Tactics of the Enemy

[Shoshana]

T.A.Stobie:

If you are doing God’s will and staying mostly focused on God, the enemy will step up attacks on your loved ones knowing the pain it will bring you.

The more you are protected from the enemy, the more he will use those around you as victims. He knows that seeing them hurt and responding sometimes in inappropriate ways will hurt you.

The counter for this (it will help but will not prevent it from happening) is to (1) pray more for your loved ones, (2) pray with them, and (3) to be loving with them especially when they are not loving due to the enemy’s assault.

This can be very tough. Continuing turning to God and offering up your sufferings to Him.

Oh Yes, how true this! I am reticent in bringing this up at this point…and I hope I will be understood. Having been in an exorcism for 5 years with two priests and a team (under 2 bishops’ blessings), this statement comes home very deeply with me. I cannot even begin to share the devil’s tactics with me. There are so many ways that the enemy can get to us and through us, I have been a witness to a lot of it. Smelling him, tasting him, hearing him, being physically abused by him, mentally abused by him, etc etc. The one we ministered to is ok now and wants to give her whole life to Jesus. Because of her possession, I have always felt that she had a great potential for holiness.

And because of this, I am very sensitive (spiritually) to his tactis…but if I slack in prayer, etc, well, I fail. I am also very sensitive to people calling other people the devil’s agent, etc so easily, when in reality they have no idea what they are talking about. The devil can use any of us but to call somebody a devil’s agent is appalling…unless proven otherwise. Just because the devil may use someone’s impatience does not necessarily make the person the devil’s agent. Otherwise ALL sinners would be the devil’s agent. And that would even include the Pope!

Now getting back to the devil using people closest to you…this is my experience as we speak. The examples are too numerous. The ones that cause me great distress is my two children living together with their significant others. My daughter has a child from another man and has had the experience of four abortions…and I must stop here. Sorry…

I can say though, the best way on how the devil works (the above posts are great!) is to watch the movie ‘The Devil’s Advocate’ with Al Pacino. Al fits that role very well in the movie…so sly, so cunning…It would be just a secular way of showing people his tactics that entails all of our senses…

Blessings,
Shoshana

 

[T.A.Stobie_SFO]

Get us to use unethical tactics against the enemy.

The enemy gives us “sight of victory” through the use of unethical tactics on our part. The temptation is to go for the victory (on one level) through the use of immoral actions. This is commonly refered to as “the ends justifies the means”.

Now consider that if we follow through on it, we won while losing, committing an immoral act which was wrong. So the enemy won through our actions.

It is important to remember that it is never acceptable to use illicit means to accomplish a licit purpose. “The Ends never justify the Means.” We have to constantly examine what we are doing and make sure that it is moral in itself. We have to keep on the “straight and narrow path” to God.

It also does not matter that the enemy was use immoral tactics against us. It still does not justify us in using these means. We must remain true to God in all stages of the battle (as much as we can, getting healing {confession} when we fail).

 

[bonica]

Just as God uses people to help steer us in the right path, Satan tries to do the same.

For example, when I was a teenager I got in a car accident which was very bad. I won’t go into details, but I should have been hurt seriously but I walked away fine…add to that the fact that I believe I had a direct encounter with an angel (long story) right after the accident. I told my youth group about it (not Catholic) and they all laughed at me. They thought I was some kind of crazy person. The youth pastor said something to the effect that angels can’t be bothered with that sort of thing.

It seems like Satan likes to convince people that not only is he not active in our lives, but neither are angels. A lot of people I have come in contact with seem to think if a person has a strong belief in angels it’s almost a sign of weakness for some reason.

 

[AmandaPS]

bonica:

It seems like Satan likes to convince people that not only is he not active in our lives, but neither are angels. A lot of people I have come in contact with seem to think if a person has a strong belief in angels it’s almost a sign of weakness for some reason.

Thanks for sharing that with us, bonica. I think when a person is convinced that Satan doesn’t exist, it leads to the downward slide of moral relativism. “If Satan doesn’t exist, and isn’t actively engaging in spiritual warfare, does that mean that evil doesn’t exist?” I think paths like this can cascade to “what exactly is good and evil?” and “no harm no foul.”

When we forget of the larger mystical body of Christ, we leave ourselves open to isolation. When we stop believing that angels do exist, we forget that they can help us and that we are not alone. The sheep are scattered from the flock and seperated from the shepherd, making them easier to pick off one by one.

I think it is a testimony of strength of faith and trust to be able to maintain the belief of angels in the face of such ridicule. Remember the prayer of Saint Michael the Archangel should you ever doubt they are there to help you.

 

[Shoshana]

If I can give a penny for my thoughts (I’m a canadian and french, thus our money would be half your american worth)…

It has been noted already that the Enemy will make one think that he does not even exist. But the very opposite is true also. He will make one think that he is the cause of everything negative…

Great discernement is needed in all cases and a holy spiritual director is also required. Some Saint said that he who directs himself has a fool for a director (parapharasing). We must always discern whether we are being (name removed by moderator)ired by God, the devil or ourselves. St Igantius teaches this very well as he himself needed great discernment in his own life.

I remember a story that I read in one of my studies. It had to do with a city that was helter-skelter in every way. There was adultery, homosexuality, stealing, killing, etc etc…it was not safe to live in this city. A holy man came to the city to evangelize and found the devil sitting against its walls. Seeing this, the holy man inquired what was he doing here when he was supposed to be in the city. The devil replied that the humans did a good job without his help, thus he wasn’t needed.

Point is that we are a fallen race (even though we are redeemed people). Thus we have parts of our life that still needs to be redeemed and we sin again and again. Not all sin is provoked by the devil, and not all temptations are from the devil. We easily sin without his help…:crying:

Just a thought…
Blessings,
Shoshana

 

[milimac]

T.A.Stobie:

In many areas there is a wide range of valid morally-legimate positions. (There are some that there is only one valid position. Abortion is always morally wrong, for instance.) The enemy likes to get us to take a narrow part of this and claim that other valid positions are invalid morally (which is not the case). This is what I mean by excessive exclusiveness. The enemy then encourages us to become more and more hostile towards those outside our area of exclusiveness (see the earlier division and infighting post).

This reminds me of some of the pettiness I had read in other threads regarding people’s preferences for one rite over the other. It began as expressing a preference for a certain rite and began to morph into criticizing those who practice different rites. Another example of excessive exclusiveness.

 

[milimac]

I think another tactic is to get us to adore anyone or anything more than God – a parent, a celebrity, a good friend, a priest, even the Pope. Then, satan just has to sit back and wait for our false God to disappoint us and then step in to encourage us to give up at the moment our disappointment sets in.

p.s. This is a great thread.
p.s.s. I also recommend reading the Screwtape Letters, by C.S. Lewis. It’s been awhile since I’ve read it, but it’s a series of letters “written” by a demon, Screwtape, to his nephew, Wormwood, giving him various tactics to corrupt the soul he’s been assigned to tempt.

 

[T.A.Stobie_SFO]

The enemy knows that a culture can influence a lot of people either beneficially or malignantly. He knows that if the culture drifts away from God, many will follow.

The Enemy has used the recent developments (20th centurty) in technology to slip the culture away from God. The technology while mostly neutral and can be used in Godly manners have been let loose to slip moral relavism and indifferentism into the culture. The dominant moral culture of the world was been transformed to a culture of hedonism and death, particularly among the power elite. The power elite uses their power to advocate further advances toward a culture of hedonism and death, not under those terms, but packaged to look good and easy. The cultural leaders of the culture of hedonism and death created a cultural defensive mechanism against those with moral from advocating their views by labelling them as intolerant, trying to force our beliefs on them, close-minded, etc. making it take even more courage to stand up against this evil.

We are all called to be intolerant to sin and immoral behaviors. We are called to protect the basic God-given rights of all human beings and to incorporate these protections in our civil laws including in areas of morality. (This is not advocating religious laws in civil society, rather protecting individuals from others and themselves.) Truth is objective, so rejecting attempts to consider Truth as subjective is good and something we should endeavor to do.

Silence is helping the cause of the enemy as the media, primarily supporting the culture of hedonism and death, is very vocal and active in further conversion of the culture and individuals within it. We must speak out individually and collectively.

The counter is that we always advocate for transforming the culture towards God, a culture of Life, Opportunity & Sharing. We must live the gospel in everything we do.

We also need to pray that all leaders, civil, religious, business, civic, media, etc., develop a strong moral backbone and use their influence to stand against the culture of Hedonism & Death and advocate the culture of Life, Opportunity & Sharing.

 

[T.A.Stobie_SFO]

The enemy likes to set us up to deceive (unintentionally) those around us by having us answer questions that are badly phrased.

For instance, consider the question “Do you believe that your spouse’s abuse of your children is wrong?” Yes acknowledges that your spouse abuses your children and you think it is wrong. No states that you do not believe abusing children is wrong and your spouse abuses your children.

The counter to these deceitful questions is to break them into parts and answer each part clearly.

So in the example above, one answer could be “My spouse does not abuse my children and child abuse is wrong.”

For another example, look at my post (#7 on the thread) on this thread “Praying to Dead People” in which the question “Why Do Catholics Pray to Dead People?” is being indirectly asked.

Consider carefully how people will interpret your answer if they choose to be antagonistic against you and attempt to disfuse them in your answer.

Many times a question will be in assumptions that are not true and have to be addressed first before answering the rest of the question.

 

[milimac]

Annunciata:

I think a tactic of the enemy can be in seeking signs and consolations.
It’s human nature to want approval and when seeking holiness or a deepening in your prayer life we want to know if we are on the “right track” so to speak, and sometimes these things can “appear” and we feel like we are so special…
Now I’m speaking of my own experience, the times that I may have received a sign or consolation I have felt two different things: very humbled…with a quiet joy… Other times, I’ve felt proud and had the feeling of"Gee aren’t I great"!.. By their fruits you shall know them…

Good point. On a somewhat similar note, I think another tactic is to give us a false sense of holiness. How many times have we thought “I’m really holy” or “I am a very humble person”? Ironically, I think it’s precisely at those times when we become a little less holy and little less humble. The devil wants us to feel holy and humble (whether we are or not) so that it becomes harder to see the times when we are not, easier to forget the times we have sinned, easier to not recognize the times we are sinning.

As an example, I suspect many (and I don’t exclude myself) have an inflated feeling of holiness or worthiness of salvation just because they go to Mass every Sunday – regardless of how they treat others the rest of the week (or even at Mass). This can slip into “I go fairly regularly, so I think I’m still a pretty holy person” … until you switch over to “God understands. He still loves me anyway” justification.

 

[asquared]

great thread, great discussion wish I could copy the whole thing to use in a high school course, guess the next best thing is get Fr. Corapi’s books and tapes. He is best I have ever heard in presenting the Holy Spirit and His workings so I could truly understand.

 

[milimac]

T.A.Stobie:

The enemy will try to get us to see ourselves as alone against the vast forces opposing us. He will encourage us to believe that everyone including God has left us and that our cause is unwinnable.

This is just another lie.

Our biggest ally, God, is always with us, whether we sense Him or not. We also have at anytime good people praying for us and our stuggle against the enemy. They may not be physically in our presence, but spiritually there are from their monestaries, convents, homes, adoration chapels, churches, etc., as well as the saints in heaven. We have a lot of strength and power to draw upon in our combat.

If you are acting in Love and in Truth, you are never outnumbered at anytime even if you feel overwhelmed. There are situations where you get reinforcements, people who can do some things better than you can, things that you can not, or to allow your efforts to become more focused on smaller groups. Never give up.

Amen to that! I second the suggestion of the Communion of Saints. If you ever feel outnumbered when being a witness to Christ, remember that the Church Triumphant is standing with you. Your family is much larger than you may at first realize and they all love you. How can you ever be outnumbered?! Still, difficult to remember – we always seem to think most prominently of the physical reality over the spiritual reality.

When I began to also pray to St. Augustine, Mary, the Apostles, my deceased relatives, and all of heaven during a time when I was struggling with sins that I just couldn’t see a way out of…miracles happened!

 

[AmandaPS]

Milimac, you’re absolutely right. We need to beware of propping ourselves up on a false sense of piety.

 

[milimac]

T.A.Stobie:

Another tactic of the enemy is to encourage Disobedience Against Lawful Authority, particularly the Church.

Another good one. Are obedience and humility even considered virtues any more in our culture? Indeed, I think disobedience and a self-reliant defiant attitude is honored instead – the louder the better and against the more authoritative the better. We have dissident Catholics who run to the media to announce they won’t comply with something their Bishop says they should or shouldn’t do, or start a group such as VOF to publicly oppose Church teaching. The media just LOVE these guys.

Something about our culture just loves to see the little guy tweak the nose of the big authority. Unfortunately, we love it regardless of whether the little guy has a valid reason or not. What you do is important, but so is how you do it – “…you can have faith enough to move mountains, but if you have not love, you are a clanging cymbol…” (Excuse the inexactitude of the quote). (Excuse the use of the word inexactitude).

 

[T.A.Stobie_SFO]

**Get us to Attack the Messenger. **

In this tactic, the enemy uses another person to do his work, possibly without the person’s knowledge in either such as way that we would walk to assault (usually verbally) the person or works on us to make it a personal attack.

By assaulting the messenger, we are turning from God, as we are not loving our enemy of the moment. (Thus a win for the enemy.) Often this also has the effect of driving the messenger more into the enemy’s camp. (Making it a double win for the enemy.)

To counter this, we need to treat all people with courtesy and respect regardless of how we like their message. We also need to be alert to messengers who do not understand their message and its ramifications. Sometimes, if we love them and explain carefully what they have been advocating, they can return to the Truth and stop serving (generally without their knowledge) the enemy. How we behave towards them can make a significant difference.

 

[T.A.Stobie_SFO]

The enemy knows that the Sacraments are extremely beneficial to us particularly when we approach them openingly, lovingly, and with trust in God.

He tries through various means to get us to lower the value we place on the Sacraments. This leads us to putting the sacraments off, particularly the Sacrament of Reconciliation, thinking less of them, and getting less out of them. We need to avoid this.

We need to be aware when we are being lead aware from the graces of the sacraments.

We need to appreciate the Sacraments for what they are, Christ’s gifts of love to His church to sanctify its members in all they do. We need to receive them as often as we can. Daily Eucharist is very beneficial. This is our basic life support for life on earth. Why deny yourself the fullest life support possible? Choose to receive all the graces you can and be much better off.

 

[system]

This is one of the best things I’ve heard about doing spiritual battle: When you start praying for someone’s conversion or some bad situation, things go from bad to worse. You think, “When I started praying, things got worse. Maybe I shouldn’t pray.”
That’s exactly what the devil wants us to do. Here’s how it works:

The devil can relax with some people/ situations because he knows he’s got those people in his pocket. They’ve fallen from grace, separated themselves from Christ by sin…they’re his.

But then you start to pray, you call Christ into battle for the salvation of that soul. Each of your prayers for that soul is like another arrow in Christ’s quiver. When Christ comes into the fray, the devil knows he’s going to lose.

So he goes down fighting. He’s going to do as much collateral damage as he can. For example, I’m praying for the conversion of a friend’s parents. As soon as I started praying 8 years ago, though, my friend and his parents began having more and more trouble - a few years ago, they even disinherited him over his Catholicism.

That’s how it works: You pray for people and their personal relationships start to fall apart; their addictions get worse; they accuse you of judging them and say they never want to see you again. They behave even worse than they did before; the people around him/her suffer more. YOU suffer from this person…and it all started right after you started praying.

This should make you shout “Hosanna!” because it tells you the battle is going in earnest, that Christ is on the scene, that He’s going to win, and that all the bad that is happening is the fallout from battle - the proof that the devil has faced his enemy - Christ - and is fighting tooth and nail to do as much damage as possible to as many people as possible. Since he’s going to lose the soul that you’re praying for, he’s going to try to use the weaknesses of that person and anyone around that person to inspire as much sin and discord as he can.

This gives me so much encouragement, and I’ve used it to help others who are fighting the good fight, but are so embattled that they are growing weary. Knowing this helps enormously when we’re praying along with someone for a bad situation. A friend’s father has been a chronic alcoholic since before she was born, & she’s got her hopes up & had them dashed so many times that it’s very hard for her to hope & pray for his healing & his reconciliation with God.

But I remind her that if things are worse - that means the devil is fighting desperately, and WE ARE WINNING because we’ve brought Christ into the battle with our constant prayers.

If someone near the person you are praying for is growing weak & tired & wants to give up… that’s when you remind them that this is a battle, a war, & that if they are tired, well, you will go in with even more prayer & FIGHT.

Since I’ve been praying for the conversion of the parents of one friend, not only have his family relationships worsened, that friend has turned on me, slandered me and wounded me more deeply than anyone ever has (though he knows that I pray daily for his parents’ baptism). That tells me one thing: Christ wants my friend’s parents for His own, & the devil is doing everything to make both my friend give up on his parents, & me give up on praying for them for his sake.

But I know that trick - & I’m not giving up!

 

[Scapular]

I have been struck by a number of tactics of the enemy within the past year, my first year as a Catholic.

1. The number of Satanic covens in the US.
2. The decline in vocations (80% of Catholic mothers are against their sons seeking the priesthood)
3. Sex abuse scandal within the ranks of the priesthood
4. Demographic horrors of the birth rates in Europe. Europe has turned against its Catholic faith and is now dieing out, literally.
5. New age religion, “Conversations with God” exhibiting the falsehood that there is no eternal punishment and thus no Satan, again his best tactic – that we think he does not exist.
6. Anger – everywhere.
7. That we feel God is distant and disengaged.
8. Busyness. The greatest danger to priests is busyness.
9. Penance is gone from the confessional. Satan increases our purgatorial suffering by eliminating the call to penance.
10. Lack of confession and absolution. Satan wishes to keep us out of a state of grace, the consequence is that many take the Eucharist and call judgement upon themselves.

Frankly, as a new Catholic, I live for the confessional. I wish I could reach other Catholics and beg them to go to confession.

 

[milimac]

Confused compassion. Wrongly prioritizing goods. As an example, “Every child a wanted child” as an excuse to kill children through abortion. Prioritizing a person’s comfortable environment over his life itself.

 

[Meggie]

If the Devil had written the Beatitudes, they might
read like this:

1. Blessed are those who are too tired, too busy, too
   distracted to
   spend an hour once a week with their fellow
   Christians – they are my
   best workers.
2. Blessed are those Christians who wait to be asked
   and expect to be
   thanked – I can use them.
3. Blessed are the touchy who stop going to Church –
   they are my
   missionaries.
4. Blessed are the trouble makers – they shall be
   called my
   children.
5. Blessed are the complainers – I’m all ears to
   them.
6. Blessed are those who are bored with the pastor’s
   mannerisms
   and mistakes – for they get nothing out of his
   sermons.
7. Blessed is the Church member who expects to be
   invited to his
   own Church – for he is a part of the problem
   instead of the
   solution.
8. Blessed are those who gossip – for they shall
   cause strife and
   divisions that please me.
9. Blessed are those who are easily offended – for
   they will soon
   get angry and quit.
10. Blessed are those who do not give their offering
    to carry on God’s
    work – for they are my helpers.
11. Blessed is he who professes to love God but hates
    his brother and
    sister – for he shall be with me forever.
12. Blessed are you who, when you read this think it
    is about other
    people and not yourself – I’ve got you too!

“Blessed are the pure of heart,
for they shall see God.”
(Mt 5:8)