1. In the movie "The Exorcist," there is a dialogue where Father Karras asks Father Merrin "why this girl, why was this innocent child chosen to be tormented." Merrin says: the idea is to make us lose faith, to break our spirits with the senselessness...

2. ...of the victimization of the innocent. This very same idea appeared, I noticed, in the Denis Villeneuve movie "Prisoners," (2013) a much underrated film. There is an evil couple who kidnap and murder innocent children. When caught, the woman explains that she was...

3. ...conducting a "war against God" and that her goal was to make good men and good women despair and lose all hope. I used to think this theme--evil as an instigator of despair--was just an abstract thing. Recent events have made me re-think this view.

4. The older I get, the more I see the world as a battleground for the claiming of souls. Evil really is out there. It seeks to target the innocent, the defenseless. It uses lies, but as Father Merrin says, it mixes lies with truth. "The attack is psychological...

5. "....and powerful. So do not listen." And this is also true. Maybe these things are living, breathing realities. I do not know. But I know what I& #39;m seeing. And I am seeing life begin to mirror art.

6. So, know, then: you are being tested all the time. Your soul must be alerted to the ways and means of Evil. It seeks to subvert, to plant seeds of doubt. The goal is to break you. So you must never lose faith, never despair, and never give in to it.