“..to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. Look! He is coming with the clouds; every eye will see him, even those who pierced him; and on his account all the tribes of the earth will wail.” Revelation 1:6-7
Today is the anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor – ‘a day that will live in infamy.’ After news was received of the great success of the attack, Japanese admiral Yamamoto is famously quoted as saying, “I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve.” Maybe he said it or maybe it was just something from a movie, but this morning I wonder on this quote in a spiritual sense.
I sit here thinking of the great battle we are fighting in our age. It seems that everything of God is under attack. Marriage, sexuality, family, faith, life, the priesthood and so much more. Businesses and artists being forced to work against the tenets of their faith. What’s worse, when you look at the ‘headlines’ or even the ‘battle map’, it appears we are facing a terrible defeat. Once staunchly Catholic Ireland votes for abortion, even Italy the home of the Catholic seat crumbles. A continuous line of ‘sneak’ attacks come from every angle.
But, as Yamamoto had predicted even in the pre-planning of Japan’s great surprise attack and victory in that battle, that battle just served to awake a giant. He knew that even a grand victory in Pearl Harbor only gave the Japanese some time and maybe a dream hope of a stunned peace.
As we stand, facing defeat after defeat, we should also declare that a sleeping giant is waking. The Catholic Church stands tall with the greatest resources of all time. The Eucharist and Sacraments, the strength of history and her King, Jesus Christ in the lead.
“Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” 1 Peter 5:8
The serpent tricked Adam and Eve into falling from grace. He lead Judas to betray Jesus, his rabbi and friend. He guided the Pharisees and Sanhedrin to persecute Jesus and convict Him based on their own pridefulness and a set of lies to fit their desire. On THE day that will live in infamy, Satan managed to get man to crucify their God. Satan managed to get man to hang their God upon the cross with a gleeful “crucify Him” before Pilate. Then, plan in motion, Satan sat back to gloat his pending victory.
“so that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bend,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue should confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2:10-11
And as Jesus breathed His last breaths on the cross, then was laid behind a stone, Satan looked at his minions as he realized in this small victory and in all the victories against the Catholic Church that all he did was wake the sleeping giant. He gave power to the Church and people of God. By this greatest of victories, Satan actually was defeated. In this day of his greatest victory, the writing was already on the wall, soon to be the Bible.
The victory is won, now let’s fight the battles.
“The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Corinthians 15:56-57
“Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain. He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, and threw him into the pit, and locked and sealed it over him, so that he would deceive the nations no more, until the thousand years were ended. After that he must be let out for a little while.” Revelation 20:1-3
“When the thousand years are ended, Satan will be released from his prison…And the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulphur, where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.” Revelation 20:7,10