Catholic Ace

Let us help you increase in wisdom, knowledge and understanding of Sacred Scripture.

3 Divine Lights in the Realm of Spiritual Warfare

Spiritual Warfare / by

There is much to be learned in the realm of Catholic spiritual warfare these days. There is simply too much at stake – our souls – not to want to learn as much as we can about the Catholic faith and all the spiritual warfare that goes along with being a disciple of Jesus Christ.

Just the other day, I listened to Fr. Chris Alar of the Marian Fathers give an excellent presentation about spiritual warfare. Fr. Alar mentioned that spiritual warfare is simply about fighting ordinary temptations and living out the Gospels.

We are all probably aware of what type of temptations and influences we may have to deal with in our lives, and there are plenty of them to go around for all of us. Ordinary temptation is the devil’s primary weapon to deceive souls into abandoning God.

“There are more victims of Satan’s ordinary action than of his extraordinary action.” – Fr. Gabriele Amorth (2016), Former Chief Exorcist of Rome

In regards to Fr. Alar’s description about spiritual warfare, I think the question we might want to ask ourselves is this:

How well do we really know the Gospels?

Example –

When the soldiers had crucified Jesus they took his garments and made four parts, one for each soldier; also his tunic. But the tunic was without seam, woven from top to bottom; so they said to one another, “Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see whose it shall be.” John 19: 23:24a

What does the seamless tunic of Jesus symbolize?

  • A) Unity of the Church
  • B) Factions within the Church
  • C) Schisms within the Church
  • D) Divisions of churches in protest of the Church

Answer: The seamless tunic which the soldiers do not tear (v.24) symbolizes the unity of the Church, the unity for which Jesus asked the Father during his priestly prayer (see John 17:20-26) Source: The Navarre Bible – New Testament

There is much to be learned from the four Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.  If you get a good Catholic Study Bible, you will find that there is a tremendous amount of helpful information in them to read, unpack and prayerfully consider, and the Gospel verses should be meditated on and contemplated in mental prayer.

Learning about Jesus helps us to be more like Him in faith, hope and love. Jesus will help us in the ongoing battle of spiritual warfare against the devil and his demons.

Training in Righteousness

Formation in Christ is all-important. Here are my favorite Catholic Study Bibles:

  • Ignatius New Testament Study Bible
  • The Didache Bible
  • The Navarre Bible
  • The Little Rock Study Bible
  • The Douay & Rheims Haydock Bible
  • The Great Adventure Study Bible

Catholic Spiritual Warfare Experts

You can also learn a lot about spiritual warfare by listening to the experts and reading their books. Here are the spiritual warfare experts that have helped me with my own journey of spiritual formation. May God bless them for their ministry.

The first three priests mentioned above are exorcists, but do not let the word exorcist scare you. These ordained priests called by God will teach you how to fight the good fight. They know spiritual warfare because they are on the front lines in their ministry doing their best to deliver afflicted families and people from the evil one.

The seventy[-two] returned rejoicing, and said, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us because of your name.” Luke 10:17

Those exorcists, their assistants, and spiritual warfare experts, their lives are ones of intense spiritual warfare. I think they would all tell you that each in their own way.

Christ the Divine Warrior +

When one thinks about spiritual warfare, exorcists, etc. one may be inclined to think about the devil and diabolical influences. That is, without question, the enemy. But if you look more closely at the very center of spiritual warfare, I think what you are going to find is the Divine warrior Jesus staring right through you.

…the eyes of the Lord, ten thousand times brighter than the sun, Observe every step taken and peer into hidden corners. Sirach 23:19b

He shall take his zeal for armor and arm creation to requite the enemy, Shall put on righteousness for a breastplate, wear sure judgment for a helmet, Shall take invincible holiness for a shield, and sharpen his sudden anger for a sword. The universe will war with him against the foolhardy Wisdom 5:17-20

God is the God of the Old and New Testaments. The New Testament fulfills the Old Testament. Christ is at the very center of the Gospels of the New Testament, and He longs to be at the very center of our lives. This is the opposite of what the devil wants.

And even though our gospel is veiled, it is veiled for those who are perishing, in whose case the god of this age has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, so that they may not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 2 Corinthians 4:3-4

The best combat strategy in spiritual warfare is to live a Christ centered life and fight the battle for souls along with Him. So let’s gear up for the battle!

  • Combat temptations and fears with full confidence in God.
  • Apply relentless study of the Gospels in your life.
  • Live out the Gospels by living a devout and sacramental life in Christ.

“Christ is the eternal splendor enlightening our minds and hearts.” – St. Ambrose

3 Divine Lights in Spiritual Warfare

Through the many hours of listening about spiritual warfare, related topics, and the books I have read that are written by and about spiritual warfare experts, I noted there are three (3) Divine characteristics that are often discussed again and again, and this is what I would like to call the 3 Divine lights in the realm of Catholic spiritual warfare.

I call them Divine lights because they have been given to us by God for the battle.

All good giving and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights…James 1:17

Everything about Jesus is Divine and amazing. Let us greet Him everyday.

Immediately on seeing Him, the whole crowd was utterly amazed. They ran up to Him and greeted Him. Mark 9:15

You might keep these 3 Divine lights in mind in your own spiritual warfare. Let them be guiding lights for you and your family to help lead you to heaven.

Divine Light #1: God’s Grace

And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us, and we saw his glory, the glory as of the Father’s only Son, full of grace and truth. John 1:14

Grace might sound like a cliché word when it comes to our faith, but do not be deceived. Grace is like the spiritual life-blood from God we need for union with Him.

CCC 1997 Grace is a participation in the life of God. It introduces us into the intimacy of Trinitarian life: by Baptism the Christian participates in the grace of Christ, the Head of his Body. As an “adopted son” he can henceforth call God “Father,” in union with the only Son. He receives the life of the Spirit who breathes charity into him and who forms the Church.

When we pray the traditional Angelus prayer, we conclude the prayer by making a petition for God’s grace (the Divine life) to be poured in our hearts. The demons will do all they can to keep God’s grace from flowing in your life and in your family.

Divine Light #2: God’s Authority

Jesus summoned the Twelve and began to send them out two by two and gave them authority over unclean spirits. Mark 6:7

There is a hierarchy and an order God has established in the universe, and we are in it. I really had not considered this until I started studying Catholic spiritual warfare.

Example – think about the nine choirs of angels. There are nine different ranks of angels, the highest rank being the Seraphim, the ones who minister to God in heaven.

Despite all their glory and strength, there is one thing that a Seraphim does not have the power to do or even St. Michael the Archangel himself cannot do, but a Catholic priest has been given the power and authority by God to do:

The Catholic priest has been given authority by Christ to absolve us from our sins.

Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained. John 20:23

Absolution from sin is crucial in Catholic spiritual warfare. If you want to participate in the Divine life, repentance and absolution from sin, especially mortal sin, is a must.

CCC 1444 In imparting to his apostles his own power to forgive sins the Lord also gives them the authority to reconcile sinners with the Church…

Without repentance and absolution from our sins, we will never receive the flow of sanctifying grace God wishes to give us, and it may even prevent eternal salvation.

Divine Light #3: God’s Protection

But the righteous live forever, and in the LORD is their recompense, and the thought of them is with the Most High.

Therefore shall they receive the splendid crown, the beautiful diadem, from the hand of the LORD, For he will shelter them with his right hand, and protect them with his arm. Wisdom 5:15-16

Learning how to be better protected and delivered from evil in this life-long battle has been life changing. It’s somewhat like learning how to play a sport. You have to learn how to keep the other team from scoring points on you. The demons will attempt to drag you and your family down as much as God will allow.

Here are some effective ways to spiritually protect yourself and your family in Christ:

Please see a previous post here about spiritual protection from the diabolic.

RECAP

Here are 3 Divine lights given to us by God in the realm of Catholic spiritual warfare:

  • Grace
  • Authority
  • Protection

Learn about how to make the most of these “Divine lights” to help combat the darkness that battles against us. If we stay in the light of Christ, we will hopefully win the righteous crown that awaits us in heaven. Just be advised, the devil is going to do everything he can to keep that from happening for you or anyone else in your family.

“Do not be surprised that, as time goes on, our ancient foe will fight all the harder to wipe out the Christian religion.” – St. Gregory VII

I hope to have posts that further discuss God’s grace and God’s authority. There’s one more thing to consider about spiritual warfare. It’s a full day each and every day. You have to push yourself to new levels. For Jesus, you have to give Him your all.

“Christ must be your breath, heart, love, life, your all.” – St.  John Eudes

May we all fight a good fight in the name of Jesus Christ with love and devotion +

READING

Stern as death is love, relentless as the nether world is devotion;

its flames are a blazing fire.

Deep waters cannot quench love, nor floods sweep it away.

Song of Songs 8:6b-7a

– I love you, Lord; you are my strength.

You keep me safe; your mighty power protects me.

Liturgy of the Hours Volume III p. 1137