229th Meditation
“Fear not when the beast cries out and the lion roars. They will not be able to achieve anything, for they fight against me” (inner word).
The image of the lion represents the devil, as St. Peter the Apostle tells us in the short reading we hear every evening at Compline:
“Keep sober and alert, because your enemy the devil is on the prowl like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour” (1 Pet 5:8).
The beast, on the other hand, which appears as a symbol in the Book of Revelation, is often interpreted as a great power hostile to God, which exercises its dominion over mankind. Perhaps it also represents the dominion of an antichrist, or the last Antichrist.
What the Father assures us is His protection against these two threats.
Even if the powers hostile to God, both demons and their human allies, rise up against us, we need not be afraid. They certainly want to spread terror and pretend to present themselves as almighty and invincible. But they are not!
That is why we must keep our eyes fixed on our Father, not allowing ourselves to be frightened by the forces of evil or attracted by their fascination. The more deeply we anchor ourselves in the Lord, the more they will confront Him in their fight against us. And then all their efforts will be frustrated and every attack against us will become a defeat to them. Their power will be weakened.
With the words we heard at the beginning of this meditation, the Lord introduces us to the battle against the principalities and powers. It is He Himself who defeats them, and it depends on us – on how deep our union with Him is – whether these powers will stand against the Lord Himself when they want to attack us. They will not be able to achieve anything in this spiritual combat, and this certainty should fuel the confidence we so urgently need in these dark times.