There are two irreconcilable enemies in the depth of every soul, good and evil, sin and love. And what use are the victories on the battlefield if we ourselves are defeated in our innermost personal selves. St. Maximilian Kolbe

The devil is afraid of us when we pray and make sacrifices.  He is also afraid when we are humble and good. He is especially afraid when we love Jesus very much. St. Anthony of Padua

To love for those who not love, to adore for those who do not adore; to pray for those who blaspheme. (Motto of the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament)

When heinous crimes are studied, many of us try to understand their psychological or sociological roots. Such speculation is important as it can lead to greater compassion for the perpetrator and the application of appropriate legal remedies. However, when such explorations fall short, victims, families of victims, and those working in law enforcement often wind up regarding the criminals as less than human, referring to them as “monsters” or “pure evil”.

Much ink has been spilled in attempts to come to some understanding of evil. I believe humanity will never achieve a satisfactory rational answer. The saints quoted above seem less concerned about understanding evil, rather they chose to love in the face of it.

St. Maximilian, recognizes the essential contradiction of the forces of good and evil, expressing it as tension between sin and love. He was a Catholic priest who had endured the horrors of Auschwitz and gave up his own life so that another’s could be spared. The other two quotes also remind us of the apparently irreconcilable relationship between good and evil. As was shown in the sacrificial choice of St. Maximilian, their words emphasize the centrality of responding to evil with love.  Rather than becoming stuck trying to rationalize, they simply chose to love and trust in its ultimate victory.