For Victory Over Evil: The Church Militant

Speak the words “Church Militant,” and many Catholics might look puzzled or recoil at the war like reference.  The elders among us from the Vietnam era may dismiss it as archaic and incendiary. Young modernist Catholics have long embraced chiefly pacifism in their Faith journey.  Instead  of “Onward Christian Soldiers,” today’s church standard hymn is “Make Me a Channel of Your Peace.”  Now I hasten to interject that there is everything wonderful about peace, but the aversion to acknowledging satan and thereby recognizing evil as an enemy to be defeated is a blindfolded trip over the proverbial cliff. 

Signs that we are plummeting:  The Church instead of being the lens through which the world should perceive its existence and mission has become more of a mirror of how the world thinks, speaks, and acts.  Today Catholics have become not peacemakers  but compromisers; not fearless knowledgeable defenders of Truth, but promoters of relativism; not authentic, virtuous friends to sinners but emotional support pals; not prophets imbued with understanding to encourage the hell bound to repent, but mega phones for controversial secular social opinions.  Instead of Agape, we are aghast at the shallow meaning of love, leaning towards eros. 

 
On the flip side, perhaps due to worldly hopelessness or resentment, traditional Catholics who embrace Church Militant may show signs of battle fatigue.  The scrupulous have neglected the words of that great Church militant St. Francis de Sales who confronted similar crises of faith arising from the Reformation:  “Never be in a hurry; do everything quietly and in a calm spirit.  Do not lose your inner peace for anything whatsoever, even if your whole world seems upset.”  

 
Instead, frustrated, but otherwise devout, Catholics have succumbed to confrontational and heated volleys in all mediums.  In condemning voices and action, they wildly swing their proverbial accusatory swords not at the Evil One but at their families, friends, and neighbors.  You might say that they are slaying God’s own by “friendly fire.”

 
Still, I would contend that in 2025 we need the Church Militant, more than the Church Pilgrim nebulously defined in the Catechism of the Catholic Church:  The Church is essentially both human and divine, visible but endowed with invisible realities zealous in action and dedicated contemplation, present in the world, but as a pilgrim, so constituted that in her the human is directed toward and subordinated to the divine, the visible to the invisible, action to contemplation, and this present world to that city yet to come, the object of our quest. (CCC 954).

 
This somewhat vague and vacuous  Church Pilgrim passage fails to identify the presence of evil, let alone name the enemy, satan, or appropriately warn and arm Catholics in how to seek victory over him.  In the meantime, the diabolical one and his minions have released weapons of mass destruction for generations.  Around the globe people are acting not in a “pilgrim” state but a dissociative one.  

 
Time to confront reality, first by acknowledging when and where the Churched badly stumbled off the battlefield.  Then the war plan must be reconstituted for our times, along with frequent pep talks (solid homilies). 

 
Let us first look at  Vatican II, though, because it is the benchmark most referenced by 20th century Catholics for reforming teaching and revising language and liturgy though most  have never read the actual documents.  The Vatican II outcomes actually rest on the shoulders of past Church leaders and assemblies.  Two excerpts follow:    

 
“The whole of man’s history has been the story of dour combat with the powers of evil, stretching, so our Lord tells us, from the very dawn of history until the last day.  Finding himself in the midst of the battlefield man has to struggle to do what is right, and it is at great cost to himself, and aided by God’s grace, that he succeeds in achieving his own inner integrity. (Vatican Council II, Gaudium et Spes, 37).  Also from Vatican II, Lumen Gentium, 43, referencing religious families:  “They further offer their members the support of fraternal association in the militia Christi and of liberty strengthened by obedience.” 

 
Popes and other Church leaders have also consistently underscored faith militancy.  In his 1904 Encyclical “For the Fiftieth Anniversary of the Proclamation of the Dogma of the Immaculate Conception,” Pope Pius X wrote: The times are becoming difficult and distressing for the Catholic Church, but let us not be troubled.  On earth the Church is militant; it is for us to be the captains who lead the armies into battle.  Have we not the certainty of victory as a powerful incentive.  Always before our eyes are the divine words, “I have not come to send peace but the sword.  If they have persecuted me, they will persecute you.  But have confidence, I have overcome the world.” (Matthew 10:34; John 15:20; John 16:33)

 
Pope Pius XII, in October 1953, at the opening of the North American College in Rome, reminded his audience:  “One dare not forget.  We belong to the Church militant, and she is militant because on earth the powers of darkness are ever restless to encompass her destruction.  Not only in the far off centuries of the early Church, but down through the ages and in this our day, the enemies of God and Christian civilization make bold to attack the Creator’s extreme dominion and sacrosanct human rights.”

 
More recently, to quote Pope Benedict XVI:  “Today the word “Ecclesia Militans” (Church Militant) is somewhat out of fashion, but in reality we can understand ever better it is true, that it bears truth in itself.  We see how evil wishes to dominate the world and that it is necessary to enter into battle with evil.”  

 
We even have examples of secular events that vigorously promote the power for faith and prayer to defeat evil enemies.  When I read the catechism excerpt on the Church Pilgrim, my first response was “whaaat?”  Where is the “muscle” to that section, strengthened by the theological and cardinal virtues?  Besides, only those who have read “Pilgrim’s Progress,” could fully grasp that this is not merely a “sunny stroll in the park” but requires stamina, endurance, and a spirit of conquering.

 
Too, my upbringing as the daughter of a career Army officer,  a confirmed “soldier” in the Church Militant and reading this, I wondered about the great generals of battle.  I cannot imagine a similar paraphrasing by General Patton prior to the Battle of the Bulge which might go like:  “The Army is essentially a force, zealous in action to direct some of the Allies towards the light of victory, the object of our movement”?   

 
Curious,  I explored that dangerous battleground. What this blustery chief war strategist actually did jolted me, as he sought Christian prayer to help overcome the enemy.   Frustrated by impending bad weather, potentially a major obstacle to victory, Patton turned to 52-year-old Chief Chaplain of the Third Army for spiritual armament.  Chaplain James H. O’Neil responded that he would look for a suitable prayer, but when not finding one, he created his own:

 
Almighty and most merciful Father, we humbly beseech Thee, of Thy great goodness to restrain those immoderate rains with which we have had to contend.  Grant us fair weather for Battle.  Graciously hearken to us as soldiers who upon Thee that, armed with Thy power, we may advance from victory to victory, and crush the oppression and wickedness of our enemies and establish thy justice among men and nations.  Amen. 

 
Patton examined Chaplain O’Neill’s prayer, was pleased, and ordered 250,000 copies be printed for every soldier in The Third Army. The two men then engaged in a robust conversation about prayer, in general, and both agreed that overall such was lacking among the troops.  The prayer was distributed, and then there was victory.

 
Even a crusty general who dabbled in reincarnation recognized that prayer brings victory and, in this case, a quicker end to a monstrous war.

 
Proceeding with that analogy the “generals” and “rank and file” of our Church today can follow that lead without fear that the word “militant” carries a negative connotation.  In fact, we might well argue that the more tepid practice of the Faith, has actually increased disorder, destruction, and diabolical behavior.  Witness the wanton killings, urban centers burned to the ground, individuals attacked or assassinated for being perceived to be corporate enemies, and so forth.

 
Fortunately, it is never too late to turn around the fight, but Catholics must be taught and informed, guided through sound counsel and Confession, and spiritually strengthened.  The Faithful require not just the apologetics “to do’s” but the “do not’s.”  Those of us in this world, but not of the world, must daily fight to first defeat our inner demons and recognize and repel the temptations of the worldly and satan.  In those contexts, with a strong prayer and Sacramental life, we can confidently call ourselves the Church Militant, as well as depend on the Church Suffering and the Church Triumphant for assistance.

 
Moreover,  our “weapons” and “rules of engagement” have not changed over 2,000 years, or since Jesus admonished in the Garden at his arrest:  “Put your sword back in is place; for all those who take up the sword shall perish by the sword.” Matthew 26:52.  These words were not a contradiction to his earlier ones about not bringing peace, but a reference to the core meaning of Church Militant being of spiritual combat.  Such requires prudence which studies the situation, issues, and persons with supernaturally graced knowledge and inspired reason;  temperate speech and behavior;  fortitude to accept humility when charity demands it; martyrdom rather than betraying truth and love; and justice, ensuring we give another his or her due.  Our war manual includes the Bible, but also spiritual direction from the superior officers in our midst.  Moreover Catholics are expected to always seek advisers of the “high road.”  Father Paul Scalia wrote an excellent article outlining his  concern in The Church Militant or the Church Belligerent (catholic.com 5/1/2007)

 
However, the success of such warfare against evil also requires sound catechetical teaching from an early age.  Returning to the wisdom of St. Pius X, called “The Pope of Catechism,” note that he strongly opposed modernism and was an exceptional defender of the Deposit of Faith.   He further asserted that the didactic character of catechesis is not “a giving of experiences” but one of fully informing students, young and old,  in all parts of the faith, inclusive of Scripture and Saints, so that they dreaded and avoided vice and practiced virtue.  (The Deposit of Faith:  What the Catholic Church Really Believes, Monsignor Eugene Kevane,  AuthorHouse, 2004)

 
The Church Militant must also definitively declare war against satan and his troops in full conformity with the Catholic Catechism criteria for legitimate defense .  Satan presents lasting, grave, and certain death; no other means but strong spiritual warfare and virtuous living will put an end to him.   (Cajoling, soft stepping, cherrypicking Scripture, and other capitulating measures only embolden satan and kill souls.)  However, Jesus promised that he would triumph in the end, so we can still claim victory, but many indicators suggest quick response. 

 
Like spit and shine soldiers in the bunkers, we must rise daily in polishing our souls in prayer and surrender to Divine Will (Mass); clothe ourselves in uniforms bearing the Crucifix and medals of the Saints; and brandish the weapons of the Word, including the Rosary.  Then as “equipped combatants,” guided by the Holy Spirit and protected by all the holy ones, along with all the angels,  we present ourselves to and interact with the world as faithful Catholics.  Like  any war, the objective is obviously victory and the ultimate gain of unity with the Holy Trinity for eternity for all persons.  

 
That is the Church Militant, and today is the day to reclaim our mission.