Spiritual warfare

I read a headline just the other day where Father Sosa, the Jesuit Superior General in South America has been preaching that Satan is not a real person but more of an idea, even though it’s in the Bible, the Catholic Church has always maintained it, and Pope Francis (who was also a Jesuit) just reiterated this spring, that Satan is real and active. Lord have mercy on this man.

So I have to say, DON’T BE DECEIVED like this man! The devil and his army of fallen angels are very real and active. I know from personal experience.

One day when we were newlyweds, my husband and I went looking for a movie to watch, but the selection at the theater was slim. (This was before the days of internet streaming, DVDs or even VHS video tapes) The movie was “The Omen”, and the marquee said, “You have been warned”. Well, if I had been warned about what was in this movie I would never have gone in the theater in the first place. But I did. The story was all about Damien, a little boy, the son of the devil with a 666 tattoo on his scalp, who set about killing off everybody around him in horribly graphic ways. The producers sprinkled in just enough out-of-context scripture quotes from the book of Revelation to make it sound legitimate. I hated it, and the only reason I didn’t get up and leave in the middle of the film was I wanted to see good prevail at the end of the show. But it didn’t. At the end Damien won. Furthermore, in the following years, the little devil went on to make two sequels before he met his end at the hand of an angel. I’m told this by people who have watched it, because I never did. In fact, after I watched this film, I—who was once an avid fan of horror movies—I never watched another one. I even stopped reading Stephen King novels for the same reason. It was just not worth the nightmares.

In the days following that, I was haunted by what I saw and disturbed in my thoughts. Nobody could prevail against this devil child—not even the priest. That really bothered me and I started having recurring nightmares and depression set in. Was it possible that the devil was stronger than God?

Then one morning I remember sitting in the kitchen with my morning tea and at that point I decided I’d had enough. I said out loud, “This is ridiculous. I’m going to go and talk to a priest about this.” And as soon as I said that—that instant—the oppression was lifted and I felt better. It was tangible, like what you would feel if you entered an air-conditioned building after being outside in 100 degree humidity. It was as though I’d been walking around with an invisible weight that was suddenly lifted. That’s when I knew that I had been under attack from an oppressive spirit. I learned a real lesson that day. Satan is real but he is NOT stronger than God.

Submit yourselves to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.—James 4:7-8

There is great power in the name of Jesus. Demons will flee if you invoke His name. One night I was awakened about 2 in the morning by a feeling of hatred coming at me from all around. It wasn’t my husband (he was sound asleep). But it was in the air. I sat up, angry, and I said, “Begone, in the name of Jesus,” and it did. It was not my imagination because the next day at work a friend and neighbor I worked with told me in the break room that she had experienced the same thing the same night at about the same time. She also had the sense to call upon Jesus for help.

Trust in Jesus. I listened to a Vatican exorcist (Father Ripperger) once telling an audience that the way movies portray priests trembling with fear in anticipation of going in to do an exorcism is false. It is the demon who is trembling—not because of the exorcist himself—but of who he brings with him, and that’s Jesus. He’s the 300-pound gorilla who’s about to give the demon a thrashing. And the demon knows it and trembles.

You belong to God, children, and you have conquered them (spirits of the anti-Christ), for the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.—1 John 4:4

There is an adage that whatever you focus on, you expand. (You know how you can start out intending to just clean out a drawer and before you realize it, you’ve reorganized the entire closet?)

So stay away from movies that glorify evil. Don’tread soft-pornography disguised as romance. The powers of evil can use these memories against you. Read the Bible regularly. Fill your hears with holy music, fill your eyes with whatever is praise-worthy, good and noble. Don’t give that old devil any foothold on you.

Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things…Then the God of peace will be with you.—Philippians 4:8, 9-b.