1 John 2:18-21
Children, it is the last hour; and just as you heard that the antichrist was coming, so now many antichrists have appeared. Thus we know this is the last hour. They went out from us, but they were not really of our number; if they had been, they would have remained with us. Their desertion shows that none of them was of our number. But you have the anointing that comes from the Holy One, and you all have knowledge. I write to you not because you do not know the truth but because you do, and because every lie is alien to the truth.
Dawg's thought:
Today's prayer intention is for priests around the world, that they feel supported in their vocation.
There is something inside of us that is drawn to ultimate goodness. When we watch a movie, we want the one who is virtuous and has good intentions to win over the one who has evil intentions and lacks virtue. When we watch television shows, when the producer wants someone to be thought of us good, they are portrayed practicing virtue. The opposite is true for someone who we don't want to portray as good.
As I think about these fabricated events in movies and television, I know that within our beings, we desire truth and goodness.
When I hear talk of "the antichrist", it conjures up images of "THE ULTIMATE BATTLE BETWEEN GOOD AND EVIL!" It is. Satan is very real, and if we deny his existence, then we will fall for his traps. Satan is very real and does exist. He does not practice virtue, and does not want you to practice virtue either. To imitate Christ in His love and humility is foreign to him.
Not to us, though. We know Christ, and we have the free will to imitate Him in standing by The Truth. We know Christ and we can show it through how we love one another. We know Christ and we can show this by forgiving one another. (Somehow, when someone says "love", it always seems so much easier than saying "forgiveness"). We know Christ, and in knowing Christ, we must acknowledge that there is one who wants to draw us away from that goodness and virtue Christ calls us to. The one who calls us away speaks lies, and speaks them so well that it sounds like the truth. The more we stay faithful in our prayer lives and practice true "Christ-centered" virtue, the more we will see the lies and abhor the lies and recognize Satan's work in drawing us away from Our Beloved Lord, Jesus Christ. Take care and God Bless.
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