“Are right and wrong convertible terms, dependent upon popular opinion?”

An error does not become truth by reason of multiplied propagation, nor does truth become error because nobody sees it. - Gandhi

Scripture Text: (EPH 6:10-20 )
Brothers and sisters:
Draw your strength from the Lord and from his mighty power.
Put on the armor of God so that you may be able to stand firm
against the tactics of the Devil.
For our struggle is not with flesh and blood
but with the principalities, with the powers,
with the world rulers of this present darkness,
with the evil spirits in the heavens.
Therefore, put on the armor of God,
that you may be able to resist on the evil day
and, having done everything, to hold your ground.
So stand fast with your loins girded in truth,
clothed with righteousness as a breastplate,
and your feet shod in readiness for the Gospel of peace.
In all circumstances, hold faith as a shield,
to quench all the flaming arrows of the Evil One.
And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit,
which is the word of God.

With all prayer and supplication,
pray at every opportunity in the Spirit.
To that end, be watchful with all perseverance and supplication
for all the holy ones and also for me,
that speech may be given me to open my mouth,
to make known with boldness the mystery of the Gospel
for which I am an ambassador in chains,
so that I may have the courage to speak as I must.

“Life would be so much easier if………and that annoying co-worker! If she would just shape up, I wouldn’t get so mad. While we’re at it, I wish my neighbor would stop showing off his new car. You know, I would be so much happier if I had one too.”

How often we blame our issues on someone else! But St. Paul reminds us not to lose sight of the real battle. It’s not with the other person but with the devil himself, who wants to separate us from each other and from Jesus.

Pope Francis has spoken repeatedly about how the devil works to cut us off like this. In a homily last April, he asked, “What does Satan do to distance us from the path of Jesus? First, his temptation begins gradually but grows and is always growing. Second, it grows and infects another person; it spreads to another and seeks to be part of the community. And in the end, in order to calm the soul, it justifies itself. It grows, it spreads, and it justifies itself.”

What an insidious strategy!

It’s easy to feel justified in our complaints, in sharing them with other people, and in presenting a case for why we’re right. But we don’t have to go along with the temptation. Pope Francis continued, “Our Christian life is a struggle. That’s because the Prince of this world, Satan, doesn’t want our holiness.

We mustn’t be naïve, right?”