The Dead Sea Scrolls are a collection of documents discovered at the archaeological site Qumran, by the Dead Sea, in the 1940s. Most scholars hold that they were written by the Essenes, who appear to be connected to the priests of the Jerusalem temple, though the Essenes broke away from them, believing the temple to be corrupt.

The authors of the Dead Sea Scrolls believed they were living in an age shortly before a massive war between “the sons of light” (themselves) and the “sons of darkness” (everybody else). They also expected a number of leaders to appear in the future. One was a prophet, and two others were known as the Messiah of Aaron and the Messiah of Israel.

“The prophet” was a figure mentioned in Deuteronomy 18:15-19, where Moses says that God will raise up a prophet like him for the Israelites. The literal sense of this text appears to refer to all the prophets God would send, but some interpreted it to refer to a single specific prophet who would be a lot like Moses. Thus, in John 1:21, John the Baptist is asked if he is “the prophet,” and he says no. It’s also why, in John 7:40, some identify Jesus as “the prophet.”

It wasn’t just kings who were anointed. Priests also were, and the “Messiah of Aaron” was a future high priest—a descendant of the original high priest, Aaron. By contrast, the “Messiah of Israel” would be the Davidic Messiah who would rule over all Israel. Since the Essenes likely sprang from a group of dissident priests, in some ways the Dead Sea Scrolls gave the higher position to the Messiah of Aaron.

Not all of the Dead Sea Scrolls were written by the Qumran community. Some were documents in general circulation, and it can be difficult to tell whether a given document was authored by the community. One such text is the Messianic Apocalypse. It was likely written in the mid-first century B.C., and it describes the messianic age. It says the Lord will perform several specific acts:

The heavens and the earth will listen to his Messiah,
For [the Lord&91; will honor the pious upon the throne of an eternal kingdom,
Freeing prisoners, giving sight to the blind, straightening out the twisted.
And the Lord will perform marvelous acts such as have not existed, just as he said,
For he will heal the badly wounded and will make the dead live;
he will proclaim good news to the poor (2:2:1, 7-8, 11-12).

This is very similar to what Jesus says in reply to a query from John the Baptist:

Now when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, “Are you he who is to come, or shall we look for another?”
And Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them. And blessed is he who takes no offense at me” (Matt. 11:2-6).

Jesus definitely was not a member of the Dead Sea Scrolls community. He taught multiple things that contradicted their views (e.g., he had much more relaxed views of ritual purity). Scholars, therefore, have proposed that the Messianic Apocalypse reflects the views of Jews more generally—not just those of the Dead Sea sect.

It thus would be no surprise that the Messianic Apocalypse, Jesus, and John the Baptist held that the messianic age would be characterized by miracles such as the blind, lame, and deaf being healed, lepers being cured, and the dead being raised—as well as the poor having good news or a “gospel” preached to them. We thus see evidence that Jews in this period understood the Messiah as a miracle worker.

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It’s always nice to have some basic guidelines in any endeavor. A good caddy in golf is told to “show up, keep up, and shut up.” Ronald Knox said the best advice he could give on prayer was to “pray the way you can and not the way you can’t.” The best guidance I received when going into law school was from an experienced attorney who said, “The answers are easy; the trick is to ask the right questions.” (That goes way beyond law school, by the way.) So I’d like to give four guiding principles in courtesy. If you’re ever at a loss as to what to do in a certain situation, go through these four, and you should be on safe ground. Here they are, with some brief explanation for each.

1. Don’t draw attention to yourself. Life is not about you; it is about the other. Therefore, you should never by your words, by your dress, by your attitude, make it about yourself. If you do, you are out of line.
2. Be attentive to the other. Seek to make any occasion—at home, at work, or socially—as pleasant as possible for other people, or at least as not unpleasant as possible.
3. Be aware of your surroundings. Where are you, and whom are you with? What is the place, and what is the occasion? A little reflection here will often naturally give you the guidance as to what—or what not—to do.
4. Never give unnecessary pain, embarrassment, or discomfort. I say “unnecessary” because there are times when we must correct or speak out, and this may cause pain or discomfort. Also, some people are so sensitive that any hint of contradiction or disagreement will occasion at least a minor flare-up. Be that as it may, our intention should be never to wound, but to help. If it is not, don’t say it or do it.

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Why should I believe that Jesus is the Jewish Messiah?

In Judaism, the Messiah has been understood a number of ways, and there is no single understanding of messianic prophecy or what the Messiah will do. Jesus did not wish to be a political revolutionary at his first coming, but the Christian faith holds that he will dramatically reorder world affairs at his second. He has already given us abundant evidence by fulfilling numerous messianic prophecies, both clear and less clear, both inside and outside the Jewish scriptures.

A particular way he did this was through his death and resurrection. The Jewish scriptures contain prophecies that the Messiah will die, rise, and begin an eternal reign, with Gentiles coming to worship the God of Israel. Jesus fulfilled this through his death, resurrection, ascension, and the resulting spread of the Christian message among the nations.

Although only those who witnessed his earthly ministry had the opportunity to see his miracles for themselves, even today the Resurrection is accessible to us. We have looked at the alternatives to the Resurrection, and none of the natural explanations fits the evidence. They all have serious problems. None of the natural proposals explains the data, which indicates that the Resurrection was a genuinely supernatural event. Jesus really did rise from the dead by the power of God!

This shows us that Jesus had a place in God’s plan, and so he is the one best qualified to explain what his role is. Jesus indicated that he is the Messiah, both the Son of God in a unique sense as God incarnate and the Son of Man who sits enthroned beside God in heaven.

It is worth underscoring that a Class 1 (clear) messianic prophecy declares that, in the messianic age, “the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea” (Isa. 11:9; cf. Hab. 2:14).

When this prophecy was given, the number of people who believed in the God of Abraham was vanishingly small. The vast majority of people were polytheists, and the world was covered in pagan darkness. Today, the situation is different. Half of the human race worships the God of Abraham, and the rest of the world population has heard of him. By comparison to the days of the prophets, the earth is now covered by the knowledge of the Lord the way the waters cover the sea.

This did not happen by accident. It was part of God’s plan. It also did not happen apart from Jesus. It was through him that the nations came to worship the God of Abraham. This only reinforces Jesus’ role and claim to being the Messiah. Without the proclamation of Jesus as Messiah, the nations would not have come to believe in God through him.

There have been other messianic claimants in history, but Jesus is by far the most successful. He is so associated with the Messiah or Christ that even those who do not believe in him routinely refer to him as “Jesus Christ.”

All of this evidence combines to make a compelling case that Jesus really did fulfill messianic prophecy, that he really did rise from the dead, and that he really is the Messiah.

This brings us to the subject of the Christian faith and the Church. The Gospels reveal that Jesus was a teacher, and that he commissioned others, such as the apostles, to proclaim his teaching. He also founded a Christian community, saying, “I will build my Church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it” (Matt. 16:18). He thus intended to leave behind a community of followers who accept his teachings and are part of his Church.

The facts that Jesus gave teachings and founded a Church are confirmed in numerous places in the New Testament. Originally, the Jesus movement called itself “the Way”—meaning the road to God. But Acts 11:26 reveals that the name “Christian” was first applied to his followers in the Syrian city of Antioch, around A.D. 40—just a few years after the Crucifixion.

There is a clear and tight connection between Jesus of Nazareth and the Christian movement he founded. The fact that Jesus was the Messiah and fulfilled messianic prophecy shows his place in God’s plan and gives us reason to regard the teachings of Christianity as true.

So do his miracles, which proved that his ministry involved the supernatural. As Nicodemus told Jesus, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do, unless God is with him” (John 3:2). This principle applies most of all to Jesus’ resurrection. As St. Paul said,

The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all men everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed, and of this he has given assurance to all men by raising him from the dead (Acts 17:30-31).

The same things that give us confidence that Jesus is the Messiah—his fulfilled prophecies, his miracles, and his resurrection—also give us confidence in the truth of the Christian faith.

If you are not yet Christian, you should become one! God really exists, and he really has contacted man. He has sent his Messiah to die for us and make eternal life with him possible. In view of what we’ve covered, we need to accept the gift that he offers us through Jesus, to become his Son’s followers, and thus to become citizens of his kingdom!

If you are already one of his followers, you should heed Jesus’ departing instruction:

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age (Matt. 28:19-20).

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In 1964, Pope Paul VI issued the Second Vatican Council’s “Decree on Ecumenism,” called Unitatis Redintegratio, which translates from Latin as “The Restoration of Unity.” Right there, we see that the whole notion of denominationalism is wrong. And to their credit, the mostly Protestant thinkers involved in the “Baptism, Eucharist, Ministry” document from the World Council of Churches would agree. As most Christians—not just Roman Catholics—profess in the Nicene Creed, the Church is “one.” As Unitatis Redintegratio puts it plainly,

Christ the Lord founded one Church and one Church only. However, many Christian communions present themselves to men as the true inheritors of Jesus Christ; all indeed profess to be followers of the Lord but differ in mind and go their different ways, as if Christ himself were divided. Such division openly contradicts he will of Christ, scandalizes the world, and damages the holy cause of preaching the gospel to every creature.

St. Paul makes the same point several times in his New Testament letters. Toward the beginning of his first letter to the Corinthians, he asks, “Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?” (1:13). We may pause for a moment here to recall the prominent ecclesial bodies identified by the names of their founders, Lutherans and Calvinists chief among them. Unitatis Redintegratio explains,

Even in the beginnings of this one and only Church of God there arose certain rifts, which the Apostle strongly condemned. But in subsequent centuries much more serious dissensions made their appearance and quite large communities came to be separated from full communion with the Catholic Church—for which, often enough, men of both sides were to blame.

To put it bluntly: Not only is the Catholic Church not a denomination, but there is no such thing as denominations. Nowhere in the Catholic Church’s teaching documents will you ever find that word. You will, however, find the word communion, and baptized individuals and groups are connected in various degrees of communion. Another document from Vatican II—a monumental one—explains the hows and whys.

Released to the world on the same day as Unitatis Redintegratio, the Second Vatican Council’s Constitution on the Church, Lumen Gentium, begins with a startlingly universal claim: “Christ is the Light of nations.” When the Church begins the discussion about what it is, therefore, the emphasis is on evangelism and universality. The focus is outward. Everyone on earth was made by God and belongs in communion with God. And so, the Church asserts, the light Christ brought into the world is “brightly visible on the countenance of the Church” (1), and through the Church, “his plan was to raise men to a participation in the divine life” (2). Moreover, through communion with God, individuals, cultures, and countries throughout time are called to communion with one another as “a people made one with the unity of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit” .

The twentieth-century theologian Henri de Lubac expresses it like this: “The unity of the mystical body of Christ, a supernatural unity, supposes a previous natural unity, the unity of the human race.”  Note once again, the mystical body is not something to which Christians hope to be joined one day; rather, it is the sign that Christ’s kingdom has already come near (Luke 17:20-21), and that the Holy Spirit has indeed descended to comfort us as Christ promised (John 15:26). Accordingly, the Church’s members, by their baptism, really participate in the fullness of life with Christ right now.

And here we come to one of the most important first-halves of a sentence ever written, again from Lumen Gentium: “The Church constituted and organized in the world as a society, subsists in the Catholic Church, which is governed by the successor of Peter and by the bishops in communion with him . . .” (8). We shall look at the equally important second-half of the sentence in a moment—but first, a word about subsisting.

Subsistence

In common parlance, “subsist” term usually connotes the maintenance or survival of someone or something at a minimal level. A subsistence farmer is someone who grows just enough food to meet his own needs, rather than growing more to sell or trade. If one thing subsists inside another thing, then we can say it is absolutely guaranteed to live there in the full measure required, but there may be more elsewhere.

Christ’s body cannot be divided and live. But Christ’s body can be fully at home in one place and yet also extend its limbs far outside the boundaries of that place. Moreover, inasmuch as the body of Christ spreads out beyond the Catholic Church, its essential characteristics remain right where they have always been, unchanged. Again, subsist.

Now we must ask, if the Catholic Church is not a denomination and, in fact, there is no such thing from the Catholic perspective as denominations, then what are non-Roman Catholic Christians? Here we come to the second half of that all-important sentence from Lumen Gentium: “. . . many elements of sanctification and of truth are found outside of [the Church’s&91; visible structures.”
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St. Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556) devised a way of examining our soul that moved away from looking only at the sinful thoughts, words, and deeds of our day. Ignatius’s introspection begins not with sins but with gratitude and the cataloging of daily blessings.

This manner of praying later came to be called an Examination of Consciousness, to distinguish it from what was done before the sacrament of reconciliation. A different contour arises in our souls when we look primarily at the concrete ways God has been blessing us. We thank him for waking up, for those at home, for our work, for the sunshine and the rain; we thank him for our vigor and health, for our children’s safe arrival to school, for hot water and electricity in our homes accomplishes for us, for food and drink, and all the myriad ways that our heavenly Father takes care of us. 

You can think of the Examination of Consciousness in five steps: 

Intentionally call to mind the awareness that you are in God’s presence, and that he loves you as much right now in this moment than ever before. You are loved. You are blessed. Ask now for an increase of awareness and gratitude for all the gifts God gives you.  

Lord, you created me out of love for me and now call me to participate in all the graces you have in store for me, transforming me daily into a greater lover and friend. 

Bring to mind the past twenty-hour hours. Review all the emotions and encounters you experienced. Be very concrete, trying to recall how you felt when this or that just happened to work out for you, or how you might have taken for granted this or that daily blessing, or what emotions welled up in you when you saw this person or found yourself in this particular place, and so on.  
 
Lord, I can grow so entitled in all the blessings I have come to expect and sometimes think I have learned. Soften my heart and illumine my mind to see all things in my life as your gift to me. 

Now, speak to God as a friend by choosing one or two of experiences that stand out to you more than others. Perhaps it was a conversation you had with a loved one; perhaps it was a moment of reconciliation with someone with whom you had a tense moment; perhaps it was a chance encounter with a stranger. Here, beg God to see him more alive and active in your daily experiences and in all the benefits of being you that you enjoy. Stay here, offering Jesus whatever emotions arise—perhaps it is gratitude, but maybe it is stress or unexplained anxiety.  
 
Jesus, help me see why I am feeling this way. 

Obviously, no day passes without some disappointment. Pick one sin and ask forgiveness for it. Ask God to help you see why you did it. Tell him whatever it is you need to say here, being not only contrite but concrete. Does any pattern of sinfulness emerge?  

Jesus, you died for my sins. Increase my sorrow I allow you to die for me. The needs I feel overwhelm me and I can take my frustration out on your other sons and daughters. Forgive me and grant me the grace to remain always in your peace and in the security of your love. 

Bring to prayer the next twenty-four hours. What faces you tomorrow? Whom will you meet and what might be said? Place yourself in any upcoming situation you might find important and ask the Holy Spirit to guide your words and actions and entire demeanor in this encounter. If you use a calendar or planner, you can include it in your prayer, perhaps putting your hand over the list of meetings and agenda of things to get done, asking God to make the next day as holy as possible. 

Master of my life and myself, be with me as this night descends and as a new day unfolds. Guide me the gifts of trust and confidence, that you are ever at work in me and this entire universe has been created for me to find my salvation and to glorify your holy name.  

St. Ignatius then suggests ending with an Our Father or Hail Mary.  

Obviously, some days nothing will really stand out to you. Be patient with yourself and simply sit with what might come to mind. If nothing, stay quiet for the allotted time you reserved for this daily exercise.

Is this a pattern? Do you feel anxiously empty or just peacefully still before your own life? Are there past hurts that need to be addressed before you can grow in gratitude? Are there perhaps amends you must make with another before you can truly open your heart up to God?

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The phrase choirs of angels does not mean a number of angels singing, as they did to announce to the shepherds that the Savior had been born. Rather, we will be looking at different groups of angels and the hierarchy among them. The Church has nothing doctrinal, no official teaching, on the specifics of these groups of angels, other than that they exist, as named in the Bible and in Tradition. The Bible gives us the following names of the nine choirs: Seraphim, Cherubim, Thrones, Dominions, Virtues, Powers, Principalities, Archangels, and Angels.

Seraphim, which means Burning Ones, are named just once in the Bible, by the prophet Isaiah, who describes a vision God had given to him. 

I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and his train filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim; each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory.”

Then flew one of the seraphim to me, having in his hand a burning coal which he had taken with tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth, and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin forgiven” (Isa. 6:1-3, 6-7).

The book of Revelation does not name the seraphim, but St. John appears to be describing them, given the similarity to Isaiah.

And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all round and within, and day and night they never cease to sing, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!” (Rev. 4:8).

Cherubim, sometimes translated Mighty Ones, are mentioned more often. In the book of Genesis, there is the mysterious verse telling us that man can never return to the garden of Eden because it is guarded by the cherubim.

He drove out the man; and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life (Gen. 3:24).

The book of Exodus tells us that God directed the Israelites to have images of cherubim both on the cover of the Ark of the Covenant and woven into the fabric of the curtains in which the Ark is kept (26:1). The book of Numbers states that on at least one occasion, Moses heard the voice of God coming from between the cherubim over the Ark (7:89). In the first book of Kings, when Solomon had a temple built to house the Ark, he included images of cherubim (6:23-28). We do not learn what the images looked like, other than having two large wings. For the Israelites, the Ark was the most powerful presence of God; the gold-carved cherubim represent heaven, where God is among the actual cherubim. The book of Psalms repeatedly mentions the image of God enthroned upon the cherubim, as does the prophet Ezekiel. This idea is also part of a prayer of King Hezekiah.

O Lord the God of Israel, who art enthroned above the cherubim, thou art the God, thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; thou hast made heaven and earth (2 Kings 19:15).

The next choirs of angels are barely mentioned in Scripture. Though he says nothing about the hierarchy or role of any of these choirs, St. Paul mentions them in two places. In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul says that Christ has been raised to the right hand of God, “above all principality, and power, and virtue, and dominion” (1:21, Douay-Rheims). He also names several choirs in his letter to the Colossians: “For in him were created all things in heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers” (1:16, NABRE).

Archangels are mentioned by name twice in the Bible. In his first letter to the Thessalonians, Paul says that a particular unnamed archangel will call out with Jesus when he comes at the end of the world:

For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the archangel’s call, and with the sound of the trumpet of God (4:16).

An archangel also appears in an inexplicable verse from the book of Jude: “The archangel Michael, contending with the devil, disputed about the body of Moses” (Jude 1:9).

Tradition places both Gabriel and Raphael also within the choir of Archangels, of whom seven seem to have a special role in “standing before God” on behalf of men:

And the angel answered him, “I am Gabriel, who stand in the presence of God; and I was sent to speak to you, and to bring you this good news” (Luke 1:19).

I am Raph′ael, one of the seven holy angels who present the prayers of the saints and enter into the presence of the glory of the Holy One (Tob. 12:15).

Then I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them (Rev. 8:2).

This leaves one more, the last of the choirs: the choir of Angels. The word angel is used hundreds of times throughout the Bible, and it can refer either to those in this particular choir or to all of the angels in general.

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Church teaching, including Scripture and Tradition, holds that angels are purely spiritual beings. Yet we also believe that they occasionally appear to have physical bodies, as in the Scripture stories: “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares” (Heb. 13:2).

Angels do not need bodies for their interactions with God and one another; for that matter, they do not need bodies for their usual interactions with us, giving us spiritual protection, guidance, and inspiration. On the rare occasions when they take physical appearance, it is done for the sake of the persons to whom they appear.

How is this done?

We can write it off as a complete mystery, but St. Thomas likes to explain as much as logic allows: he says that an angel can appear to have a body by manipulating the air. This reasoning involves the ancient model of physics in which there are four elements: earth, water, fire, and air. This is not ignorant or foolish; it is similar to our own idea of four states of matter: solid, liquid, plasma, and gas. The physical bodies that angels take cannot be of earth or water, since this would not allow them to appear and disappear so quickly. Again, the bodies cannot be composed of fire; they would burn everything they touch. Therefore, when an angel appears, it takes a physical body by condensing air to have visible shape and color, like smoke.

An apparition of an angel occurs outside of the mind, and therefore can be seen by numerous people, as was the angel Raphael in the Old Testament book of Tobit. Similar examples of angels appearing to more than one person simultaneously are when angels appeared to Abraham and Sarah to announce the birth of their son Isaac (Gen. 18:1-10); to Lot and his daughters, telling them to flee from the city of Sodom before it is destroyed (Gen. 19:1-22); to Samson’s mother and father, instructing them on how to raise their son (Judg. 13:3-23); to Daniel’s companions and the king of Babylon, when he had them cast into a fiery furnace (Dan. 3:24-25); to Judas Maccabeus and his army when setting out to battle (2 Macc. 11:6-13); and to the shepherds, to announce the birth of Jesus (Luke 2:8-15).

Since angelic apparitions are manipulations of the air and not true living bodies, these apparitions do not engage in physical functions such as speaking, eating, or drinking. Just as an angel can manipulate the air to appear as a body, so he can also manipulate the air to simulate a human voice (or other sound), and seem to be speaking, though he has no lungs or vocal chords. Thus, Raphael tells Tobit and Tobias, “All these days I merely appeared to you and did not eat or drink, but you were seeing a vision” (Tob. 12:19).

In fact, there are two types of angelic visions. An angelic apparition is a bodily vision, produced by a manipulation of matter (in the air). This is technically different from a vision of an angel which occurs when an angel acts directly upon the sensory perception of a person from within. In these cases the angelic message is not perceived by a person’s external senses, but by their imagination, and for this reason it may be called an imaginary vision. This is seen in the description of the angel’s messages to St. Joseph.

But as he considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary your wife” (Matt. 1:20).

Joseph continued to receive angelic messages in dreams, directing him to flee to Egypt, return to Israel, and settle in Galilee (Matt. 2:13, 19, 22). The angel is said to appear in a dream, meaning while he was sleeping; but this does not rule out people having visions of angels while awake.

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And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him (Rev. 12:9).

Notice that this verse does not say the demons were cast into hell, but rather to the earth. In the book of Job, when God asks Satan where he has come from, the latter replies, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it” (1:7; 2:2).

We may wonder why God allows the demons such latitude in our world. Wouldn’t it make more sense to confine them in some place where they can do no harm, whether hell, or the constellation Horologium, or the bottom of Lake Huron? God wills that angels contribute to our good in two ways, directly and indirectly. In the direct sense, he helps us to do good and to avoid evil, and the good angels take part in this. Indirectly, God wills our good by allowing demons to tempt us; by resisting them, we become spiritually stronger and grow in holiness. The result is that even though they are fallen, the demons continue to be of service to humanity.

In any event, the demons are here and we must deal with them. St. Augustine used a fascinating Latin phrase to describe where the demons are in this world: the aer caliginosus. This has been translated variously as dark atmosphere, misty air, or murky vapor. Keeping in mind that angels—and demons—are said to be in the place where they exert their power, it appears that Augustine is describing the temptations of the demons as they try to darken our intellects to what is good and true.

Recall the “Legion” of demons that possessed the man at Gerasene. The Gospel includes an interesting detail: when Jesus was about to cast them out, they “begged him eagerly not to send them out of the country,” asking leave to enter a nearby herd of swine instead (Mark 5:10-12). This sounds odd. Was there something in particular they liked about the geographical location?

They may have simply wanted to stay in order to further torment human beings. But it still leaves us wondering what they liked about the place. It may be a form of the devil mocking God: since God has places that are sacred to him, the devil mocks him by doing evil in particular places. Those who believe in haunted places often attribute the haunting to evil or tragedy that took place there; it could be that these are the very places that demons are more active.

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"You probably think Santa Claus is real. Or that the Earth is flat. Maybe your ancestors thought Thor caused lightning and thunderstorms. Or that praying to a statue would bring healing. We have moved past that. Now, we live in an age of science. If you still believe in God, you must be a superstitious ignoramus." 
 
This common attitude of internet atheists has led many away from faith. Believers must share the blame. A lot of Catholic Christians cannot give reasons for the hope that is within them. They have not learned to support their worldview with reasons and evidence. Rather, they’ve been told to “just have faith” and not ask too many questions.  

Because of this, atheism has been successful in winning converts. Many skeptical slogans have led others to doubt their religious beliefs. But although the slogans have surface-level plausibility, they do not stand up to scrutiny—all of them can be answered using the intellectual resources from the Christian tradition and contemporary philosophy.  
  
Five Foundational Principles 
 
Interacting with atheists can be draining. Not every conversation will go well, especially when you start out. But if you follow these five principles, you can drastically improve your mindset and your conversations.  
 
Here’s the first principle: Pray every day. Develop a daily prayer routine. Decide on a specific segment of time as your personal prayer baseline. It could be ten or fifteen minutes. This principle drives us to develop a deeper relationship with the Lord. This will allow you to discern more effectively what a person needs to hear in conversation. Also, it will prevent you from getting burned out or discouraged when dialogue goes bad.

Here’s the second principle: Whenever possible, start by asking questions rather than making statements. Asking questions places you in the driver’s seat of the conversation. You can steer it where you want it to go. You can make sure it stays on topic. Questions provide an avenue to learn what the other person actually thinks, providing you with valuable information for deciding how to help your conversation partner. Questions are powerful. 
  
Here’s the third principle: Don’t let people get away with vague, wishy-washy criticisms. Sometimes people make vague objections they think are enough to win the day. Consider the following:  

• “You know the problem of evil, right? That’s why I don’t believe in God.” 
• “You Catholics have that abuse scandal. Who would want to join a corrupt Church like that?” 

Too often when we hear questions like these, we immediately launch into a defense. Before the skeptic elicits a response from us, we must require that he make his criticism clearer, provide more detail, and, whenever possible, give us the fullness of the argument he has in mind.  
  
Here’s the fourth principle: Apologetics is most helpful to those who are already open to the truths of faith. 
 
This principle encourages realistic expectations. The most hardened, angry skeptics need  
our prayers. Perhaps they’ve been abused by a priest in the past or dealt with some other terrible circumstance in life. The Holy Spirit can work on the heart and soften them for future conversations.  On the other hand, those with a sincere desire to understand can be led closer to Christ with answers from the Christian intellectual tradition.  
  
Here’s the fifth principle: Don’t neglect the soft skills of evangelism. By “soft skills” I mean the ways of conducting ourselves outside of apologetic encounters. How should we interact with others? 

So don’t be a jerk. Give more compliments. Be openly Catholic by saying grace before meals, keeping prayers or pictures of saints on your desk, and include Mass in your discussion of the weekends and holidays. These soft skills do not require an advanced apologetic, and they can go a long way toward building trust and plausibility in religion.  
 
​​​If you're interested in digging deeper pick up your copy of John DeRosa's book, One Less God Than You 

Just as the Church has official ritual books for Mass and the sacraments, for blessings and for exorcism, so there is also an official book called the Handbook of Indulgences. We will not take time here to explain Church teaching on indulgences; though it is important and woefully neglected, that would be the subject of another book. The traditional name for this ritual book is the Raccolta, Italian for collection. In the 1910 edition of the Raccolta, there is an indulgence granted for praying the Angelical Crown, also known as the Chaplet of St. Michael the Archangel. This is a chaplet or ring of beads on which are prayed one Our Father and Three Hail Marys for each of the Nine Choirs of angels, completed with Our Fathers for St. Michael, St. Gabriel, St. Raphael, and one’s guardian angel. The prayers for each of the Nine Choirs are introduced with the following meditations, which may give insight into their roles.

At the intercession of St. Michael and the heavenly choir of the Seraphim, may it please God to make us worthy to receive into our hearts the fire of his perfect charity. Amen.

At the intercession of St. Michael and the heavenly choir of the Cherubim, may God grant us grace to abandon the ways of sin, and follow the path of Christian perfection. Amen.

At the intercession of St. Michael and the sacred choir of the Thrones, may it please God to infuse into our hearts a true and earnest spirit of humility. Amen.

At the intercession of St. Michael and the heavenly choir of the Dominations, may it please God to grant us grace to have dominion over our senses, and to correct our depraved passions. Amen.

At the intercession of St. Michael and the heavenly choir of the Powers, may God vouchsafe to keep our souls from the wiles and temptations of the devil. Amen.

At the intercession of St. Michael and the choir of the admirable celestial Virtues, may our Lord keep us from falling into temptations and deliver us from evil. Amen.

At the intercession of St. Michael and the heavenly choir of the Principalities, may it please God to fill our souls with the spirit of true and hearty obedience. Amen.

At the intercession of St. Michael and the heavenly choir of Archangels, may it please God to grant us the gift of perseverance in the faith and in all good works, that we may thereby be enabled to attain unto the glory of paradise. Amen.

At the intercession of St. Michael and the heavenly choir of Angels, may God vouchsafe to grant that the Holy Angels may protect us during life, and after death may lead us into the everlasting glory of heaven. Amen.

It is important to note the doctrinal value of this chaplet. Its origin is often said to be an apparition of the archangel Michael to Antonia d’Astonac, a Carmelite nun in Portugal. It is believed that the archangel Michael appeared to her in 1751 and told her that he wished to be honored by nine salutations corresponding to the nine choirs of angels; the story may well be true, but it seems impossible to find a primary source. The chaplet itself was approved by Pope Pius IX in 1851: this approval does not state anything about the apparition, but it does verify the teaching on the existence of the nine choirs, and the value of prayers meditating upon them.

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