is especially enraged by depictions of Christ's death and shed blood. This is exactly what defeated him. Therefore, Satan tempts man to despise the outward recognition of the Christ who gave His Body and shed His Blood. Chalices serve the Body of Christ, His Church, by proclaiming and serving a unity that no other element can: true communion. The Chalice causes the communicant to think, "This is not about me, it is for me. This is not just for me, it's for this common fellowship and confession gathered here. Individual cups, rather, assert individualism, fear of disease, and complacency toward the Suppers' content and benefit. Therefore, Satan tempts man to despise the outward recognition of baptismal unity and confession.
