Pride v. Humility: The Defeat of Satan
“Then war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. The great dragon was hurled down — that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.” (Revelation 12:7–9)
The Church teaches that the Devil was an angel whom God created to be “good” but turned to evil by his own doing (CCC 391). Although the exact cause of the fall of the angels is not explicitly revealed in the Scriptures, several Church Fathers, theologians, and exorcists agree that this was mainly caused by pride. According to Tradition, Lucifer was a cherub — the highest among the choirs of angels — and his name even suggests that he was a “bringer of light”. In his pre-fallen state, he was given the foreknowledge that the Second Person of the Trinity would be incarnated as a man; thus there would be a command to worship this God-man.
Then Lucifer, in his pride, loving himself more than anyone else, refused to obey and serve God (non-serviam), for he cannot accept that someone “as great as him” would bow down to a mere human. As the Archdiocese of Manila Office of Exorcism writes:
“The root of this rejection of God and His sovereign will and plan is pride. Accordingly, the apostate angels rebelled because being God’s most sublime creatures, and they thought that the honor of being the most eminent should belong to them.”
However, in Revelation 12:7–12, we see a battle fought between the Devil and the archangel Michael, whose name poses the question, “Who is like God?” Michael, an archangel, was able to defeat the Devil (who used to be a cherub) not by his own greatness, but by his great humility wherein he recognized that he is not like God and is less than God. This runs opposite to Lucifer who thinks that he is like God.
St. Gregory the Great wrote:
“Whenever some act of wondrous power must be performed, Michael is sent, so that his action and his name may make it clear that no one can do what God does by his superior power. So also our ancient foe [the Devil] desired in his pride to be like God, saying: ‘I will ascend into heaven; I will exalt my throne above the stars of heaven; I will be like the Most High’. He will be allowed to remain in power until the end of the world when he will be destroyed in the final punishment. Then, he will fight with the archangel Michael, as we are told by John: ‘A battle was fought with Michael the archangel.’”
The Devil’s first sin is pride, thus, evil can only be defeated by humility. In this age that sees each person as having total autonomy over his/her body, the only way of fighting this spiritual battle is by acknowledging that we are not God and that no one can ever be like God. We should always heed His plans and His precepts, for no one can ever do something greater or know better than God. “When pride comes, then comes dishonor, but with the humble is wisdom” (Proverbs 11:2).
REFERENCES:
Archdiocese of Manila Office of Exorcism. (2020, April). Frequently Asked Questions Regarding the Catholic Ministry of Spiritual Liberation and Exorcism. http://www.amoe.ph/faqs.pdf
Chronister, M. (2018, September 28). St. Michael’s Heroic Humility Can Save the Church. Catholic Exchange. https://catholicexchange.com/st-michaels-heroic-humility...
Staff, C. A. (2019, August 27). How Could Lucifer, an Archangel, Have Rebelled against God? Catholic Answers. https://www.catholic.com/.../how-could-lucifer-an...
NB: This story was originally published at www.facebook.com/dcfvanguardsoftruth
