Spiritual Warfare

Rom 7:21

Romans 7:20–21 NABRE

Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. So, then, I discover the principle that when I want to do right, evil is at hand.

Lk 22:35

New American Bible: Revised Edition Chapter 22

Instructions for the Time of Crisis. 35 He said to them, “When I sent you forth without a money bag or a sack or sandals, were you in need of anything?” “No, nothing,” they replied. 36 He said to them, “But now one who has a money bag should take it, and likewise a sack, and one who does not have a sword should sell his cloak and buy one.

A sword… from Romeo and Juliet

TYBALT What, art thou drawn among these heartless hinds? Turn thee, Benvolio; look upon thy death. BENVOLIO I do but keep the peace. Put up thy sword, 70 Or manage it to part these men with me. TYBALT What, drawn and talk of peace? I hate the word As I hate hell, all Montagues, and thee. Have at thee, coward! ⌜They fight.⌝

Gospel Lk 11:15-26

When Jesus had driven out a demon, some of the crowd said: “By the power of Beelzebul, the prince of demons, he drives out demons.” Others, to test him, asked him for a sign from heaven. But he knew their thoughts and said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste and house will fall against house. And if Satan is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say that it is by Beelzebul that I drive out demons. If I, then, drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your own people drive them out? Therefore they will be your judges. But if it is by the finger of God that I drive out demons, then the Kingdom of God has come upon you. When a strong man fully armed guards his palace, his possessions are safe. But when one stronger than he attacks and overcomes him, he takes away the armor on which he relied and distributes the spoils. Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters. “When an unclean spirit goes out of someone, it roams through arid regions searching for rest but, finding none, it says, ‘I shall return to my home from which I came.’ But upon returning, it finds it swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and brings back seven other spirits more wicked than itself who move in and dwell there, and the last condition of that man is worse than the first.”

My friend recently said, “we’ve conquered nature, we don’t need swords anymore outside…but what about where we aren’t safe? Online? in our hearts?”

So what are the swords that we carry with us?

St. Athanasius/St. Anthony

St. Athanasius writes that when people would visit St. Anthony at his desert home, “they heard tumults, many voices, and, as it were, the clash of arms. At night they saw the mountain become full of wild beasts, and him also fighting as though against visible beings, and praying against them.”

In one story, St. Anthony felt called to spend a night alone in a large tomb. Once he arrived, a huge group of demons descended upon him and attacked his body. The devil “so cut him with stripes that he lay on the ground speechless from the excessive pain. For he affirmed that the torture had been so excessive that no blows inflicted by man could ever have caused him such torment.”

St. Anthony called out, “Here am I, Antony; I flee not from your stripes, for even if you inflict more nothing shall separate me from the love of Christ.”

The demons returned, and here’s how St. Athanasius describes what happened next:

Suddenly, the roof opened up and a bright light filled the tomb. The demons vanished and his pain ceased. Realizing that God had saved him, he prayed, “Where were you? Why did you not appear at the beginning to make my pains to cease?”

And God replied to him: “Antony, I was here, but I waited to see your fight; since you have endured, and have not been beaten, I will ever be a succor to you, and will make your name known everywhere.”

St. Therese of Lisieux

St. Thérèse of Lisieux records in her autobiography, Story of a Soul, an interesting story from her early childhood. She writes about a dream she had when she was around three or four years old that involves two little devils.

I remember a dream I had at that age, which left a very deep impression: I was walking alone in the garden when suddenly I saw two horrible little devils near the arbor, dancing on a barrel of lime with amazing agility, in spite of having heavy irons on their feet. They looked at me with flaming eyes, then, as if overcome by fear, threw themselves in the twinkling of an eye to the bottom of the barrel. They escaped in some mysterious way and ran off to hide in the linen room, which opens onto the garden. When I saw how cowardly they were, I put my fears aside and went over to the window to see what they were up to. There the little wretches were, running round and round the table, and not knowing how to escape my gaze. From time to time they came nearer, still very agitated, to peep through the window; then, when they saw I was still there, they began racing about again in abject misery.

St. Thérèse never really understood the dream until later on in life, when its meaning became clear. She explains, “I do not suppose this dream was very extraordinary, but I do think God made use of it to show me that a soul in the state of grace need never be afraid of the devil, who is such a coward that even the gaze of a child will frighten him away.”

Joseph & Mary

https://youtu.be/5TtOyknCRko?si=K0JilWufRo3ga9pL&t=1060

“Picture of St. Joseph and the Pagan gods falling.”

St. Bartholomew

Then the apostle answered: Confess, unclean demon, who is it that has injured all those that are lying here from heavy diseases? The demon answered: The devil, our ruler, he who is bound, he sends us against men, that, having first injured their bodies, we may thus also make an assault upon their souls when they sacrifice to us. For then we have complete power over them, when they believe in us and sacrifice to us. And when, on account of the mischief done to them, we retire, we appear curing them, and are worshipped by them as gods; but in truth we are demons, and the servants of him who was crucified, the Son of the virgin, have bound us. For from that day on which the Apostle Bartholomew came I am punished, kept bound in chains of fire. And for this reason I speak, because he has commanded me. At the same time, I dare not utter more when the apostle is present, neither I nor our rulers.

The apostle says to him: Why do you not save all that have come to you? The demon says to him: When we injure their bodies, unless we first injure their souls, we do not let their bodies go. The apostle says to him: And how do you injure their souls? The demon answered him: When they believe that we are gods, and sacrifice to us, God withdraws from those who sacrifice, and we do not take away the sufferings of their bodies, but retire into their souls.

Then the apostle says to the people: Behold, the god whom you thought to cure you, does the more mischief to your souls and bodies. Hear even now your Maker who dwells in the heavens, and do not believe in lifeless stones and stocks. And if you wish that I should pray for you, and that all these may receive health, take down this idol, and break it to pieces; and when you have done this, I will sanctify this temple in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; and having baptized all of you who are in it in the baptism of the Lord, and sanctified you, I will save all.

Then the king gave orders, and all the people brought ropes and crowbars, and were not at all able to take down the idol. Then the apostle says to them: Unfasten the ropes. And when they had unfastened them, he said to the demondwelling in it: In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, come out of this idol, and go into a desert place, where neither winged creature utters a cry, nor voice of man has ever been heard. And straightway he arose at the word of the apostle, and lifted it up from its foundations; and in that same hour all the idols that were in that place were broken to pieces...

Source. Translated by Alexander Walker. From Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 8. Edited by Alexander Roberts, James Donaldson, and A. Cleveland Coxe. (Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1886.) Revised and edited for New Advent by Kevin Knight. <http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0825.htm>.

St. Michael

http://stpetersbasilica.info/Altars/StMichaelArchangel/StMichaelArchangel.htm

Rev 12

A dream story: An Catholic woman, not yet married in the Church was scrolling through Instagram. She found a weird post/picture by her cousin. She saw someone liked it. She clicked on the profile of the person, she saw two women on a bed in lingerie. At that moment of beginning to scroll through more of the posts in shock, in curiosity, the son, who doesn’t make stuff up, “Mama! I just saw a shadow figure fly past you and out the wall!” “Quick, lets pray the St. Michael Prayer!” “I see a big pure white guy with big wings, a sword and a shield.”

Conclusion

The Spirit of the Air: Eph. 2 1You were dead through the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once lived, following the course of this world, following the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work among those who are disobedient. 3 All of us once lived among them in the passions of our flesh, following the desires of flesh and senses, and we were by nature children of wrath, like everyone else. 4 But God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us

We can get all fascinated with the machinations of Spiritual Warfare. But you don’t actually have to see everything in order to be in the fight. “Blessed are those who believe and have not seen!” The Exorcists are telling their stories, and yet, we know that we live in this war and receive pricks and consolations from devil and from our guardian angels.

St. Paul said:

Ephesians 6:12 NABRE

For our struggle is not with flesh and blood but with the principalities, with the powers, with the world rulers of this present darkness, with the evil spirits in the heavens.

Jesus said: This kind of demon can only be cast out by much prayer (Mk 9:29)…This kind of demon can only be cast out by prayer and fasting (Mt 17:21)