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SPIRITUAL WARFARE

Spiritual Warfare is a two edged sword. You can be harmed by being pulled too far into it. You can also be harmed by remaining ignorant.  Thus, we ask the heavenly court to help all who read this balance the line. Because of this tight rope, we are going to present more of a high level understanding here, along with providing resources for those who do want to know more.

Much of this section was inspired by a YouTube video with Fr. Lambert that can be found here: https://youtu.be/JgHvtMiG_f8?si=RM8liDNHV-WTYtft 

A Word of Caution

  • Against Directionless Curiosity If you begin to form a curiosity/fascination about the demonic, it is important to discuss this with your spiritual director, parish priest, or someone with knowledge of the faith who you can speak.  Knowing about spiritual warfare is not the same as having a deeper curiosity or fascination, which can be extremely dangerous.

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  • Against Pride Be aware of your own humility.  You should not approach this topic haphazardly, but with a strong spiritual life and a sense of who we are in relation to God.  Do not enter this with dependence upon yourself, but with a total abandonment to and reliance upon God.

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  • Against Imagination It is important to root yourself in truth and reality.  It is extremely easy for some of us to allow our imaginations to run wild.  Some discussions and topics within theology and faith allows a greater freedom in the imagination to inquire and discuss various theoretical topics.  However, when it comes to spiritual warfare, there is a danger in allowing the imagination to roam too far without guidance.

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  • Knowing Yourself and Your Limits Knowing yourself and your limits is important in determining if spiritual warfare is something you can or should handle reading and discussing this topic.

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  • Knowing Your Spiritual Life Becoming familiar with the high level understanding of spiritual warfare is one thing.  However, you should have a spiritual life rooted in a true perception of God and be aiming for a virtuous life.

The Basics Defined

What is “Warfare”?

According to the Mirriam-Webster Dictionary (https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/warfare) Warfare is defined as both the military operations between enemies and as the struggle between competing entities.  In our world, we are sadly familiar with world wars, cyber wars, psychological wars, chemical wars, etc.  War is a very difficult thing for many of us to fathom. 

It is important to understand this basic definition as we delve into the topic of Spiritual Warfare.

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What is “Spiritual”?

According to the Mirriam-Webster Dictionary (https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/spiritual) Spiritual as an adjective is defined in 5 ways

  • Of, relating to, consisting of, or affecting the spirit (incorporeal)

  • Of or relating to sacred matters

  • Concerned with religious values

  • Related or joined in spirit

  • Of or relating to supernatural beings or phenomena

So, for the sake of the following discussions, we will say spiritual is defined as that which describes both supernatural beings and our souls.

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What is Spiritual Warfare?

Spiritual Warfare, then, is the attack upon that which is sacred.  Catholic spiritual warfare is the demonic attack upon a person’s mind, body, and soul.  This attack can also take on a manifestation through an object or place.

Ever since 1 / 3rd of the angels fell from heaven over the Incarnation, the battle between good and evil has never stopped.  The fallen ones seek to destroy humanity and have souls choose a life away from God as they have done.

God made us in His sacred Image and Likeness.  He made us to live a life of holiness, of wholeness, within His Sacred Heart.  Our goal in this life is to grow in love and virtue in order to do God’s will and to be able to choose heaven after our death.  We are the beloved children of a loving and merciful God.  God gave us free will because He desires us to freely choose Him, for in that free choice, we find ourselves living a life within the Sacred Heart.  God does not want slaves. He wants children who love Him. 

It is for this reason, the battle over our souls has been part of all human history.  Demons want humanity to fall as they have.  They want to have us choose to turn away from God, away from love and hope, away from heaven.   

Methods of Attack

Fr. Lampert (in a YouTube Video) describes the methods of the attack as both ordinary and extra-ordinary.   Ordinary means of attack include temptations within our daily lives.  Extraordinary attacks include increased attack upon a person’s body and mind.  Fr. Lampert explains that the attacks of the evil ones are attacks against the physical and mental because our souls belong to God.

 

Ordinary Methods

Temptations come upon us each and every day.  I sometimes joke “Lord, I didn’t pray for patience, you didn’t have to test me”.  Temptations are a reality for us within our physical and spiritual lives – be it patience, lust, pride, vanity, etc.  In the YouTube video, Fr. Lampert explains that the activity of the devil is four fold: deception, division, diversion, and discouragement.

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  • Deception: The devil is the father of lies and will use such to turn ourselves away from God.  The devil has been around a very long time and takes every opportunity to distort the truth in order to turn our attention away from our goal of a virtuous life, with God as our center.

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  • Division: One of the oldest temptations the devil uses is division.  The oldest account I can recall is of Cain and Able.  The devil used temptations of vice to cause division, which lead to even greater sin.  In today’s world, the devil has found ways to divide families, friends, nations, Christians, etc.   

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  • Diversion: The devil also uses diversion to tempt us away from the Sacred Heart.  Through diversion, we are pulled from truth, injustice, and much, much more.  One aspect of diversion that I have heard people speak of often is their avoidance of what is just and holy because of time, because of unnecessary work, because of of worry and to-do lists.  To-do lists are not evil, but when they distract us from living a life with Christ in our center, there is a major issue that needs to be addressed.

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  • Discouragement: The devil has used his tactic of discouragement a great deal in our world today.  “I’m not good enough”, “God has abandoned me”, “How could God love me?”, “No one could love someone who looks like me”.  Discouragement takes away the truth of who we are in the eyes of God and tries to remove the idea that we were made in the image and likeness of a loving and merciful God who is always present and all knowing.

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Extra-Ordinary Methods 

There are three common types of extra-ordinary attacks the devil performs:  Infestation, Vexation (Oppression), Obsession, and Possession.

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  • Infestation: Infestation is an attack by the devil through the use of a place or an item. 

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  • Vexation (Oppression): Vexation is a more intense attack by the devil against a person’s physical being.

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  • Obsession: Obsession is a more intense attack by the devil against a person’s mental being.

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Possession: Possession is the ultimate attack upon a person’s body.  Fr. Lambert clarifies that Possession is always of a physical nature as the soul belongs to God.  Possession is not often like the movies and do not typically show 24 / 7.  People who are possessed often can live their daily lives normally.  Due to the difficulty with defining possession vs mental health, the Catholic Church relies on experts in the mental health field to help differentiate the differences. 

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What to do?

  • Recognize God is the one true God who is abundant in love and mercy. He is just and is all knowing, all powerful, and always present with each of us because He desires to be with each of us. We are His precious children, just waiting for us to turn towards him.

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  • Take time to seriously reflect upon your spiritual life.  Are you obtaining the sacraments?  Going to Mass? Praying daily?  Do you aim for a virtuous life?  Do you practice things which go against a life of holiness?

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  • Work on your spiritual life in accordance with your state in life, and if applicable, in alignment with your spiritual director’s direction.  Here are some suggestions:

    • Monthly Confession and Sunday Mass

    • Mass for Holy Days of Obligation

    • Stop in at Adoration, Even for a Few moments

    • Pray the Rosary

    • Pray Divine Mercy

    • Fast and Sacrifice

    • Daily Examination of Conscience

 

FAQs

  • What about books like Harry Potter, scary movies, violent movies, etc.?

When it comes to such things, the question to ask yourself is when compared to your spiritual life, do you know God more or the thing more?  Can you quote scripture more or the book more?  Are you more passionate about the movie or about God?

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Yes, while there are definite items that should be stayed away, especially if you tend to blur reality and the item, the main question concerns priority and susceptibility.  First and foremost, our aim as Christians is to have Christ as the center of our lives, living on Sacred Scripture and Tradition while pursuing a virtuous life.  If Christ is shifted from the center of our lives for a character, imaginary universe, etc then we take on an imbalanced life.  For some who are susceptible due to mental health and/or age, that imbalanced life can cause us to blur the lines of reality and begins to forget our purpose within our earthly life.

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  • Did the devil make me do it?

There is a major danger within this question.  We all have free will.  Part of our path to humility and holiness is to take ownership when we fail to choose the right path using our free will.  To blame the devil for our own mistakes, or to blame others, removes us a step further from the path of righteousness.  By blaming the devil for everything, we give the evil one more credit than simply owning our own mistakes.  Fr. Lambert clarified that the devil can never force anyone to take a particular action.  The devil can only tempt and try to convince us through deception and lies.  The devil is real and exists, but there is a danger in seeing him everywhere.

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  • What to do if someone I know is undergoing spiritual attack?

If someone you know is under spiritual attack, do the same things as if it were yourself. 

  • Examine your spiritual life.

  • Seek counsel from a spiritual director, parish priest, or someone faithful to the Church.

  • Strengthen your dedication to God. Pray each and every day for yourself, your loved ones, your enemies, and the person under attack.

  • Obtain the sacraments. Go to confession once a month. Go to Mass on Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation.  If this is not possible, pray an act of contrition and an act of spiritual communion.

  • Go to adoration when able. If that is not an option, spend time in dedicated prayer in adoration of our Eucharistic King.

  • Pray a rosary every day that Our Lady, Mother of God and Queen of Heaven may not only intercede for you and the person, but that she help strengthen your faith and the faith of the person under attack.

  • Close any doorways you may have opened for yourself and/or others – be it openings through unjust anger, unforgiveness, sins of omission, etc or by more serious things such as occult practices, Ouija board, wishing evil or harm on others, etc.

  • Dedicate yourself, your family, your enemies, and the person under attack to the Sacred Heart of Christ through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin and St. Joseph.

  • Utilize sacramentals. Bless your house daily with holy water.  Wear a brown scapular.  Place holy salt around your home.  Place a crucifix and a St. Benedict metal at every entrance and window. Carry a rosary with you.

  • Pray the Divine Mercy for the Souls in Purgatory and ask them to help and intercede for the situation.

  • Have your home blessed by a Catholic deacon or priest.  We also recommend having a priest enthrone your home to the Sacred Heart.

  • Hold your family accountable to daily family prayer, be it a rosary or an Our Father.  If this is not a possibility, you pray on behalf of your family and the person under attack.

  • Find ways to make offerings, sacrifices, and fast – be it not going on the phone once a week, not eating chocolate, or doing extra acts of charity.

Recommendations

Prayers

  • The Holy Rosary

  • Prayer to St. Michael

  • Divine Mercy Chaplet

  • Fatima Prayers

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·Spiritual Warfare Prayers

  • Prayer for Inner Healing

    • Lord Jesus, you came to heal our wounded and troubled hearts. I beg you to heal the torments that cause anxiety in my heart; I beg you, in a particular way, to heal all who are the cause of sin.  I beg you to come in to my life and heal me of the psychological harms that struck me in my early years and from the injuries that they caused throughout my life.

    • Lord Jesus, you know my burdens. I lay them all on your Good Shepherd’s Heart. I beseech you – by the merits of the great, open wound in your heart – to heal the small wounds that are in mine.  Heal the pain of my memories, so that nothing that has happened to me will cause me to remain in pain and anguish, filled with anxiety.

    • Heal, O Lord, all these wounds that have been the cause of all the evil that is rooted in my life. I want to forgive all those who have offended me.  Look to those inner sores that make me unable to forgive.  You who came to forgive the afflicted of heart, please, heal my own heart.

    • Heal, my Lord Jesus, those intimate wounds that cause me physical illness. I offer you my heart. Accept it, Lord, purify it and give me the sentiments of your Divine Heart. Help me to be meek and humble.

    • Heal me, O Lord, from the pain caused by the death of my loved ones which is oppressing me. Grant me to regain peace and joy in the knowledge that you are the Resurrection and the Life. Make me an authentic witness to your Resurrection, your victory over sin and death, and your living presence among us. Amen.

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  • Prayer to St. Benedict

    • O glorious Saint Benedict, sublime model of all virtues, pure vessel of God’s grace!  Behold me, humbly kneeling at thy feet.  I implore thy loving heart to pray for me before the throne of God.  To thee I have recourse in all the dangers which daily surrouind me.  Shield me against my enemies; inspire me to imitate thee in all things.  May thy blessing be with me always, so that I may shun whatever God forbids and avoid the occasions of Sin.  Graciously obtain for me from God those favors and graces of which I always so full of love, compassion, and mercy towards those who were afflicted or troubled in any way.  Thou didst never dismiss without consolation and assistance anyone who had recourse to thee.  I therefore invoke thy powerful intercession, in the confident hope that thou wilt hear my prayers and obtain for me the special grace and favor I so earnestly implore (mention your intention here) , if it be for the greater glory of God and the welfare of my soul.  Help me, O great Saint Benedict, to live and die as a faithful child of God, to be submissive to His holy will, and to attain the eternal happiness of heaven. Amen.

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  • Prayer Against Every Evil

    • Spirit of our God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Most Holy Trinity, Immaculate Virgin Mary, angels, archangels, and saints of heaven, descend upon me.  Please purify me, Lord, mold me, fill me with yourself, use me.  Banish all the forces of evil from me, destroy them, and vanquish them, so that I can be healthy and do good deeds.  Banish all the forces of evil from me, destroy them, and vanquish them, so that I can be healthy and do good deeds.  Banish from me all spells, witchcraft, black magic, malefice, ties, maledictions, and the evil eye; diabolic infestations, oppressions, possessions; all that is evil and sinful, jealousy, perfidy, envy; physical, psychological, moral, spiritual, diabolical ailments.  Burn all these evils in hell, that they may never again touch me or any other creature in the entire world.  I command and bid all the powers who molest me – by the power of God  all powerful, in the name of Jesus Christ our Savior, through the intercession of the Immaculate Virgin Mary – to leave me forever, and to be consigned into the everlasting hell, where they will be bound by Saint Michael the Archangel, Saint Gabriel, Saint Raphael, our guardian angel, and where they will be crushed under the heel of the Immaculate Virgin Mary.

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  • Prayer for Deliverance

    • My Lord, you are all powerful, you are God, and you are Father.  We beg you through the intercession and help of the archangels Michael, Raphael, and Gabriel for the deliverance of our brothers and sisters who are enslaved by the evil one. All saints of heaven come to our aid.

    • Response: We beg you, Free us O Lord

      • From anxiety, Sadness, and Obsessions…

      • From Hatred, Fornication, Envy…

      • From Thoughts of Jealousy, Rage, and Death…

      • From Every Thought of Suicide and Abortion…

      • From Every Form of Sinful Sexuality…

      • From Every Division in Our Family, and Every Harmful Friendship…

      • From Every Sort of Spell, Malefice, Witchcraft, and Every Form of the Occult…

    • Lord, you who said, “I leave you peace, my peace I give you”, grant that, through the intercession of the Virgin Mary, we may be liberated from every evil spell and enjoy your peace always.  In the name of Christ our Lord. Amen.

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  • Prayer Against Malefice

    • Kyrie Eleison.  God, our Lord, King of ages, All-Powerful and All-Mighty, you who made everything and who transform everything simply by your will.  You who in Babylon changed into dew the flames of the “seven-times hotter” furnace and protected and saved the three holy children.  You are the doctor and the physician of our soul.  You are the salvation of those who turn to you.  We beseech you to make powerless, banish, and drive out every diabolic power, presence, and machination; every evil influence, malefice, or evil eye and all evil actions aimed against your servant…where there is envy and malice, give us an abundance of goodness, endurance, victory, and charity.  O Lord, you who love man, we beg you to reach out your powerful hands and your most high and mighty arms and come to our aid.  Help us, who are made in your image; send the angel of peace over us, to protect us body and soul. May he keep at bay and vanquish every evil power, every poison or malice invoke against us by corrupt and envious people.  Then, under the protection of your authority may we sing, in gratitude, “The Lord is my salvation; who should I fear? I will not fear evil because you are with me my God, my strength, my powerful Lord, Lord of peace, Father of all ages.”  Yes, Lord our God, be merciful to us, your image and save your servant…from every threat or harm from the evil one, and protect him by raising him above all evil.  We ask you this through the intercession of our Most Blessed, Glorioius Lady, Mary ever Virgin, Mother of God, of the most splendid archangels and all your saints. Amen!

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Practices

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Reading

  • “Trustful Surrender to Divine Providence” by Fr. Jean Baptiste Saint Jure, S.J. and St. Claude de la Colombiere, S.J. https://a.co/d/hoUxfmu

  • “Abandonment to Divine Providence” by Fr. Jean Pierre de Caussade https://a.co/d/5PbvQPp

  • “True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin” aka “True Devotion to Mary” by St. Louis de Montfort https://a.co/d/hdx3AmX

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Further Reading…

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