The Devil’s Greatest Weapon: Parking Fees

The church that I attend is located in a busy down town. The parking is limited and it is impossible to find free parking. Fortunately, my parish has a deal with a local parking garage that allows parishioners free parking for services. It is a generous offer and we are grateful for their charity. However, the downtown hosts popular events and foot ball games which eliminates the free parking. This places a financial burden on going to mass…

Now, parking charges can range from $10 to $30. Which is manageable as a one time expense, but quickly gets out of hand if it needs to be made weekly. I would not surprise if some people say that they ought to attend mass at a different parish on the busy weekends if not move altogether. The financial burden is small, but is it large enough to keep people away from mass? Could such inconveniences lead to the closing of a parish which had otherwise stood for decades?

The devil has many weapons in this world. It is not surprising that parking fees could be one of them. A change of perspective will help show the ludicrousness of this financial burden. From one angle, you could say paying for $10 parking every week is not manageable and we must find a different parish. Seems reasonable and practical and most people would not fault you for your logic. Let’s flip the script though. Say God’s salvific graces are available once a week for $10 dollars. That going to heaven would necessitate spending $10 a week as a consequence. All of the sudden $10 a week doesn’t sound too bad.

Us Average Catholics must be on the look out for the devil’s ploys. We must not be tricked into thinking the devil uses drama and flair. It is easy to think of horror films and how the devil is portrayed with smoke and brimstone. The devil’s malice is evident and only a fool would agree to associate with the devil. Such a devil would be all too easy to rebuke. No, the devil is much more subtle.

My favorite image of the devil is a polished gentleman in a suit. He has a welcoming smile and puts you at ease. You would be in conversation with him for hours. Before you know it, the gentleman had led you into a trap. He managed to sell you something, agree to something, or deny something which puts you in a worst position. All the while he has a soft voice and a nice smile as he leads your soul to Hell.

When we see parking fees… Yes, it is a burden. Yes, we don’t want to spend that much money. But, in the grand scheme of themes, paying for parking is more than worth the graces found only at the Catholic mass. We can look at all of the inconveniences of going to mass. The incense isn’t right, the music isn’t to your taste, people are talking, don’t want to drive for twenty minutes, and so much more. All of these little burdens are worth bearing for the mass. We must believe this truth to our core. As the bible says, if we can’t be trusted with little things, then we will not be trusted with big things. If we can’t overcome the small inconveniences, then how will we be able to resist true challenges to our faith?