Anima Christi - a Prayer Against Evil

Anima Christi means "the soul of Christ."  The Anima Christi is a beautiful prayer that dates back to medieval times. It is often accepted as written by Pope John XXII during the 14th century, but it is uncertain to this date who actually authored this well-known prayer to Jesus for protection against evil.


Anima Christi 

Soul of Christ, sanctify me
Body of Christ, save me
Water from the side of Christ, wash me
Passion of Christ, give me strength

Hear me, Jesus
Hide me in Thy wounds That I may never leave Thy side
From all the evil that surrounds me defend me
And when the call of death arrives
Bid me come to Thee
That I may praise Thee
With Thy saints forever.

When Good Men Do Nothing

Did you wake up stunned and horrified by the news today?  Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut will never be the same, and the whole world is collectively scarred by one more piercing blow from the hands of evil.  From the news everywhere, evil seems to be having a grand time wreaking havoc on humanity.  Shall we let it?

No amount of weeping will bring back the lives of innocent children.  No amount of cursing will undo the tragic act of a 20-year old gunman.  The whys and hows will come from all sources -- detailed, analytical, factual.  But let us instead try to delve deeper and beyond that, and take a look at the source of all these ugly things in our lives -- evil.

What would posses a young man to choose to kill helpless children?  Even his mother?  Deep rage?  Hopelessness?  Drugs?  Insanity?  What thoughts went on in his head and pushed him to the edge?  In that precise moment when he wielded the gun and pointed it at the children, what  tipped the scales inside his mind that made him lose his humanity and made him pull the trigger anyway?

The world is a battle ground of a war that has been going on since before the earth was made.  We are caught up in war since the time of the fallen angel.  His minions are everywhere, and his malice permeates the world that his and our Creator made.  This unnamed one is angry at us for being loved by God, a love he can no longer feel nor partake.

Don't think it is lame to lay the blame on evil every time there is horror in the news.  It is precisely because of evil that sorrow permeates this world.  The opposing powers tear us in opposite directions at all times.  But we are not helpless against it.  There is a great gift that God has given us:  free will.

"Evil triumphs when good men do nothing."  If you acknowledge that there is indeed a spiritual war being waged in this world, and if you decide to take side with God's army instead of His enemy, then let this be your motto.  "Evil triumphs when good men do nothing."  Keep it to your heart, even in the small acts that you do everyday.  You always have a choice.

Choose to do good.  You meet a poor man on the street, choose to nod and smile instead of ignore him, if you can't spare a dime, at least spare him that.  You are seeing red because the kids are bothersome, choose to settle their issues instead of yell at them.  Small ways.  You will get the hang of it soon enough and ready you for bigger things.  Choose to listen instead of turning away.  Choose to understand instead of condemn. Choose to be love instead of hate.  Choose to pray.  Choose to deny evil.

We will have to battle evil till the day we die.  Choose to beg for God's guidance and strength to triumph over it.  The could-have-beens in Sandy Hook's tragedy is that the young man may have been saved from himself and from harming others, had evil been denied to reside in him.  Had he been anchored deep in values of kindness and goodness, had he been secure in God's love as his moral and spiritual compass, evil wouldn't have had a shot.

 

Click here for a Prayer Against Evil.

Beauty Ever Ancient, Ever New

The song "Gandang Sinauna at Sariwa" is a beautiful Filipino song translated from the "Ever Ancient, Ever New - Confessions of Saint Augustine."  His was a beautiful prayer of regret that he had been so enraptured with the world for so long that he forgot the beauty that lies within him.

Ever Ancient, Ever New

Late have I loved you, O Beauty ever ancient, ever new, late have I loved you!

You were within me, but I was outside, and it was there that I searched for you.
In my unloveliness I plunged into the lovely things which you created.
You were with me, but I was not with you.
Created things kept me from you; yet if they had not been in you they would have not been at all.

You called, you shouted, and you broke through my deafness.
You flashed, you shone, and you dispelled my blindness.
You breathed your fragrance on me; I drew in breath and now I pant for you.
I have tasted you, now I hunger and thirst for more.
You touched me, and I burned for your peace.

Gandang Sinauna at Sariwa
 (by Bukas Palad)

Kay tagal bago Kita minahal
Gandang sinauna at sariwa
Tapat Kang nanahan sa 'king kalooban
Ngunit hinahanap pa rin kahit saan

Kay tagal bago Kita minahal
Gandang sinauna at sariwa
Ako'y nagpabihag sa likha Mong tanan
Di ko akalaing Ikaw pala'y nilisan

Ako'y tinawagan mula sa katahimikan
Pinukaw Mo ang aking pandinig
Biglang luminaw ang awit ng daigdig

Kay tagal bago Kita minahal
Gandang sinauna at sariwa
Tapat Kang nanahan sa 'king kalooban
Ngunit hinahanap pa rin kahit saan

Ako'y inilawan mula sa 'king kadiliman
Minulat Mo aking mga mata
Biglang luminaw tanglaw ko sa tuwina

Kay tagal bago Kita minahal
Gandang sinauna at sariwa
Ako'y nagpabihag sa likha Mong tanan
Di ko akalaing Ikaw pala'y nilisan

Kay tagal bago Kita minahal
Gandang sinauna at sariwa
Akong nilikha Mo, uuwi rin sa 'Yo
Ako'y papayapa lamang sa pilin Mo