Satanic Temple - Phoenix City in Arizona council prayer? (Pastoral)

I first knew of this when I was watching the 24 hour news. The scroll underneath popped out at me. Initially I was amused. Jokes popped into my head such as a “prayer to satan to guide the politicians.” How about a prayer to satan with the excuse of any wrong doing, “the devil made me do it.” I went to the internet and read one article that this satanic group does not really believe in satan but that they believe that satan is a concept who was against the establishment. I thought about that. It was Jesus who was always butting heads with those in power. Satan takes possession of people and animals and is always cast out by good. There is no doubt in my mind that Jesus and God is equated with goodness and satan is equated with evil. I wrote a paper about the devil which is in my blogs somewhere. It may be under Jesus and miracles because that is the course I had taken. My academic advisor had recommended I take the course because of who was teaching it. He was wrong. He was not a known scholar of repute but a Phd Student. In this particular class, I saw a different mindset from my own Catholic roots, from the Protestants in the class. There were two of us from our own college on this course and though we never thought the same when at our own school, we definitely united against the philosophy within this class room. The discussion always seemed to be about Jesus being anti women and I found myself defending Jesus as a promoter of women. Jesus had women who followed him. Women financially supported Jesus. Jesus taught both men and women. Jesus was always teaching and rebuking the thinking of the time. He healed on the Sabbath. He taught on the Sabbath etc…..What did satan do? Find my other paper on the blog for more info so I do not have to repeat myself too much. There are many who do not believe in satan. One of my professors enjoyed teasing me for my belief. However recently he spoke to me more seriously about this topic of satan. My question to him was “Why is it so different, than believing in a God?” Many cannot grasp the concept of God. They think that belief in a God is just as ridiculous. Yesterday, I sat in a pew at mass and my mind was focused on the Arizona council and this satanic cult getting ready for a prayer there. I wasn’t going to write about this, but this morning I decided that I would. The States appears to be more open about God. I don’t often hear, “God bless Canada” but I always hear “God bless America.” There have been research studies regarding the power of prayer (which I have already written about). I have taped two programs about chaplains on the PBS channel (I hope I have the right acronym) and it demonstrates the need for chaplains in the prisons, hospitals, and corporations. I associate God with goodness because of my own background. When people who are religious, especially those in leading ministerial roles commit heinous crimes, they do so much damage. To the person who survives the abuse, he/she relates the negativity of the person to their God. How can a person who is holy hurt me? Therefore God is hurting me. How can my father who believes in God and goes to church do that to me? Therefore, God is not good. When relationships are not healthy and there are associations with religion, then the religion becomes the problem. So where does satan come in? Initially I thought that this group is probably naive and harmless, a joke, an amusement. Satan according to the bible likes that you do not believe in his existence. Imagine if you actually believe in something existing that is so evil? Now here is a council group who begin their meetings, I presume with a prayer. This is diminishing in society. Now this Satanic temple group is indicating that Satan is a harmless concept. Then you have another group probably Christians who do not want this prayer to Satan at council. How do you eliminate a prayer to Satan? You eliminate prayer to God. Thus, no one is offended. What an achievement! Satan remains benign in the process, but was the main motivator. That is if you really believe in Satan. We had one College student protest about an angel on a Christmas tree in Toronto and eventually all angels were removed. We had a person complain about a Christmas tree in a building and a person who had poor judgement had the “Christ”mas tree removed. That was over ruled quickly enough. I was in 2nd Cup one morning during the Christmas holidays a few years back and one irate customer asked that the Christmas songs stop. I asked the owner about this and he said each complaint needs to be taken seriously. There is a melting pot mentality I always thought was ok. However, I am not a melting pot. Taking that course about miracles and Jesus had very little to do with miracles because there seemed to be little faith in miracles. However, I believe that life is a miracle. I realize that we need to get along with people of various faiths and religions. I certainly would never turn away any client wanting help regardless of their belief system. I have worked and studied with various religious groups, however, I am coming from my own religious concept which may be very different and therefore I am not melting into one religion. So how about this as a prayer to a Satan who does not exist: Prayer to St. Michael “Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our defense against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray, and do thou, O Prince of the Heavenly Host, by the power of God cast into hell, Satan and all the other evil spirits, who wander throughout the world, seeking the ruin of souls. Amen” (from prayer card) I pray that each and everyone of you have a nice day, find someway to find your own path, question and challenge yourself, and reflect on what is right for you as an individual with your own thoughts. Just saying…………….