Reflections of a beloved son

" Did God really tell you not to eat from any of the trees in the garden? "  That was how Satan, the devil, the enemy introduced himself to Eve.  What an introduction, imagine that.  If someone came up to you and said "Did he really say..." instead of "Good morning, how are you?" or "What a beautiful day" or something similar, how would you feel?  I would feel awkward and not sure if I really want to engage this person in conversation. However, I'd still be cordial.  (With the enemy, we should never engage in dialogue) But this isn't about manners.  It's about something deeper.  It's about our life, our salvation. The serpent used what he knew was a lie to engage Eve in conversation.  He knew that God allowed Adam and Eve to eat of any of the trees in the garden but to not eat of the Tree of Knowledge.  So, the enemy was playing mind games with Eve, trying to make her question God's goodness and intentions. That is how he tr...

In the Spiritual Exercises , St. Ignatius of Loyola teaches of the “Two Standards.”   One is the Standard of Christ and the other is the Standard of the enemy.   We are confronted with the choice to either stand with the army of Christ or with the army of the enemy and his lies.   In St. Luke’s Gospel Jesus says to His disciples one “cannot serve both God and mammon” (Lk. 16:13).   At face value, of course the choice is clear—we ought to stand with the army of Christ and to serve God.   But, when it comes down to making the decision and actually living out that decision day in and day out, is it as clear and easy?   Do our actions and choices make that decision obvious?   Everyday we are given numerous opportunities to choose.   If someone does an act of uncharity, do I return one?   Or do I even think about saying or doing anything back that would be uncharitable? You may ask yourself how does this relate to either serving God or ...