Category: Spiritual Warfare

Friar’s Corner: Safe haven in Jesus’ love

It seems to some of us that the coming election is critical for the survival of our country. It is almost as if we are headed into a civil war. There has been an ongoing battle between good and evil, God’s love and light and satan’s evils. Catholic Canon Law speaks about the option between two forces, choosing the lesser of two evils. We may not like many things on either side. Which one would provide the best way forward?

Friars Corner: Be a Living Sacrifice

“St. Michael the Archangel, illustrious leader of the heavenly army, defend us in the battle against principalities and powers, against the rulers of the world of darkness and the spirits of wickedness in high places. Come to the rescue of mankind, whom God has made in His own image and likeness, and purchase from Satan’s tyranny at so great a price. Holy Church venerates you as her patron and guardian. The Lord has entrusted to you the task of leading the souls of the redeemed to heavenly blessedness. Entreat the Lord of peace to cast Satan down under our feet, so as to keep him from further holding humans captive and doing harm to God’s Church. Carry our prayers up to God’s throne, that the mercy of the Lord may quickly come and lay hold of the beast, the serpent of old, Satan and his demons, casting them in chains into the abyss, so that they can no longer seduce the nations.”

Friar’s Corner: Fighting the evil spirits around us

We could call events these days at least as a double-layered early storm. We have the physical story of the Covid virus and the political movement toward our November elections. I won’t sidestep today’s gospel of  a Canaanite mother whose daughter is “tormented by a demon.” There are levels of demonic activity. Oppression deals with a person experiencing normal attacks by evil spirits. Obsession deals with evil spirits to create severe disturbances and blockage in a particular area of a person. God will not let evil spirits completely take over every area of a person’s life. They may hamper certain areas. We think of temptations, harassment, obsession or possession of certain areas of a person’s life.

The Rustle of Fear

“To him who is in fear it seems as if everything around him rustles.” — Sophocles (497 BC)
What are we noticing now that was in plain sight all along? Do we sense the rustling of poverty, sickness, loneliness and death? Haven’t these been around us all our lives? We look at how the world around us is changing – and not for the better.  It’s is all too easy to be afraid of what we didn’t notice on Ash Wednesday when we determined our disciplines for what became the Longest Lent.
The rustlings draw louder as fear threatens to consume us, We know we don’t have the confidence and wisdom to deal with its demands on our own. How do we sort out what we must accept, what action we are called to carry out, and what we must leave to providence? And I don’t mean denying and ignoring the needs we find all around us.
The fact we find hard to accept is that we can choose victory over fear in trusting Jesus by surrendering to his will and staying open each moment to his presence when victimhood is rustling around us.

The Friar's Corner

Friar’s Corner: New life with Jesus

For much of the world, those connected to the electronic world, we are in shock. For the northern part of our planet with all of our science and medical technology, we are still baffled. Most of the media is focused on the virus, its symptoms and effects and not having a remedy to eliminate it and bring us back to where we were a few months ago.
Returning to where we were is not going to happen. For those more spiritually-minded this is God’s wake-up call to the whole world. He had to do this because many are trying to throw God out of their lives. They don’t want his love and mercy. They don’t want to really love and help others.

Catholic Mom: Plagues, Facebook and Hope

Nancy Ward quotes C. S. Lewis: “If we thought we were building up a heaven on earth, if we looked for something that would turn the present world from a place of pilgrimage into a permanent city satisfying the soul of man, we are disillusioned, and not a moment too soon.” She responds that “C.S. Lewis’ approach to facing hardship shifted my concern from preparing as best I could for shortages and remaining vigilant in protecting my health to thanking God for the lessons he is teaching me to draw me closer to him this Lent of surprises.”