Defeat Evil

October 10, 2018

Dr. Rocco Leonard Martino

October 7, 2018

Ladies and Gentlemen, good afternoon!

Welcome to this first Malvern Tent Revival.  Thank you for coming and making our planning efforts successful.

I am grateful to all those who helped make this Revival a success, especially my wife, Barbara, for assisting me throughout the planning stages of this event.  Also, my deepest thanks to Mark Poletunow and Michael Norton for conceiving and organizing this event.

Welcome to The Joy of Jesus.  The basic theme is to stop looking like you just came from a funeral.  Pope Francis often says that, to his audiences.  Accept the Joy of Jesus and make it a part of your daily life.

Jesus spent His public life bringing joy to the people, often curing them of their diseases.  On what has become Palm Sunday, He entered Jerusalem in triumph.  The chief priests saw this, and fearing His power with the people, schemed to have Him murdered by crucifixion.

His execution was achieved by lies, false witness, and distortion.  It was brutal.  Even as He was tortured, He prayed to God the Father to forgive them.

Following His Resurrection, He entered the upper room, where the Apostles were gathered, by walking through the wall.  Then, I am sure with a smile, after greeting His startled followers, He asked, “Do you have anything to eat?”

There are many instances in the New Testament that show the lightheartedness and Joy of Jesus.  Look for them; they are there.  My favorite is when He had the Apostles go fishing and caught a fish with a coin in its mouth to pay the Roman taxes.  We should try that on April 15^th.

Jesus promised to be with us until the end of time.  Be assured, He is always there and always will be.  No matter how dark things look, Jesus will be there.  This Revival reinforces that fact.

This Revival is the first of its kind but will be repeated every year.

Why?  Why this tent?  Why this program?

We are here to accept the Joy of Jesus and to use the graces we receive to fight the forces that seek the destruction of everything we believe.

Evil is rampant in the world all around us. But thank God, so is goodness.

For every act of evil there are myriad acts of goodness, bolstered by faith, strengthened by hope, and resulting in an outpouring of charity and love by our creator and by us.

We are charged with the task of defeating evil, of bringing civility back to our lives and living places and returning morality as a commonplace in our daily lives.

Things are getting out of hand.  We have to roll-up our sleeves and defeat the movements that seek the destruction of our family life, of common decency, and of the rule of law.  They will attempt anything, break any rule or law, destroy any person or tradition, lie, distort, and fabricate to win.

But evil will not prevail.  Truth, faith and perseverance will defeat all of their machinations.

That is why we are here today.

This is not a denominational battle.  It is a battle for everything that we believe, everything that is worthwhile, and everything that was a commonplace entity in our lives in the past.  In this fight, we are bolstered by the sacraments.  As Catholics, we have the reinforcement of forgiveness, and of the Eucharist as our daily bread.

Forgiveness.  A simple word but so full of meaning.  It is gone from our lives today.  Nothing is forgotten, even if fabricated, and broadcast widely.  Computers and databases record and remember everything.  A word, a thoughtless act, real or fabricated, an indiscretion, no matter how trivial, can be resurrected and used to destroy a lifetime of dedication and accomplishment.  Sometimes the challenge isn’t even true, but it is enough to destroy.  In today’s world accusation is enough.

Thank God for our ability to seek forgiveness.

Thank God we can wipe the slate clean.

The evil surrounding us seeks our defeat as we espouse what is right.  They will destroy anyone or anything that stands in their way.

They also seek the end of life for those who are a financial burden on our healthcare systems.  For them, life is at their disposal or whim; or perhaps even a source of body parts.  This is the ultimate evil.

To safeguard their ability to terminate or prevent life, the adherents of these evils will sink to any extreme.  We have seen those efforts at work in destroying the traditions of our government; destroying the reputation of a noble person; making a sham of the orderly process and traditions that permeate our government.

This will be a long and tedious battle.  But it will be won.

In the darkest moments of World War II when defeat was just around the corner.  Winston Churchill said “Success is not final; failure is not fatal.  It is the courage to continue that counts.”

Never stop in countering evil.  Never give up the battle.  Go forth from this tent bolstered by the Joy of Jesus.  Never falter.  Never give up the battle for what is right.

Defeat evil.  Let’s hear it.  Defeat evil.  Defeat evil.  Defeat evil.

Jesus is with you.  That is the Joy of Jesus.