There is a grave sickness afflicting our society and culture. Too many people don’t believe in God; in denying His reality, they deny a part of what it means to be human. Humanity’s existence is due to God, but it also comes from God’s desire for intimacy with each one of us. By denying the existence of God, they deny the reality of evil. The two sides to the coin of this sickness is what drives so much of our misery. By separating ourselves from the font of grace, we are caught out in the open, defenseless, against the onslaught of evil.

God is perfection, and His existence does not depend on our acknowledgment of Him or assent to His plans. He can do anything that does not contradict His nature; He can continue to exist perfectly without us, but we cannot exist without Him. He is the author of life, and creates with little more than a simple act of cognition. He thinks, it becomes.

This is quite different from evil. We understand that the source of evil, whom we call Satan, was once God’s most powerful angel. But in a choice, he and his gang chose to reject God. When they separated themselves from Love, they became the total absence of love. Their kingdom, a place we call hell, is the antithesis of Heaven. A place of dread for which words fall short; no love, no joy, no hope, no happiness. A desolate wasteland of misery, agony, and suffering.

God possesses the ultimate creative powers, and shares them with humanity. Satan and his band lack this ability to create. Therefore, they must use cunning, deceit, oppression, possession, and infestation to achieve their ends. They view humanity in the way the Ancient Greek gods did; humans are slaves to be played with. Their works are designed to enslave as many humans as possible, and to use them to accomplish their evil ends.

To deny God is to deny the reality of evil. Without the protection of grace and the sacraments, what hope could any of us have against the power of absolute evil?

Last month, as the students, faculty, and family began the celebration of the Mass at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis, evil struck. The entrance procession, a representation of Jesus’ jubilant entrance into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, concluded and a lone gunman opened fire through the Church windows. Two children died, killed in hatred of their faith, and many more were wounded. Those who were not struck will carry the terror of that moment with them for the rest of their lives.

On one of the magazine rounds recovered at the scene was the sadistic inscription, “Where is your God?”

Our faith tells us that the Mass is the source and summit of the life of the Church. It is the point in which Heaven comes down to earth, and earth is pulled up into Heaven. Wherever our Eucharistic Lord is, there too is Mary, Queen of Heaven and Earth. Present with her is the angelic host, the company of saints, the white-robed army of martyrs, the entire community of the Church is all present at the altar, singing the praise of God. We are privileged to partake in such a celebration, the great foretaste of what is to come, though our eyes are prevented, at least for now, from seeing this truth.

It was at this moment, in the presence of God Himself, that evil struck. An act of terrorism, carried out against the innocent solely because of their Catholic faith. Though shocking in our society of laws, this story is tragically not new. Since Christ established the Catholic Church, the faithful and Her priests have been beaten, stabbed, gunned down, and blown up in sanctuaries around the world. With whatever tool it can grab, evil strikes again and again.

In the face of terrorism, many blame the weapon. If only they didn’t have that gun, it would’ve been better. If they didn’t have that gun, they would’ve grabbed another. Or a knife, or a club, or a bomb, or a truck. The pencil lies on the table and does nothing; only when the hand picks it up does the pencil write.

Our response to this inscrutable evil, so often ridiculed, is prayer. But why prayer? Why not regulation, confiscation, or legislation? These things may help, but evil does not recognize City Ordinance or federal code. We cannot impose judicial sanction on a demon. The correct choice in this fight against evil is the most powerful weapon: prayer.

I once saw a bumper sticker from the 1st Ranger Battalion. It had the regimental crest with a play on the classic, “Give Peace A Chance” bumpersticker from the anti-war movement. It said simply, “Give War A Chance.” The only response to evil is to fight back, hard, with prayer.

Demons flee from the very name of Mary, one of St. Joseph’s titles is “Terror of Demons.” That is when we merely invoke their name. This is true power. In prayer, we join with the entire community of the Catholic Church, stretching all the way back to the shores of the Sea of Galilee and far beyond us into the future. We add our voices to the Heavenly host of angels, the saints who’ve come before us, and Catholics around the world to push back against evil and to bring God’s kingdom forward.

Thoughts and prayers aren’t a throwaway comment, but a personal promise to take upon our shoulders the burdens and sorrows of others. It’s a pledge to dedicate the precious, intimate time we share with our Creator in petition for them. We give over our time, efforts, cares, and emotions for the good of those for whom we promise to prayer. It’s a commitment to stay in the fight and to never give up on the promises of Christ, who said He would hear and answer every prayer.

When the news is this dark, it’s easy to feel overrun. Despair is a tool of evil because if we lose hope in God’s promise, we will stop fighting against evil. But there’s a plot twist. Not only is evil deprived of the ability to create, it has already lost. Christ’s return is coming, at a time and place that only He knows. At that time Satan, all his evil spirits, and all those humans who by their choice rejected God’s love and offer of friendship will be cast, once and for all, into hell. Time is limited and running out, and with that urgency evil courses through our homes, neighborhoods, and countries.

God is real, and so is evil. The battle rages on daily within us and on the streets. Pick up your Rosary, go to Mass, and give war a chance.