Waging War: Why do Catholics neglect spiritual warfare?

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Yes, pray the Rosary. Yes, take advantage of the Sacraments. But one thing I was never taught was basic spiritual warfare, and it seems most Catholics aren’t.

I spent several years with (though not a member of) an ecumenical Catholic/Christian community in which I learned about spiritual warfare; specifically using Jesus’ name to bind and rebuke evil spirits. I witnessed the power of this, and it’s clearly Scriptural, and not just for exorcism, yet I’d never been told about it until then.
Why don’t we teach our fellow Catholics how to use it? Does anyone else here have experience with it?
It’s bern such a gift in my life!

Thoughts?
 
From my experience the spiritual warfare has been promoted quite a lot…I mean, the Rosary is like a great weapon.
But I know this ACTS retreat I went on gave out quite a lot, including a book of deliverance prayers.
I guess it depends on what everyone is exposed to, what gets emphasized and what doesn’t.
 
Spiritual warfare is, not just about fighting devil one to one it also requires us to resist temptations, the thing about temptations is not sin, and the more you resist temptation, the happier God is with you, like St faustinas diary tells of how the devil tried to bring her down, but she just carried on praying and not worrying about it, eventually like job in the old testament the devil will get tired and realise that you are much stronger than him. I often think of spiritual warfare sometimes like ww1 battlefield in the trenches, yano it’s silent next thing out of nowhere a bomb starting hitting, u have to duck in the trenches keep your head focused and eventually it will pass, but when it does then you make your attack, you go to confession, mass, and pray a rosary, then that way you, callin in reinforcements to strengthen your barricades.
 
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No we dont. By practising our faith we are continually rejecting satan.
 
Yet, as a devout Catholic, I found it to be a powerful tool. I wish I’d known years earlier and it saddens me that Catholics seem to frown on it. The tone or your response confirms my suspicions. Why would Catholics so often reject it?
 
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To live a Catholic life is to live a life of spiritual warfare. Just because the terms aren’t defined for some people doesn’t mean they aren’t practicing it. The person who commits sin and then confesses it is doing a better job at spiritual warfare than the person who commits sin and then attempts a binding prayer with no confession. Practice spiritual warfare but know first and foremost the weapons of this war are the Sacraments.
 
I absolutely agree. They are not, as you said, mutually exclusive. Sacraments are priority, but the other type of spiritual warfare is excellent as an additional weapon in our arsenal.:+1:t3:
 
I think in Catholic writings there is a difference between spiritual combat, which is like combatting temptations generated by the flesh or the world, and spiritual warfare, which is mostly directed to fighting the devil’s influence in our lives.

And maybe we do not talk about spiritual warfare so much because the devil jas managed to convince so many that he does not exist… but I have seen more information coming out about this in recent years.
 
In some cases, we do not note the presence, or effects of the spiritual realm. Demonic activity is most noted when we are moving closer to, or away from God. When we are moving closer, it is concerning, even frightening. When are are drifting away, it is welcoming, inviting.
 
jofa said:
Yet, as a devout Catholic, I found it to be a powerful tool. I wish I’d known years earlier and it saddens me that Catholics seem to frown on it. The tone or your response confirms my suspicions. Why would Catholics so often reject it?
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Do you understand the biggest weapon we have is rejecting satan. Of course Catholics reject satan. It is written in our sacraments. Our biggest weapon is not the so called spiritual warfare of another religion. Our biggest warfare weapon is locking satan out and keeping the door closed. Watch some youtube movies of our Catholic exorcists.
 
@(name removed by moderator), have you had a chance to read any of these, and which ones did you think were the best ones and why?
 
First of all, you seem to think that the Rosary and other conventional prayers aren’t “spiritual warfare” and that we have to be calling out demons or something. That’s incorrect. The Rosary is a powerful form of spiritual warfare. Probably one of the best there is.

Second of all, the Church doesn’t emphasize “spiritual warfare” in the way you’re talking about it because it doesn’t want a whole lot of lay people getting involved in trying to call out evil spirits or seeing demons behind every bush. Many people simply aren’t spiritually strong enough or stable enough for that. It can lead to all kinds of problems up to and including possession. It’s best to leave much of that to the priests; we laypeople can help by praying in support of the priests, for example by saying the Auxilium Christianorum prayers.

Third of all, there are some Catholic groups that teach “deliverance ministry” and the like. For example, there is an “Unbound” program for Catholics. The Catholic version presumably respects the Catholic teaching that laypeople are not supposed to go around engaging directly with the demonic. The last Unbound workshop I saw, which was held at my local church, had a huge attendance. I’ve also been part of a very large prayer group that prayed Auxilium Christianorum prayers. So it’s not like Catholics who are interested aren’t able to learn about and practice this sort of “spiritual warfare”, within the limits established by the Church.
 
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I think if you spend even a little time delving into the faith you cant help but come across it.
Scripture is full of references to the battle of life especially reading St Paul’s letters and those attributed to him. Everyone is called to this warfare.
I agree that spiritual warfare isn’t just avoiding the devil or fighting temptation it’s also about spiritual progress and drawing closer the God and seeking union with Him by becoming detached from all things except Him. The two go hand in hand. If you start to look for God have no doubt, he will help you fight the battle and advance. Praying the rosary is a wonderful in, the best start to spiritual warfare. Prayer is essential.
 
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Because we just naturally tend to the visible, tangible problems in front of us than abstract and invisible (although real) problems.

That’s why we need to make prayer a habit.
 
Spiritual warfare consists in fighting our own egoic driven desires.

St John of the Cross called them appetites.

The evil one will uses these desires against you.

Unfortunately, many think spiritual warfare is against the discursive “others,” those who aren’t part of their religious or political tribe. This attitude is the result of misdirected spiritual pride, which is harmful to the body of Christ.

Interior Prayer is the path toward overcoming these disordered desires, as Christ dwelling within will give you the transforming grace of divine love. Once divine love is experienced, you will see God in everyone and everything.
 
Never heard of ‘spiritual warfare’ and don’t know what it is.
 
OurLadyofSorrows said:
Do you understand the biggest weapon we have is rejecting satan. Of course Catholics reject satan. It is written in our sacraments. Our biggest weapon is not the so called spiritual warfare of another religion. Our biggest warfare weapon is locking satan out and keeping the door closed.
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Of course - I totally agree.
But the day-to-day spiritual warfare I’ve noticed isn’t taught is more the “Cut it out!” type - and not opposed to our faith. It is more useful situationally.
Here’s an example from my experience:

In the car with my teenage son, we were having a disagreement. I became aware that he was becoming overly, almost irrationally, angry considering the topic, etc.
I calmly pointed this out to him, and he agreed and said he didn’t know why. So I said I would do some spiritual warfare quickly just to make sure there wasn’t some darker influence involved. Understandably, my son got even angrier and annoyed, and rolled his eyes at me, etc.
I said simply, “In Jesus’ name I bind and rebuke spirits of Anger, Rage, Lies, Divination, (etc.), . Flee now in Jesus’ name, and go directly to the foot of the Cross where Our Lord will deal with you according to His Holy Will.”
Suddenly my son’s face changed; he relaxed, and he said, “It’s gone - I totally feel better!” And the anger really was gone.

That’s an example of why I have found this such a useful tool and such a blessing from God. It’s not our power; it’s the power of His name.
 
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Tis_Bearself said:
First of all, you seem to think that the Rosary and other conventional prayers aren’t “spiritual warfare” and that we have to be calling out demons or something. That’s incorrect. The Rosary is a powerful form of spiritual warfare. Probably one of the best there is.
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Absolutely, the Rosary and Mass and Adoration and other prayers are!
But as I said above, this is a different tool and it has situational uses. I wish I’d known about this type earlier in life - it would have helped me tremendously. Especially as I became more devout and therefore suffered more day-to-day attacks from the bad guy’s minions!
 
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So far, on this thread, I am noticing a negative response to my question. There is both condemnation of the practice as I described it, and a type of Catholic condescension as well. Yet there is nothing about it that conflicts with the teachings of the Holy Catholic Church, and is in fact supported by at least the Bishop of the diocese of Savannah. So it makes me wonder if the resistance is more due to a type of prejudice (no offense intended!) rather than theological. Is that what I’m seeing? Certainly having a difference of opinion is natural - but I’m seeing more than that from several comments…:woman_shrugging:t2:
 
Only trained exorcists are really equipped to handle this stuff. A layperson should NOT attempt to engage the devil (remember Gen. 3)!

Obviously, one should pray, meditate, make a good confession, receive Our Lord worthily in Holy Communion, give alms, wear the Brown Scapular, St. Benedict Medal (see the avatar of @St.Bede), use holy water, avoid sin etc. That’s the spiritual armor we have in the Church.
 
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