Reflection - Memorial of Saints Basil the Great and Gregory Nazianzen

In these times in which we live, commentary and distraction abound. Our media seems untrustworthy; we can no longer believe everything we hear, read, and see. Between the proliferation of A.I. technology and digital manipulation of photographs, and the cacophony of competing ideologies and theories bandied about the public square, we are ceaselessly bombarded with questionable images, narratives, and noise. Many theorize we are in the end times spoken of in Revelation, with “wars and rumors” of wars dominating our feeds. Some have even suggested that certain public figures – usually those in direct opposition to their own political leanings - are the Antichrist.

Since the time of Christ, we have been living in the end times, and no one knows for sure who the Antichrist was, is, or will be. It’s certainly tempting to point to our political, social, and ideological enemies and declare them to be “demonic” or “evil,” as we know we are in a spiritual war and battling over eternal souls. But in today’s first reading, St. John tells us to find the spirit of the antichrist, we need not look any further than our own hearts: “Who is the liar? Whoever denies that Jesus is the Christ. Whoever denies the Father and the Son, this is the antichrist.” Are we willing to examine our consciences and identify the ways in which we deny Christ daily? In our slander and finger-pointing and othering, are we careful to consider the souls of those who propagate confusion and disorder? Do we fail to see Christ in our enemies? Are we gleeful in calling them names and disparaging their character?

In her book about surviving the Rwandan genocide, “Left to Tell,” Immaculee Ilibigaza writes of the killers: “their minds had been infected with the evil that had spread across the country, but their souls weren't evil.” Lord, make us mindful that our enemies are your children, too; root out the spirit of the antichrist we mistakenly nurture as righteous indignation. Make us humble. Renew our prayers for conversions, that we may draw closer to You and Your desire that all may be saved.