What does the church teach about recognising satanic attack?

[fireproofpoodle]

Hi. I am a young catholic with a serious problem.

Every time i pray the rosary i suffer unwanted blasphemous thoughts about the Blessed Mother. Usually these are of a sexual nature - i do not will them, they just appear. They are starting to happen during mass and outside of prayer as well. I detest them and wish they would stop - in the past it has been so severe prayer has become agonising.

I am thinking this may be a satanic attempt to get me to stop praying the rosary. What does the church teach about such matters and may i be right? Also, if anyone has any ideas about how i could get rid of this, please say.

 

[Wesley7]

This is a good question.

I would have to look up the Catechism and speak with a Orthodox/Catholic priest about this specific subject.

~ Wesley

 

[RosaryCrusader]

Check out these two sermons on sacramentals.

audiosancto.org/sermon/20080224-Spiritual-Flyswatters.html
audiosancto.org/sermon/20060430-Sacramentals-Good-Shepherd-Sunday.html

These are certainly temptations by the devil. As long as you don’t consent you’re doing good and building virtue. St. Padre Pio, I once read, said something along the lines that he constantly has blasphemies running through his head - surely temptations and building merit if such a thing was in fact true.

The devil likes nothing more than to disrupt your peace of soul. Bring it up to a good spiritual confessor and listen to those audio sermons I posted and I think you’ll be in good shape. There’s so many sacramentals that the Church has for our use.

God Bless,

 

[fireproofpoodle]

Thanks to all who answer. Please pray that I may, with God’s help, continue to fight the devil. God bless.

 

[Layman]

Here are some suggestions. I am not a priest or an authority. I came across these ideas or made them up myself. They’re not part of any particular Catholic teaching I know of, except the prayer to St. Michael.

• If you have an evil thought, and it is not in the image of any human being living or dead, you can imagine it being consumed by fire, crumbling to dust or disappearing into the ground or say “I neutralise that”. Or all of these. **This is borderline occultism, so be careful. **
• You can pray to Jesus Christ, our Lord, to strike the evil out of your heart and to replace with good, sevenfold, to take its place. This is so that evil thoughts do not return to find an empty house and fill it up, like in the parable.
• You can say the prayer to St. Michael The Archangel. In Latin is good.
• You can say the prayer “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner”.
  This is the Orthodox ‘Jesus Prayer’ or ‘Efche’. You can replace annoying thoughts with this prayer and it is of great spiritual benefit. You repeat it over and over again, like a mantra, but mindfully.
• If you have an annoying song in your head, replace the lyrics with pious ones.
• Eat three square meals a day, get at least eight hours sleep a day, go to bed before 12, take some exercise, go outdoors for a walk regularly. I find worry increases if I’m sleep-deprived or hungry.
• Remember that we all die one day. Everything in the material world will pass away. You’ll barely remember things that seem very upsetting now. So take heart. Enjoy the good parts of life and remember that the bad will one day end. As St. Padre Pio said :“Pray, hope and don’t worry”.

That should take care of the nasties

 

[RoryMcKenzie56]

Hi. I am a young catholic with a serious problem.

Every time i pray the rosary i suffer unwanted blasphemous thoughts about the Blessed Mother. Usually these are of a sexual nature - i do not will them, they just appear. They are starting to happen during mass and outside of prayer as well. I detest them and wish they would stop - in the past it has been so severe prayer has become agonising.

I am thinking this may be a satanic attempt to get me to stop praying the rosary. What does the church teach about such matters and may i be right? Also, if anyone has any ideas about how i could get rid of this, please say.

That’s terrible fireproofpoodle. But that seems to be what the devil does. Isn’t he pathetic? Those devils. No repentance. I could feel sorry for them if they weren’t so stinking nasty to good people. Like everyone else is saying, as long as you don’t consent, while it probably is unpleasant, your rosaries are probably as meritorious as those when you imagine you are really meditating. God loves us when we are vile. If that is true and we know it is, what joy heaven must know when we cease to be vile and resist temptation.

A million blessings and prayers to you fireproof. Hang in there. Don’t give up if you win one battle. Don’t give up if you lose one battle. Fight to the end. We’re all in this together. And you send a Hail Mary my way too. Thanks.

Rory McKenzie

 

[rcecowood]

Saint Michael the Archangel,
defend us in battle.
Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil.
May God rebuke him, we humbly pray;
and do Thou, O Prince of the Heavenly Host,
by the Divine Power of God,
cast into hell Satan and all the evil spirits
who roam throughout the world seeking the ruin of souls.
Amen

hang in there, we are all praying for you.
God’s Peace
Rob C.

 

[nannyma]

Hi. I am a young catholic with a serious problem.

Every time i pray the rosary i suffer unwanted blasphemous thoughts about the Blessed Mother. Usually these are of a sexual nature - i do not will them, they just appear. They are starting to happen during mass and outside of prayer as well. I detest them and wish they would stop - in the past it has been so severe prayer has become agonising.

I am thinking this may be a satanic attempt to get me to stop praying the rosary. What does the church teach about such matters and may i be right? Also, if anyone has any ideas about how i could get rid of this, please say.

Hello fireproofpoodle, I remember reading a book of the Church Fathers, the phrase constantly used before any endeavor or temptation or emergency of any kind was: "O God,come to my assistance,O Lord,make haste to help me. Say this often throughout the day not just at your prayer time. In all Monasteries they say this phrase before all the Hours every day. Make this your constant companion.
Another word and scene to place in your mind is “The Crucifixion” Look at Him;Look at Him, call to Him Jesus! Jesus! please! help me! God Bless you and relieve you of this burden,nannyma

 

[rcecowood]

i was reading in bed last night the bio of St Francis and got to a part that reminded me of your post.

To his fellow friars who were discussing how to repel impure thoughts, he indicated his own method: “As for me, as soon as I sense the tempter’s approach, I shut myself up in my heart with holy thoughts. Then I shout to the devil who knocks at the door, ‘Begone! The inn is full and we’re not opening up to anyone!’ And when the devil hears this, he at once goes away in defeat.”

 

[CB_Catholic]

Hi. I am a young catholic with a serious problem.

Every time i pray the rosary i suffer unwanted blasphemous thoughts about the Blessed Mother. Usually these are of a sexual nature - i do not will them, they just appear. They are starting to happen during mass and outside of prayer as well. I detest them and wish they would stop - in the past it has been so severe prayer has become agonising.

I am thinking this may be a satanic attempt to get me to stop praying the rosary. What does the church teach about such matters and may i be right? Also, if anyone has any ideas about how i could get rid of this, please say.

I just want to reassure you that this is not an uncommon problem–others have posted about having the same problem, and I myself went through something similar, occasionally still do, especially at Mass and at Communion time. I was very surprised when I first came to the forums to see people discussing this, and realized I was not the only one. You are in a spiritual battle for your soul, and this is one of the enemy’s tactics to discourage you. Do not feel guilty about it. It comes from outside yourself and is not sinful unless you dwell on these thoughts. I agree with others here, pray the Prayer to St Michael or the Jesus Prayer. Also, many of the Saints have had this type of problem, so don’t be discouraged and don’t give up the fight. If you are persistant in rejecting the thoughts and in praying through it, it probably will diminish or go away in a little while.

But then the evil one will probably come up with something else to harrass you about