Walking with Wisdom: Spiritual Battle and the of Spirits

Presentation by: Sr. Sara, SCTJM What is this about?

• How do I hear God’s voice? How do I distinguish between the other voices? How do I know what God wants for my life? In this moments and long term? • When I know what he wants, how do I follow it, given it is so difficult and there are so many obstacles? • First 3 weeks – sources of concupiscence • Last 2 weeks – discernment, how to hear God, make choices with wisdom Sources of •Concupiscence – attraction/inclination to sin Concupiscence – •The Devil, the Flesh and the World what are they Ephesians 2:1-3 “And you he made alive, when you were dead through the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience. Among these we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, following the desires of body and mind, and so we were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ.” Perfect for lent

Prayer Relationship Devil with God Fasting Relationship Flesh with Self Almsgiving Relationship World with Others Freedom

•This is always the goal •40 years in the desert •Prayer, fasting, almsgiving – antidotes to slavery we find ourselves in • Greatest trick devil ever played is convincing people The Devil – he doesn’t exist. • CCC 2851 - In this petition [deliver us from evil], evil Do we is not an abstraction, but refers to a person, Satan, the Evil One, the who opposes God. The devil (dia- realize we bolos) is the one who "throws himself across" God's plan and his work of salvation accomplished in Christ. have an • 1 Peter 5:8-9 – “Be sober and vigilant. Your opponent the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion looking enemy? for [someone] to devour. Resist him, steadfast in faith…” Do we realize we are in a battle?

• Eph 6:10-12 – “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we are not contending against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” We must be well trained

•1 Tim 4:7-8 – “Train yourself in godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.” “The battle against the devil, which is the principal task of St. the Archangel, is still being fought today, because the devil is still alive and active in the world. The evil that surrounds us today, the disorders that plague our society, man’s inconsistency and brokenness, are not only the results of original sin, but also the result of Satan’s pervasive and dark action.” (JPII, May 24, 1987) •“He who is not with me is against me.” (Matt 12:30) Decision time – •“Spiritual warfare is the battle between Good whose side are and Evil in all forms. The battle ground is human souls. As Solzhenitsyn says, the line that we on? divides Good and Evil runs not between nations or parties or physical armies but right down the middle of every human soul.” (Kreeft, #97) Who is Satan?

• An angel • Created good • "The devil and the other demons were indeed created naturally good by God, but they became evil by their own doing." (CCC 391) • Fell by free choice: “This "fall" consists in the free choice of these created spirits, who radically and irrevocably rejected God and his reign” (CCC 392) •Extraordinary activity •External pain, oppression, obsession, infestation, possession, satanic Methods pasts/consecrations •Ordinary activities •Temptation to sin •Sin is ultimately all that can hurt us His tactics - How •Be prepared •Be on the offensive, does he operate? not the defensive • “He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in truth, because there is no truth in him. When he tells a lie, he speaks in character, because he is a liar and the father of lies.” (John A liar 8:44) • ”You will not die…” • False promises – “You will be like God…” • Lies about the state of our souls • Sin blinds us “It is characteristic of any decaying civilization that the great masses of the people are unaware of the tragedy. Humanity in a crisis is generally insensitive to the gravity of the times in which it lives. Men do not want to believe that their own times are wicked, partly because they have no standard outside of themselves by which to measure their times. If there is no fixed concept of justice, how shall men know it is violated? Only those who live by faith really know what is happening in the world; the great masses without faith are unconscious of the destructive processes going on, because they have lost the of the heights from which they have fallen." (Fulton Sheen) • A wolf in sheep’s clothing • Disguised as an “angel of light” • Must know the Gospel to be able to distinguish true from the false • “But his fruits are always seen: does not agree with the sound A liar cont… words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the religious teaching; have a morbid disposition for arguments and verbal disputes. From these come envy, rivalry, insults, evil suspicions, and mutual friction among people with corrupted minds, who are deprived of the truth; foolish and harmful desires, which plunge them into ruin and destruction (1 Tim 6) •”Did God really say?” Arouses doubt •Root of every sin – mistrust in God’s goodness •With something attractive (the apple) •Gain a good through illicit means Entices us •Disobedience – so you can get what you want. • A lion looking to attack • Patient, subtle and conniving • Goes after our weaknesses A predator • Need to know them • Need to protect them who provokes • Need to heal them • Confession brings both self-knowledge and healing •Rev 12:10 - “For the accuser of our brothers is cast out, who accuses them before our God day An accuser and night.” •Incites us to despair, “A greater sin than any of the sins that provoke it.” CS Lewis Cause of division

Diabolic means “to divide” Causes Distraction

• Part of causing • Distracts from prayer by: • Think about self division • Make excuses and justify why we • Keeps us off God’s don’t pray • Focus on superficial things ”home court” – our • Fantasy, imagination, day-dream heart and conscience • Virtue in ourselves, vices in others • Worry about past or future “Murderer from the beginning” “We are now standing in the face of the greatest historical confrontation humanity has gone through. I do not think that wide circles of the American society or wide circles of the Christian community realize this fully. We are now facing the final confrontation between the Church and the anti-Church, of the Gospel versus the anti-Gospel. This confrontation lies within the plans of divine Providence; it is a trial which the whole Church ... must take up.” (Karol Wojtyla, 1976 Farewell Address in United States) Victory is ours

• James 4:7-8 – “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and he will draw near to you.” • Must have the right weapons: • Sacraments • Prayer, Scripture • Worship and praise • Fasting • Sacramentals Our “secret” weapon

• “Modern times are dominated by satan, and this will grow in the future. The conflict with hell cannot be embraced by men, not even the most intelligent. Only the Immaculate, the Virgin Mother, has the promise, given by God, of victory over satan.” (St. Maximilian Kolbe) • From the beginning has been in enmity (Gen 3:15) • “She was prepared for the battle, and this is why She was preserved and conceived Immaculate. In Her, there could not have been the slightest stain of sin because then She would not have been able to be in total opposition and enmity against Satan… She is full of grace because it is only in this manner that She could be the enemy of the devil who is the Father of sin and darkness.” (Mother Adela, Foundress SCTJM) Why satan hates Mary

1. She is Immaculate 2. She is the Bearer of Light – Jesus 3. She is the response to Satan’s rebellion 4. She took part, in a singular way, in the redemptive work of Christ Our Lady - Our refuge and protector

•“Hide” in her womb and Heart •Teaches us how to be wise, aware, faithful, vigilant •Leads us to her Son for victory •She is the Queen! St. john Paul II

‘The victory, if it comes, will come through Mary.’ During my pastoral ministry in Poland, I saw for myself how those words were coming true. After my election as Pope, as I became more involved in the problems of the universal Church, I came to have a similar conviction: On this universal level, if victory comes it will be brought by Mary. Christ will conquer through her, because He wants the Church's victories now and in the future to be linked to her.” Seeking sanctity

•“The Kingdom of heaven will be taken by violence” •Are we ready to go into battle? •We must be SAINTS Mother Adela

“The Virgin Mary spoke to us in Fatima of a great battle that we face against satan and his demons in these times. The Holy Father has called this battle the “culture of death”… In Fatima, the Blessed Virgin Mary left us a promise: “In the end, my Immaculate Heart will triumph.” If She speaks of triumph, this implies that there is a battle that needs to be fought. The instrument of this victory will be the Immaculate Heart. As St. Maximilian said, “Only the Immaculate, the Virgin Mary, has the promise given by God of the victory over satan… It will triumph, however, if within her Heart we allow ourselves to be transformed for this triumph, if we allow ourselves to be directed by her, to make of each battle that we face, of each difficulty that we confront, of each sickness that overcomes us, of each economic crisis that asphyxiates us, of each family situation or crisis that pierces our hearts, yes, of each battle- if we allow Her to teach us with Immaculate wisdom to give to God a great triumph. That is what is meant with, “At the end my Immaculate Heart will triumph:” that at the end of each one of our arduous and painful battles, we make room in our hearts for God, so that the potency of His Love directs all our options, all our paths, all our thoughts and feelings, to give to God, to His Grace, to His Mercy to His Love, a greater triumph.” Presentation made by: Sr. Sara Kowal, SCTJM Copyright: SCTJM Not to be used without permission