Weapons for Spiritual Warfare, pt 1

Weapons for Spiritual Warfare, pt 1

I spend quite a lot of time writing about the antics of the regressive Left elsewhere. Today that topic will carry over a bit into my faith writers for no better reason than that the two are linked in more ways than most will admit. The case of the protests by FEMEN in Argentina are a fantastic example of the spiritual nature of the culture wars raging in the West. I suspect that people frequently forget that the conditions of our societies are a reflection of our collective and individual spiritual health. Thus, in Argentina we see radical feminist protesters engaging in grotesque behavior in the name of legal access to abortion.

The nature of the culture wars raging today are summed up succinctly by Pope-Emeritus Benedict XVI during the conclave that elected him Pope in 2005. “Today, having a clear faith based on the Creed of the Church is often labeled as fundamentalism. Whereas relativism, that is, letting oneself be "tossed here and there, carried about by every wind of doctrine", seems the only attitude that can cope with modern times. We are building a dictatorship of relativism that does not recognize anything as definitive and whose ultimate goal consists solely of one's own ego and desires.” The goal, in the name of freedom, is adoration of the self at the cost of duties to one another. This is the nature of moral relativism.

One story not making the rounds in the mainstream media is that Sara Fernanda Giromin, aka Sara Winter, founder of FEMEN in Argentina, became aChristian recently and has apologized to Christians for her antics. Giromin repented of her past and the abortion she had after seeing her second child born. Try to bear in the mind that, as the founder of Femen she organized attacks on the Catholic cathedral in Buenos Aires. She and her now-former cohorts staged nude protests and smeared fake menstrual blood on the faces of men who had formed a human shield to protect the Cathedral from what appeared to be a violent angry mob.

Those skeptical of Christianity being under attack in the West should take note. These attacks in Argentina are similar to those in the US in the 80s and 90s by the gay movement prior to activists changing tactics. The fascinating thing about this was the informal prayer campaign waged by Christians in Argentina and elsewhere; Christ commanded his followers to pray for for their enemies, of which surely international groups like FEMEN are counted.

Christians seem to have no issue praying for those whom we love. It comes naturally to us, as it should, because helping those whom we love is instinctive for believers. But praying for our enemies is much, much harder. The late Archbishop Fulton Sheen famously said of the person of prayer: “The person who thinks only of himself says only prayers of petition; the one who thinks of his neighbor says prayers of intercession; whoever thinks only of loving and serving God says prayers of abandonment to God's will, and this is the prayer of the saints.” It strikes me that praying for enemies is embodied by the last two statements in that we abandon our will to God and we pray on behalf of our enemies so that they may abandon their errors and instead join the family of God.

Giromin is evidence of the fruitfulness of prayer. This story was reported just after Christmas, making this a wonderful sign of God's providence. As St Paul says in his letter to the Romans, “What then shall we say to this? If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31). Praying for our enemies is a spiritual work of mercy with concrete consequences in the corporal world. FEMEN Argentina has lost its founder, which should be giving pause to remaining members of the organization. We can hope and pray that Ms. Giromin uses her organizing abilities and faith to defend life in Argentina in accordance with the natural law and that she grow in her faith. Conversions of this kind are a mirror to the conversion of St Paul, who himself persecuted the Church in the years after the Crucifixion. Ms. Giromin is situated to become a profoundly influential pro-life leader in Argentina, thanks to the grace of God. Prayer is the most profound weapon for engaging in spiritual warfare. Again, if God is with us who can be against us?