It is the interior that defines who we are
It often appears to be easier to deal with external evil—we can either ignore it (it doesn’t affect me personally) or place our trust in others to deal with it—rather than with the interior evil that dwells within our own souls. We tend to evaluate ourselves and others in purely external ways: the number of prayers we recite, the amount of money we give, etc. There is nothing wrong with external things, but there is also an inner world that shapes and gives meaning to the external. The German philosopher, Hegel, one of the most influential thinkers of the 19th century, wrote: “The Holy as a mere thing has the character of externality; thus it is capable of being taken possession of by another to my exclusion; it may come into an alien hand, since the process of appropriating it is not one that takes place in the Spirit…. The highest of human blessings is thus thought to be in the hands of others.”
Jesus said that it is not what goes into a person from the outside, but what comes from the inside. Father Jerome Cummings said, “Love is shown in your deeds not in your words.” If we say that we love God and proclaim our faith in him to everyone but do not show our trust in him then our words mean nothing. What lies within us is who we are. What we present to others may be completely at odds with who we are. While others see only the exterior, God sees what is in our hearts.
If we truly wish to combat evil we need to look within. We must make ourselves holy; spotless in the site of God; living our lives in His presence. When we clean the interior, the exterior will be a direct reflection of God’s grace, and evil will not prevail.
