Mel Gibson and the cleverness of Satan: "It is the reality"

By Jenn Giroux

St. Padre Pio was reported to have said when he got his first look at the television: "The devil will be in the living room."

He is also manifestly a "live in" companion in the lives of many including some of our self- destructive celebrities.

How else to explain the recent behavior of our fallen brother in Christ, Mel Gibson?

Remember the time that preceded the release of The Passion of The Christ? The main stream media and other critics maligned the very thought of it along with its producer, Mel Gibson. After the release of the film the attacks continued to escalate. I remember at the time thinking how strong Mel Gibson stood in the face of all of this. At the height of the attacks I recall feeling the gratitude toward Mel that a mother would feel toward a courageous fireman who had run into a burning building and carried her child, her precious treasure, to safety. Mel has successfully done this with the greatest of treasures. After years and years of heinous blasphemy against our Lord and our Faith repeatedly played out across the Big Screen, there was Mel lending all of his God-given talents to set the record straight. Mel Gibson had truly gone into the burning building of Hollywood and carried "Truth" Himself through the ruinous and diabolical flames.

I was saddened and taken aback when, in a drunken rage, Mel spewed venomous anti-Semitic remarks to a policeman. This sadness and shock was compounded further when he left his wife and 7 children.

For those that understand the battle between Good and Evil, clearly, Mel Gibson is battling demons.

The Passion of The Christ was a work of grace. It had a transcendent quality that lent it a raw power to spark belief in an age of unbelief. It is indeed hard to think of any other work of such singular artistry in our time that bore as much fruit as this seminal masterpiece of our beloved Lord's final hours on earth. One website alone had over 27,000 stories of personal testimonials and conversions from Jews, Muslims, and non-Catholic Christians. This was a drop in the bucket in comparison to the millions who felt the grace after watching the film.

After hearing from so many family members of those in prisons, Mel honored the request to take this tool of healing into the prison system. Again, more tears of conversion and spiritual awakening flowed. The Passion of The Christ touched and transformed the hearts of hardened criminals by the thousands when Mel subsequently donated a copy of the DVD to prisons across the country.

At the same time, Mel honored a request to have the film taken over to Sr. Lucia of Fatima. After viewing this, Sr. Lucia, then in her late 80's said, "It is the reality."

This statement was never made public until this column.

All of this bore a cost, however.

It put a bulls eye on Mel Gibson's chest and demonic sharp shooters have been taking deadly aim ever since. One might imagine that Gibson's own soul would be a prized asset on a diabolical balance sheet.

In his new book, Exorcism and the Church Militant, HLI president Fr. Tom Euteneuer refers to the work of saving souls as involving "hand to hand combat with the devil himself." He distinguishes carefully between souls who are "oppressed" by demonic spirits which is not uncommon and souls who are "possessed" by one or more demons which, he says, is most uncommon. It is the design of the devil to seek to destroy in hate what God has created in love. His work is often to simply suggest a course of action and let man's fallen nature take it from there. Exorcists say Satan frequently takes up residence in emotionally unbalanced souls and hides knowing it is most difficult to discern where disorder ends and oppression begins.

Mel Gibson has not always been sparing of the Roman Catholic Church. And his behavior in recent years is clearly indefensible. But he is a brother in Christ who answered "yes" to God's call to make this powerful film. At the time he "risked everything for the Gospel."

I recall him once saying: "If you are going to defend the cross, get ready to carry a piece of it."

He has carried a piece of the cross. He has stumbled and fallen. He, no doubt is suffocating in depression and confusion. (Satan's powerful tool s used to demoralize us all). Today, I ask your prayers and spiritual assistance in carrying him out of Satan's burning building of despair which seeks to destroy and own him.

Contemplate the cleverness of Satan. Who could have imagined 50 years ago that he would have found his way into 98% of the bedrooms of married couples with their willing cooperation through contraception? Who could have imagined that full term babies being slaughtered just moments before birth would be called "an act of privacy" for women in the year 2010? Who could have imagined the propaganda in the media today telling parents they would be happier without children? Or with only 2 children? Who would have thought it possible for an entire generation to be raised ignorant of the Truth of God and now as adults stand impotent to defend It?

Answer: The same Evil One who seeks to find each of our individual weaknesses (depression, loneliness, anger, marital discord, or human pride) to move us to a place of torment where the world now sees Mel Gibson standing.

It is only by calling upon the tools we are given in sacramental grace and prayer that we are able to get up when we fall, repent, and continue to follow Christ in all of our human weakness. This, my friends, is what we are called in the Gospels to do when we are told to : "work out your salvation with fear and trembling" (Philippians 2:12).

In the words of Sr. Lucia: "It is the Reality."

© Jenn Giroux