31 Meditations for Advent and Christmas
"The King Who is to come; O come let us adore Him."
7th Day: OUR KING'S ENEMIES
"The King Who is to come; O come let us adore Him."
7th Day: OUR KING'S ENEMIES
Our King, in spite of His Divine perfections, in
spite of His power. His claims to rule, and His
unspeakable goodness and love, has nevertheless
many and irreconcilable enemies.
His first enemy is the devil, or rather the innumerable company of devils who make it their one object to insult and outrage Him with insatiable fierceness and hatred. They spare no pains, they neglect no means within their reach, to carry on a deadly war against Him and His soldiers. Nothing can satisfy their malice and their fury. Their one object is to destroy the happiness and ruin the souls of all those who are stamped with the image of our King. How is it that, knowing this, I so often listen to their suggestions?
His second enemy is the world around us, which acknowledges principles opposed to those by which our King desires that we should be guided. It is actuated by a covert selfishness, by self-love, by earthly ambition, by a desire to be highly esteemed by others, by the greed of gain. It seeks to explain away the precepts of our King, and it despises His counsels. It puts Him, as far as possible, in the background or out of sight. Do I not too often act on these worldly principles?
His third enemy is our own nature, tainted as it is with sin. Self-will is strong within us, defying God. Concupiscence bribes us by the promise of pleasures, which will make us enemies of our King, or at least will weaken our fidelity to Him. Pride urges us on to actual rebellion, in matters great or small. Do I fight manfully against these enemies of my King?
His first enemy is the devil, or rather the innumerable company of devils who make it their one object to insult and outrage Him with insatiable fierceness and hatred. They spare no pains, they neglect no means within their reach, to carry on a deadly war against Him and His soldiers. Nothing can satisfy their malice and their fury. Their one object is to destroy the happiness and ruin the souls of all those who are stamped with the image of our King. How is it that, knowing this, I so often listen to their suggestions?
His second enemy is the world around us, which acknowledges principles opposed to those by which our King desires that we should be guided. It is actuated by a covert selfishness, by self-love, by earthly ambition, by a desire to be highly esteemed by others, by the greed of gain. It seeks to explain away the precepts of our King, and it despises His counsels. It puts Him, as far as possible, in the background or out of sight. Do I not too often act on these worldly principles?
His third enemy is our own nature, tainted as it is with sin. Self-will is strong within us, defying God. Concupiscence bribes us by the promise of pleasures, which will make us enemies of our King, or at least will weaken our fidelity to Him. Pride urges us on to actual rebellion, in matters great or small. Do I fight manfully against these enemies of my King?