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St. Michael decided to take a leisurely stroll after making his usual rounds in Heaven and making sure that its pearly gates were shiny and sturdy. He found St. Peter busy with the books containing the names of those who were going to Heaven.
"So how have things been lately, Peter?" Michael asked.
"Pretty much the same, except for the last batch of businessmen and lawyers who died in a plane crash. Providence had it that there was a priest in the plane who gave them the general absolution."
"Wow! God truly has his ways of wanting all men to be saved!" Michael remarked. "Oh, did the priest come in too?" He was just a bit curious.
"Nope," Peter said and then added, "Actually, he survived the crash."
?He must still have a lot of work to do down there. I can see how his guardian angels must have been working overtime too," the archangel said.
?Where are you headed for, Michael?" Peter asked.
"Oh, just to take a stroll. Perhaps, I can catch Lucifer up to some mischief."
"I don't think you have to go too far," Peter said, "I just spied him around the corner brooding."
"What!" Michael said surprised. "That's strange! Shouldn't he be working harder considering that his time is almost up?"
"I really don't know. I tried pulling his tail, but he didn't say anything. Why don't you ask him yourself?" Peter suggested.
Michael went over to where the devil was. He was exactly as Peter said he was. Satan had a glum expression on his face that Michael had never seen before.
?Hey, Lucifer, what's up? Shouldn't you be down there rather than siting around here?"
"Oh, what I would give to do just that," he sneered.
"Hey, that doesn't sound like you?"
"I'm bored with how things are turning up down there."
"Bored?" Michael asked. "Isn't that something humans are fond of saying?"
"Yup, but it looks like that much of my work down there is pretty covered. I guess it was an oversight of ours that we planned way too ahead of time that now most of us are out of commission in tempting people to gravely sin and go to hell."
"What makes you say that?" The angel was quite suspicious at this strange remark, wondering what trick the devil might pull on him.
"I'm serious," Lucifer said. "Take the Internet. We don't even have to tempt both young and old to log into bad sites. They're just a click away and the pop-ups do most of the work for us. So I just redeployed the rest of the boys to try and distract people during Sunday and prayer services."
?Oh, I see," said Michael. He realized the devil had a point.
"Then there are the movies on television, cable and the Internet," the devil chuckled with delight. It's not only the bad ones, but all sorts of films that people watch indiscriminately and find themselves not even having time for prayer, the family and serving the needy."
"But..." Michael tried to interrupt him but Lucifer wasn't paying attention.
?And if people aren't hooked to their computers or TV sets, portable gadgets, laptops, and tablets are now effective mobile occasions of sin. So you see, we're pretty much 'unemployed,? I guess when all of this is over, we will just have to enjoy harvest time."
"But is that the real reason you're just sulking around here?" Michael inquired.
"Well, I was actually lying when I said I was bored," Lucifer confessed.
"That's really nothing new to you, being the father of lies," Michael snapped. "So what would be the real reason you're here?"
"More than bored, I'm quite frustrated because even though we've literally tried to tempt every pore in man to sin, he still manages to get around his sins by going to confession," the devil snarled disgustedly. "Why can't humans be bored with going to Confession, attending Mass and offering penance? Couldn't they just stick to their sins?"
"Man's freedom to choose between doing good or bad has always been a mystery to me," Michael said. "One thing I can say though is that he realizes he can never be happy sinning and something inside of him will always make him return to God, because he is aware that only God can forgive sins."
"That's unfair!" the devil screamed. "Why doesn't God just leave things as they are, and not help man?"
"That's where you're mistaken, Lucifer," Michael corrected him. "In the end, it still rests on man to freely choose his eternal destiny. God never forces man to love Him, but neither will He refuse His mercy to anyone who comes to Him saying sincerely that he's sorry."
Lucifer didn't say anything. His face reddened with fury and he disappeared.
* * *
"Be sober, be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experience of suffering is required of your brotherhood throughout the world." (1 Pt. 5:8-9)
