C.S. Lewis is one of my favorite authors, and The Screwtape Letters one of my favorite books by him. The novel has a very creative and unusual format: a one-sided, imagined correspondence from senior demon, Screwtape, to his nephew, Wormwood, guiding him on how to best tempt his ‘patient’ (his assigned human). I am delighted that Hallow has a fourteen-day series with actor Jim Caviezel narrating the text and Fr. John Riccardo leading the reflections and prayers.
We may imagine spiritual warfare to be a epic future battle in a nondescript location involving God’s angels and saints versus Satan and his minions. In reality, the conflict is taking place today in our everyday lives with unexpected weapons.
Lewis reveals that one effective strategy is for the demons to pit us against one another – especially family members. Screwtape advises, “You want to build up in that house a good, settled habit of mutual annoyance. Daily pinpricks. When two humans have lived together for many years, it usually happens that each has tones of voice and expressions of face which are almost unendurably irritating to the other. Work on that. Bring fully into the consciousness of your patient that particular lift of his mother’s eyebrows which he learned to dislike in the nursery. And let him think how much he dislikes it. Let him assume that she knows how annoying it is and does it to annoy him. Never let him suspect that he has looks and tones that similarly annoy her as he cannot see or hear himself. This is easily managed.”
Fr. Riccardo points out that Satan doesn’t have to use big events or chaotic moments to draw us away from God’s grace, just the small stuff. Raised eyebrows, the tone of someone’s voice, tiny, annoying, but seemingly unbearable habits causing us to think the worst of others and remain blind to our own faults. Satan divides, that is what devil means. He is constantly trying to tear us to shreds: within us, within marriages, within families, within parishes, within communities, and within nations. We are watching it play out all around us right now. It is important to see that this tearing apart, often begins in very small ways. It is up to us to battle Satan right here and now by being merciful to our family and friends and choosing not to get bothered by the pinpricks.
Scripture: Read Psalm 133:1. What stands out?
Call to Action: Become watchful for the little things that might normally cause irritation and make a conscious decision to exchange annoyance for love.
