good clean fun?
“Then on Herod’s birthday Herodias’ daughter performed a dance before the court which delighted Herod so much that he swore...” —Matthew 14:6-7
If you had asked Herod whether his birthday party was for God or for Satan, he would likely have answered that it wasn’t fanatically religious or demonically possessed. He would maintain that the party was not that pious and not that evil, just “good clean fun,” morally neutral.
Most people think much of what they do is morally neutral because they mistakenly think they can be neutral. However, there is no such thing as neutrality. The devil is real, powerful, and unscrupulous, and if you don’t choose to join Jesus’ army, Satan could draft you into his army through trickery and playing on your fears. We can’t stop him because he is so much more powerful than us.
The only way to escape Satan’s slavery and hell is to turn to Jesus for salvation, deliverance, and protection. If we continue to believe the myth of neutrality, we will repeatedly be surprised when our “good clean fun” results in violence, sin, and death. We will wonder why so few Herodiases, Hitlers, and Stalins have so much freedom to destroy and pervert the world. Neutrality is a euphemism for complicity with the devil. If we’re not with Jesus, we’re against Him (Lk 11:23).
Prayer: Jesus, by Your power, may I attack the gates of hell.
Promise: “The fiftieth year you shall make sacred by proclaiming liberty in the land for all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you, when every one of you shall return to his own property.” —Lv 25:10
Praise: St. Ignatius was a mystic. He had a particular devotion to the Holy Trinity and the Holy Eucharist. He founded the Society of Jesus, the Jesuits, “for the greater glory of God.”
Reference: (For a related teaching on Apathy, order, listen to or download our CD 61-3 or DVD 61 on our website.)
Rescript: "In accord with the Code of Canon Law, I hereby grant the Nihil Obstat for the publication One Bread, One Body covering the period from June 1, 2021 through July 31, 2021. Reverend Steve J Angi, Chancellor, Vicar General, Archdiocese of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio January 20, 2021"
The Nihil Obstat ("Permission to Publish") is a declaration that a book or pamphlet is considered to be free of doctrinal or moral error. It is not implied that those who have granted the Nihil Obstat agree with the contents, opinions, or statements expressed.