Is the devil bothering you more than usual?

[puzzleannie]

don’t know but a persistent “thorn in the flesh” has come back to torment me, no doubt to teach me and remind me of my need for prayer and reliance on God alone, not my own efforts.

a co-worker just asked for prayers because she says the devil is tormenting her family. I believe in going to the top, so I gave her the St. Michael prayer, which as a convert she had never seen, and started praying it for her.

 

[Genesis315]

I think I read heard somewhere about St. Theresa maybe and when she was in bed Satan would appear to her as this giant grotesque winged and horned demon, and she would look at him and just roll over and go to sleep.
The point is, Satan can only tempt you and as difficult as it may be, you can always turn away from him. He can’t hurt you unless you let him. Just pray and be confident in God’s graces. It’s hard, but always possible.

Fr. Corapi gave an awesome talk on this on EWTN once. Has anyone seen it?

I think St. Thomas Aquinas said it’s easy to become a saint. There’s just one thing you need to do: “Will it.”

 

[springbreeze]

Prester John:

Hi Teresa, good to hear from you;

To clarify, NO, I am not implying that Satan is only a tale or a myth. Far from it, I believe the devil to be a very real person, along with the rest of his fallen angel toadies.

What I meant was that there is a mythology of Satan. Woven from folktales, old pagan beliefs, popular novels and plays, even the lives of the Saints and the writings of the Desert Fathers, the present day polyglot mythology of Satan is not to be relied upon. Even within the body of Church Literature, many of the tales associated with venerable saints should be recieved with, shall we call it “an attitude of prudence?”.
In 2,000 years, a lot stuff can build up on an institutions’ bookshelves, that without careful guidance and direction from a central body such as the Magesterium, can lead to very serious errors.
I don’t mean to imply that christians should think of all mythology as false; not all them are, and many were intended as moral guides for their people. The truth of mythology, versus the truth of the Gospel – that’s the approach I was making, in the sense that where the Gospels present truth that is readily available to all, and for all, on the one hand, mythology is often a murky pond of allegory and metaphor, too often only understood clearly only by the specific peoples for whom it was intended.
In the Church, there’s many remedies for the Devil or devils when they intrude upon our lives. Most have to do with either prayer or the Sacraments. Living in a world as full of temptations as this one is, it is surprising how effective these simple means can be at showing old Scratch the proverbial door. Being naturally curious, I’ve always wondered where people came up with some of the wierd stuff they believed about the devil. Such as the cloven hoofs and forked tails… what is that all about? Another odd one, that if the devil is ever chasing you, remember that he can’t cross water. Well, sheesh. Whoever came up with that little nugget, was never aboard a ship in the N Atlantic in a following sea!

Regards,
Prester John

Dearest Prester John

Likewise, lovely to hear from you too. I am hoping you are very well and thank you for your reply…ahhhh!! I see what you are saying. Yes as always people will embellish, they do it about a persons life and character and that’s simply gossip, so yes I would agree people will embellish as reagrds satan.

He is just a pathetic worm and nothing to be feared as we live in Christ Jesus.

Hmmm the only water satan cannot handle is Holy Water…as a spirit satan can go and wander back and forth upon the earth ANY place seeking the ruin of souls. Satan can be very active even in church especially after a person receives Holy Communion, he tries to distract the mind and heart, I always think of satan like a little thorn sticking in my foot, most of the time he is defeated simply because I live in Christ Jesus, but sometimes he ups the anti and gives me serious problems, that is the time to use prayer and sacramentals such as Holy Water, The Crucifix etc. So where is his power? where is his might? He has none at all and there is nothing he does that can have victory unless we allow him to.

Like I said he is a pathetic sight indeed, a child that screams, ‘what about me?’ selfish and vain with no care or thought but for himself. Simply ignore him, like a bad smell he’ll be off.

God Bless you and much love and peace to you, Prester John and to those you love.

Teresa

 

[montanaman]

Yeah, now that you mention it. The job has gotten hellaciously brutal, the girlfriend and I broke up over “doctrinal differences,” though we remain friends as far as it’s possible, and my relatively long streak of maintaining purity is being seriously challenged. I’ve just attributed it to the normal tides of human strength and weakness, but I suppose it could be something supernatural.

Even if the Devil has been given some inexplicable extra power over us (the implications of which I refuse to dwell on for fear of sabotaging my tenuous relationship with God), it doesn’t matter. We must persevere till the end. Pray, pray, pray…

 

[Prester_John]

serendipity:

I have a phobia of bridges, and people you tease me that it must mean I’m possessed, when I was growing up.

The pries this sunday gave a great homily, when he talked about how powerful the quote in the Bible is “get Behind me Satan.” How once can defeat the devil by rebuking him with confidence, but so many people give him more credit than he deserves, becuase it makes them feel less week.

Is it Teresa of Avila who said she did not fear the devil nearly as much as she feared the people who feared the devil, rather than placing all their trust in God?

I am not scared of high places, but rather of small spaces — claustrophobia. I have been teased, too. I do not tease other people this way, as I am sure that you do not.

One can defeat Satan, ‘personally’. But not alone! We get by with a little help from our friends’, beloved…
(Blessed, do you not understand? With our Beloved, we are never all alone. Never! )
By the the way, St Therese, Le Petite Fleur never said that. But I leave my post with a piece of wisdom, from my parish priest:

“There are three kinds of Pious Tales… there are those that are true, there are those that are MOSTLY true, and there are also those, that should be true.”

Respectfully,
Prester John

 

[John_Russell_Jr]

Thanks guys. I appreciate your comments and prayers.

 

[JackPaul]

DaveBj:

No, I don’t think he even knows who I am. He is not a negative God; he’s not omnipotent/omniscient/omnipresent. He is the commanding general of a vast army of evil, and right now I’m not in any position to attract his attention, like his attention might be attracted by a Billy Graham, a John Paul II, or perhaps even a Karl Keating. Just like Saddam didn’t know who I was in 1991, because of the infinitessimal role I played in that conflict, but he sure knew who Gen’s Powell and Schwartzkopf were.

Having said that, I’m certain that some of his footsoldiers know where I live. And while old Slewfoot might not be bothering me personally, my own flesh does enough of that to make up for his not knowing where I live.

DaveBj

Dave,
I really like your answer. I have had some issues, especially when you are getting close to the Church or to God. I too believe that the attacks on me have been a nuisance, but nothing my Lord can’t handle for me. When I first was coming into the Church, I had visions of demons trying to get through the walls of my house. I decided that they were trying to get out rather than in. Almost everyone in our RCIA group had some real nagging issues before Easter finally arrived (last year) but nothing that couldn’t be overcome. However, there have been terrible stories of those who have had true possessions and the Church does employ exorcists, so I am certain that some have real trouble. I believe strongly that you try and keep your life Holly, you don’t invite him in and you minimize your risks.

Peace

 

[padraig]

I guess its when the devil isn’t bothering us that we should be worrying, for oul Nick may be thinking, ‘If it ain’t broke don’t fix it!’:banghead:

 

[Prester_John]

padraig:

I guess its when the devil isn’t bothering us that we should be worrying, for oul Nick may be thinking, ‘If it ain’t broke don’t fix it!’:banghead:

And we are stronger than he, when we are together, and love bonds us and binds us together, in the quiet of our hearts.

But when we are alone, this a test, or a testament, of our love for each other, … that he does not like, and cannot understand.

Heaven arms us.
Heaven arms us with Love.
Heaven arms with love, those whom they would not see destroyed.

Yours very sincerely, and respectfully,

Prester John