Please listen to Father Broom's talk on Spiritual Combat
The word of God teaches us that our
life on earth is warfare and the Lord reminds us that if we have decided to
follow the Lord we must be prepared for combat. The Sacrament of Confirmation
strengthens the Gifts of the Holy Spirit within our souls and transforms us
into “Soldiers of Christ” the King. With
the “Cristero” martyrs of Mexico our battle cry must be “Viva Cristo Rey!”—long
live Christ the King.
An important note! The devil exists, has keen intelligence (in a
perverted way), is exceedingly sly and crafty, and is constantly at work and
persistent in his work--- temptations. However, God, Mary, His angels and
saints are far more powerful than the devil!
Two extremes must be avoided with
respect to the devil. These were warnings given by the Servant of God Pope Paul
VI. The first extreme to avoid is to deny that the devil exists. Indeed this is
one of the tactics of the devil. On the other hand, we should never give the
devil too much importance. Individuals, fearful alarmists, speak more of the
power of the devil than of the Omnipotence of God Himself. Let us avoid the two
extremes!
SPIRITUAL WEAPONS TO
CONQUER THE DEVIL!
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| Could you not watch with me one hour? |
VIGILANCE! Stay awake and pray so that you are not put
to the test and overcome by the temptations of the devil. The precise reason
for the Apostles fall, abandoning Jesus in the Garden, was that they were not
vigilant in prayer.
NAME IT AND CLAIM IT! When the temptation breaks it can prove
exceedingly useful to simply admit in a very calm manner, “I am being tempted
by the devil, the enemy of God!” Name
it! Claim it! And then tame it! Discovering
the enemy on the attack is half the battle! Ignorance of the enemy’s presence
can augment his power over us!
AVOID THE NEAR OCCASION OF SIN. Often we are tempted because we place
ourselves in the near occasion of sin. Remember the many proverbs! “Do not play with fire!” and “He who plays in
danger will perish in danger!” again, “He who walks on thin ice will fall
in!” Finally, “He who walks on a
slippery slope will slip and fall!” One
of the reasons why Eve ate from the forbidden fruit was due to the simple
reason that she was near the tree that God told her not to eat from!
STATE OF DESOLATION! While in this state St. Ignatius arms us
with four key weapons: more prayer, more meditation, examine your conscience
(to see why you are in desolation) and finally to apply yourself to some
suitable penance. Some devils are expelled only through prayer and penance!
SACRAMENTALS. The proper use of Sacramentals can prove to
be very efficacious in fighting against the devil, and especially three: the
Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, the medal of Saint Benedict, and finally
HOLY WATER. St Teresa of Avila insists on
using Holy Water to expel the devil from our presence. Why?
The devil is inflated with pride and Holy water is small and
inconspicuous—this the devil hates and cannot endure. Exorcisms have recourse
to holy water!
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| Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, I give You my heart and my soul |
FIERY DARTS THAT PENETRATE THE SKY. When being assaulted by the enemy it is
highly recommended to offer short and
fervent prayers, ejaculations; these can prove exceedingly efficacious in
putting the devil to flight. Some examples of these short but powerful prayers
might be: Jesus I trust in you… Sweet Heart of Mary be my salvation… Lord, save
me… Lord come to my rescue, and of course invoking with faith and confidence
the Holy names of JESUS, MARY, AND SAINT JOSEPH…
REJECT IMMEDIATELY! Part of the problem in spiritual combat is
the lethargic, slow and anemic response to the temptation. God’s grace must
always prevail through the weapon of prayer. Still, we must engage our own will
in manfully and forcefully rejecting the temptation from the start. Frequently
temptations get a stronghold over us because we open up the door and the tail
of the devil enters and it is difficult to kick him out!
LAZINESS. On one occasion in the Diary of St. Faustina
the devil was roaming the corridors frantically looking for somebody to tempt.
St Faustina stopped the devil and told him out of obedience to Jesus to tell
her what was the greatest danger (the devil’s major tool) to conquer the nuns.
Reluctantly the devil responded--- Lazy and indolent souls! All of us have heard the proverb: “Idleness
is the workshop of the devil!” This
means that if we do not have anything to do then the devil will give us a lot
to do.
The great Saint John Bosco mortally feared vacation time for his boys in
the Oratory. Why? Too much free time gives full entrance and game to the devil
in the life of the youth! How often have
we sinned preceded by moments, hours or even days of indolence and
laziness! Our philosophy should be that
of St. Alberto Hurtado, “There are two places to rest: the cemetery and
heaven.” In the present it is time to work out our salvation in fear and
trembling. May St. Benedict’s motto be ours: “ Ora y Labora…”—meaning, “Work and pray!!!”
JESUS IN THE DESERT AS SUPREME
EXAMPLE: HIS THREE WEAPONS! Of course our best example for all is Jesus who
said, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.”
At the end of forty days in the desert, the devil came to tempt Him.
Jesus forcefully and easily conquered the devil by using three weapons that we
must learn to use: prayer, fasting, and the use of the Word of God. Jesus had a prolonged prayer experience in
the desert. Added to that was forty days of fasting; He ate nothing. Finally
the devil tempted Him by using the Word of God; Jesus also used the Word of God
as a sharp arrow to puncture the efforts of Satan. Fervent and prolonged
prayer, constant self-denial, and familiarity with the Word of God, both
meditating on it and putting it into practice are efficacious weapons indeed to
combat and conquer Satan.
OPENNESS TO YOUR SPIRITUAL DIRECTOR. Once again, the Master Saint Ignatius comes
to the rescue! In the 13th Rule of Discernment the saint warns us
that the devil likes secrecy in the sense that if one is in a profound state of
desolation that to open up to a Spiritual Director can conquer the temptation. By clamming up it
is like a cut or wound that is hidden beneath a band aid. Until that wound is
exposed to the sun and a disinfectant the wound not only will not heal but it will
become all the more infected, it will fester and risk the danger of gangrene or
worse yet amputation. Once the
temptation is revealed to an able Spiritual Director it is often
conquered. Overwhelmed by temptation,
doubt and confusion shortly before making her vows, St Therese opened up to her
Novice Mistress and Superior revealing her state of soul. Almost immediately
the temptation disappeared, she made her vows and went on to be one of the
greatest modern saints. What would have
happened to her if following the counsel of the devil she kept her state of
soul secret? Undoubtedly we would not have Saint Therese of Lisieux, Doctor of
the Church.
ST. MICHAEL THE ARCHANGEL. In our battle with Satan we should use all
the weapons in our arsenal. God chose
Saint Michael the Archangel as the faithful angel, the Prince of the Heavenly
Host, to cast into hell Satan and the other rebellious angels. St Michael,
whose name means, “Who is like unto God”, is just as powerful now as he was in
the past. In the midst of the storm of temptations, why not lift up your heart
to St. Michael and call upon him. You
can pray the famous prayer “St. Michael the archangel, defends in battle….” Or
simply beg for his intercession! His
help from the heights of heaven will help you to be victor in your combat with
the devil.
MARY MOST HOLY. As a whole the Mexican people have great
devotion to Mary, especially under the title of Our Lady of Guadalupe. However
in Guadalajara, Mexico, in addition to venerating Mary, Our Lady of Guadalupe
as Patron of Mexico and the Americas, they honor her with another title: “La General del ejercito!”---- meaning that
she is the “General of the Army”. In our
battle against the ancient serpent, Genesis 3:15 honors the woman who crushes
the head of the serpent with her heal. “I will put enmity between you and the woman
and between her offspring and yours; He will strike at your head, while you
strike at his heel.” (Gen. 3:15).
Indeed the ancient serpent the devil can strike out at us with his ugly tongue
and spew out venom, but relying and trusting in Mary, she
will crush his ugly head. Viva Cristo Rey! Viva Maria Reina! Long live Jesus
and Mary!
