Act!

Over the summer I went to a once a week book club at my Parish. The book we were studying was C. S. Luis's Screwtape Letters (which really is amazing) so for anyone who doesn't know, this book is about temptation. It is from the perspective of the devil (Screwtape), who, in this book, is writing letters to a demon who's job it is to temp a certain man and try to bring him to Hell. These letters are amazing because they really give you an insight into how the devil works. So I just want to share a part of the book that I really loved. Close to the middle of the book the devil is telling the demon the power they have when a person does not act in their faith. "Let them do anything but act." Advises Screwtape, "No amount of piety in his imagination and affection can harm us if we can keep it out of his will. As one of the humans said, active actions are strengthened by repetition, but passive ones are weakened. The more he feels without acting, the

less he will be able ever to act, and, in the long run, the less he will be able to feel." I thought this was a great quote because it shows that we should never wait to act. That thinking about acting without actually acting is playing right into the devils hands. We need to seize the opportunities we get, no matter how small, to act in our faith. If you feel a strong urge to do something for Christ, do it. The more you act the easier it gets and the less the devil can influence you through it. -Kateri