Does Satan Ever Listen And Obey?

There is no question that Satan is powerful but can Its power overcome man?  My answer is no, even though everyone, except the Son of God and the Mother of God, had experienced defeat in ways both small and large.  Being defeated in the past does not mean one has to suffer defeat again.

Man, made in the image of God, is superior, not subordinate, to Satan.  Original Sin, the burden of man, does not attenuate in any way man's superiority over Satan.  The consequence of Original Sin is death at the end of life [1], not enslavement by Satan.  In fact, Original Sin reminds man not to fall into Satan's temptations in order that his soul will be free to return to God.

Satan, the ever-endearing friend (almost a relative) that never seems to leave man alone, is forever beckoning him into Its varied temptations that entraps and ruins his soul. In exchange, Satan gives man a taste of the forbidden fruit.  With every bite, each of man's darkest desires becomes realized. What he wants after that is more bites of that delicious "Apple."

At some point, man ought to wake up from his wantonness to save his own soul, to go to confession for a thorough cleansing.  When the confession is over, a clean new soul emerges and at this moment man is no longer beholden to Satan and has the authority to command Satan to leave him.  With repeated commands (Satan can be hard of hearing), Satan will obey and leave.

Satan is not only deaf most of the time, It is also forgetful.  Like that beloved friend that never stays away for long, It returns.  Again, It lays on the table "your" cards, a game too easy to get back into and win--Satan always lets man win in life in order that he loses his soul to Satan in eternity.  Satan is fair, is It not?  It even lets man choose if he wants to play Its game.  Once the game is again in play, Satan will be deaf to all commands for It will be the Master and man the slave, beholden to the Master's gifts, until the next confession.



[1] There is no certainly surrounding the death of the Blessed Virgin Mary before Her Assumption.  This is the conclusion of Pope Pius XII in his Apostolic Constitution dated November 1, 1950: "[T]he Immaculate Mother of God, the Virgin Mary, having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory."  See paragraph 44 at http://w2.vatican.va/content/pius-xii/en/apost_constitutions/documents/hf_p-xii_apc_19501101_munificentissimus-deus.html.  There is a deliberate omission of any reference to the death of the Blessed Virgin Mary by Pope Pius XII.  I believe he was correct since only those with Original Sin is subject to death.  The Blessed Virgin Mary, the Immaculate Conception, Who was without the stain of Original Sin, was not subject to Sin's consequence which is death at the end of life.  Jesus Who was also without Sin did die.  He died on the cross.  I have two thoughts on this. First, Christ Who was without Sin died because He was carrying our sins.  By assuming all our sins, He had to die.  By His subsequent resurrection, He triumphed over Sin and all its variations.  Second, the consequence of Original Sin is death at the end of life.  Since Christ was crucified, He did not come to the end of His life naturally.  His life was "taken" but as I see it, He gave up His life to save ours.  Had He come to the end of His natural life as did His Immaculate Mother, He, too, would have been assumed into Heaven without a death.