On March 20, id Software released the much-anticipated, first-person shooter video game Doom Eternal. This is the sequel to the critically acclaimed remake of Doom released in 2016. Much like its predecessor, Doom Eternal has been overall well received by critics and fans alike.
The premise of the game is simple. Someone has opened a portal to Hell, and a wide variety of demons are wreaking havoc on Earth. You play as the Doomslayer (also known as Doom Guy,) and your job is to “rip and tear” through this demonic hoard until Earth is saved.
As you could probably guess, Doom Eternal indulges in cathartic violence and gore. The visceral demon-slaying is conveyed through over-the-top executions called “glory kills,” and Doom Guy brings a storm of bullets wherever he walks. When the guns run dry, you can always resort to a chainsaw, flamethrower, or punching. The game’s difficulty brings high stakes and tension, while the fast pace and polished mechanics make the player feel like a destroyer of worlds.
The message is clear: demons fear the Doomslayer. He is a walking army, capable of bashing skulls with his fist. At first, it seems like this insane video game is the antithesis of what a Catholic article should be about. The game contains enough heavy metal, pentagrams, and hellish beasts to put your average church lady into shock. However, in real life, there is a figure that terrifies Hell more than Doom Guy.
When praying the Litany of St. Joseph, we read his titles, asking for his intercession. These are names like “model of workmen” due to his carpentry and “guardian of virgins” as Mary’s husband. However, what relates St. Joseph to Doom Eternal is his epithet “terror of demons.” It catches one’s attention more than the other attributes. Saint Joseph is portrayed as a carpenter and a husband. How does he bring dread to the frightful creatures of Hell?
It should be noted that actual demons are quite different from the ones Doomslayer fights. In reality, they are immaterial fallen angels and servants of Satan, not mindless beasts. They are pure intellect, and that intellect is devoted to causing a person to sin. This makes them even more terrifying than the creatures of Doom Eternal. You cannot fight demons with shotguns or fists. Their war is entirely psychological, causing you to become your own enemy by their subtle influence on the vulnerabilities of your will.
Therefore, fighting demons requires an entirely different set of weapons—weapons St. Joseph wields deftly. These are humility, perseverance, and faith. As the Incarnation took place, Hell would not stay quiet. There must have been forces telling Joseph to abandon Mary. He could have still divorced her quietly. Yet, he always heeded the angel’s words because he was “a righteous man” (Mat. 1:19).
His quiet obedience is what demons despise. If he were an imposing figure, they could tempt him with pride. Yet, his humility denied demons the ability to grab hold of his will. St. Joseph then attacked the demons by raising Jesus. He fled for Egypt and persevered in raising a child whom no one could understand. There must have been times of confusion, of bewilderment, that his adopted son could be so wise and powerful. Still, he raised Jesus and taught him, all to accomplish God’s saving plan. Joseph’s faith in God is infused in all of his actions. We don’t hear much about St. Joseph in Scripture, but if he even had half the faith of his wife, Mary, he was a man of superhuman virtue.
St. Joseph is the guardian of the Holy Family. Upon seeing whom God appointed as Jesus’ earthly father, demons were left hopeless and frightened because their grip on humanity was doomed. St. Joseph accomplished something the Doomslayer couldn’t even fathom. He put terror in demons not through violence, but through virtue. By raising Jesus, St. Joseph participates in the ultimate defeat of Hell. Doom Guy will always be fighting monsters in his world, but St. Joseph reveals that the real war is already won.
Image courtesy of Wikimedia.
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