Defend Us this day in our daily battle...

Over at Vivificat, Fr. Nicolas Schwizer asks: "Does the Devil Really Exist?"

But the ultimate question for mankind today is…..does the devil exist as a person or not? As it is, modern man and inclusively the modern Christian man hardly even believes in the devil. The devil has been able to succeed today with his best maneuver: to put his existence in doubt.

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The inhabitants of hell seek to counterattack the power and the dominion of God. And because they cannot confront God directly, they do it indirectly. They try to take from Him his favorite creation on earth: man.

Thus, each one of us is a battlefield where the good and the bad confront each other…..the divine forces and the diabolic forces.

Who would deny such a reality? None of us would be so naïve to believe that we would be free from that permanent struggle. Each one of us experiences this tension, this conflict in his/her own body and in his/her own soul. We become aware that a strong being works in us and wants to impose his will on us and we need another stronger being to liberate us.

Questions for reflection 

1. Do I really believe in the activity of the Devil?

2. Am I aware of the battle that takes place within me?

3. Do I know my weak point where the Devil attacks me most?

You really should read the entire piece. He makes very good points, but the one that I want to focus on is the idea that we shouldn't, although many if not most do, ignore the fact that the devil exists and that the battlefield is us.

I don't think spiritual warfare, the devil, and the spiritual realm should be taken lightly. I also don't think folks should mettle in it without first protecting themselves in various ways. But like it or not, the spiritual battle for our souls is upon us whether we want it to be or not.

We must continually ask ourselves the three reflection questions above, and make sure that we not only know the answers, but that we know how to correct any problems within such answers.

Ecclesia Militans

I wanted to write this post now, for the record. I wanted to make sure that I kept honest account of my understanding.

I have just cracked open: Exorcism and the Church Militant. I have heard the reviews... from both sides, I need to find out for myself. I know books inspire, challenge, disappoint, confuse, change, and refine thought, and so I wanted to memorialize what I think and believe now... for better or worse.

I have always understood that we are all part of the Ecclesia Militans - Church Militant. I just didn't know how hard the struggle really would be, especially from inside forces. The further we plunge ourselves into this battle, the closer we get to our promised victory. We must do so though, with contrite hearts, pure intention, and for God's sake and not our own.

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The book opens with a forward by Father Corapi, and he concludes that forward with a quote from the Office of Readings, Common of Several Martyrs [originally written by Saint Cyprian]:

We are warriors now, fighting on the battlefield of faith, and God
sees all we do;
the angels watch and so does Christ.
--What honor and glory and joy to do battle in the presence of God,
and to have Christ approve our victory.


Let us arm ourselves in full strength
and prepare ourselves for the ultimate struggle
with blameless hearts, true faith and unyielding courage.
--What honor and glory and joy to do battle in the presence of God,
and to have Christ approve our victory.

I have known all along that this struggle would take pure heart, true faith, and a courage that could only come from God. It is not a joy, but an honor to fight in this battle... and it isn't for fame, pride, or glory. It is for God alone, because he asks us to, and because he secured the victory for us. We must accept this... not as rhetoric, but as unrealized potential. This isn't a fantastical or emotional plea, this is a discussion about eternal life or eternal death.

There is no turning back, there is only wimping out. Pretending away evil and the struggle, make it no less real; it is only in our own minds that it ceases to be if we pretend that it doesn't exist. Imagining and constructing ways in which to deny the existence of this struggle and our enemy is not an intellectual pursuit of the truth, it is a lie we tell ourselves out of pride and fear. Like the fearful pupil, we so often choose to expend an exorbitant amount of energy devising a scheme to relieve ourself from our task. When instead we have the tools before us and our effort towards their mastery and use would serve us much better, but our fear of failure and demise at the hands of our own self and our inadequacy, we choose not to put forth the effort.

There is so little to fear in the end, for rest assured, we become the Ecclesia Triumphans, God promises us that. But we must first enter the battle! Victory is assured, but only to those who follow the commands of God.