Coronavirus and Spiritual Warfare?

[Truthfinder]

I have recently have been experiencing terrible nightmares night after night since Good Friday that are apocalyptic in nature that leaves me shaking or weeping when I awake. In general, I have been worrying quite a bit about the virus and also have been reading/watching the material on countdowntothekingdom.com. So, the nightmares could certainly be connected to this (and I expect they are to a certain degree). However, I have found it very hard to sense God since Good Friday and have only sensed a message that I’m going to die a terrible death. Last night was the worst nightmare I have ever had. I’ll save you the gory details because the dream would be rated R for violence if it were a film. I have had basically no peace outside of when I pray the Rosary and last night I was only able to go back to sleep after praying two rosary’s in a row. This lack of peace in addition to my own recent uptick in prayer (around 1hr per day) leads me to believe that I’m experiencing spiritual warfare in addition to any scary things I have seen during my waking hours. How should I decern what might be from the evil one vs my own imagination? And besides the rosary, how should I combat the evil one if he is behind my troubles? Thanks and God bless.

 

[Tis_Bearself]

First of all, could there be any other cause of your nightmares other than anxiety? For example, are you on any medications that could be causing it, or have you had a big change in your sleep habits or eating habits lately? These things might have a physical cause and if so you would need to discuss with your doctor.

Second, if coronavirus news and reading apocalyptic websites are causing you to feel upset, stop reading it, stop watching it. Go read the New Testament instead.

Third, since you’re already praying, the best way you can ward off the Evil One is to stop thinking about this, just put yourself in Mother Mary’s hands, maybe also say the Prayer to St. Michael and “Jesus, I Trust in You” and don’t dwell on these upsetting thoughts.

 

[Truthfinder]

I’m not on any medications and I’m relatively healthy. But, it seems strange that I have become so anxious because prior to Good Friday I was feeling great and knew God was in control 100%. Since Friday though, I have been declining in regards to my mental health. I’ve been very anxious in waking hours and I think that translates to my sleep when have nightmares. But because it was so intense when I started to become chronically anxious, I have started to wonder if there is a spiritual side to it.

 

[Tis_Bearself]

Well, if this persists over the long term, you might want to see a doctor just to check whether there’s anything medical driving your anxiety, since it came on so fast. If it is just a momentary thing and it comes and goes, it could also have a physical cause like not enough sleep, or something you ate (really - I’ve found my mood is very affected by certain things I eat or don’t eat). If a person’s mind is on spiritual things then they will naturally tend to translate anxious feelings into spiritual anxiety, no matter what the cause. And of course it is possible that the devil is involved because the devil always brings anxiety whereas God brings peace.

Assuming you are not having a medical or physical problem causing this, the important thing when you feel this way is to put your trust in the Lord. “Jesus, I Trust in You.” The Psalms are good scriptures to read because so many of them are about being in some kind of danger and trusting the Lord to get your out of it.

As for “spiritual warfare”, I tend to think when one gets scared in the night, the simplest prayers, like just calling out “Jesus, Mary, Joseph, St. Michael, St. Benedict, help me!” work the best, with maybe a simple Hail Mary or St. Michael Prayer, because you are not dwelling on thoughts of demons but you are just being a little child running to God and to your Mother Mary and other heavenly “Family” for help. The Rosary or the Divine Mercy chaplet are also good prayers to say. They are nice and repetitive and calming.

Finally, although Lent is over, I would suggest maybe watching some of these videos of the Virtual Lenten Retreat from Archdiocese of Philly, which was largely about how to trust more in the Lord and overcome fear and anxiety. I think a lot of people are afraid right now over something connected to the COVID pandemic, whether they’re afraid for their own health, their family’s health, separation from loved ones, economic consequences, worried about the government, all kinds of stuff. This retreat tried to address it. If you don’t want to listen to the whole thing, I would suggest watching the last episode at least, it’s not very long.

Join in the Lenten virtual retreat this week – Catholic Philly

 

[Josie33]

In addition to nightmares, you mentioned having seen things during your waking hours. As such, I would go through your home and rid it of anything that may be offensive to God. Disturbances in the home and/or nightmares often signal the presence of the demonic. They can only enter if they’re given permission.

Bless your home everyday with holy water and occasionally with blessed salt. You can put the blessed salt in the holy water if you prefer. Continue to pray the Rosary everyday, as you may know, it too is a weapon against the demonic.