[St. Mary of Jesus Crucified, the "Little Arab," stigmatist]
We have had a few cases in the recent past that have been particularly brutal. A few young women have been repeatedly brutalized by demons at night and during the sessions. They have been choked, limbs twisted, bruised and beaten, demonically raped at night, and more. Demons have threatened them, raged, cursed, and terrorized them. One experienced all the excruciating sensations of a knife being plunged into her hand by the demons, although it physically never happened.
It breaks my heart to see how they suffer. Some will disbelieve, but I have seen it repeatedly. Some will wonder why God allows it. But God allows his fallen creatures, human and demonic, to inflict horrible evils on our world. We trust, as God told the mystic Julian of Norwich that, in the end: "All shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well."
What is striking with these young women is their courage in the face of such frightening evil and painful torture. As I told one of them recently, "God is making you into a strong Spiritual Warrior." Each of them has much needed graces and strengths for the spiritual combat. Each of them has the heart of a Spiritual Warrior.
A true Spiritual Warrior is:
*Fearless & Trusting. Demons can be terrifying. They threaten great tortures and evils. These women do not succumb. They trust that Jesus is Lord and that Jesus "has their backs."
*Humbly obedient. Human arrogance is quickly overcome by demons. Self-direction in humans inevitably leads to disaster. These women are humbly obedient to God, the Church and the exorcist, all of which are critical for the success of an exorcism.
*Calm acceptance. The demons tempt them to succumb to self-pity, resentment, and an inner rage. This path is easy to take and many in our world fall into it. But this path leads into the dark world of demons; this is Satan's hell. These women endure such torments without rancor or bitterness. They exude a sense of inner peace.
*When knocked down, they get up. This is perhaps the most striking of their qualities. When the demons choke them; they continue fighting. When the demons threaten them; they keep praying. When the demons knock them down; they get back up.
Being possessed is a terrible experience and some are possessed through no fault of their own. There have been many saints who suffered intense demonic attacks as victims for the salvation of souls, such as St. Mary of Jesus Crucified (the "Little Arab."). (Some suggest that, for forty days, the "Little Arab" was even fully possessed!*) It is precisely in such dark moments when we can most fully participate in the Cross of Christ.
These young women exemplify the traits of a true Spiritual Warrior. Theirs is courage, fearlessness, trust, humility, obedience and perseverance in the Lord. They show us the path that we all must take. May our lives be filled with such graces and virtues. May we, too, be true Spiritual Warriors.
*Sister Emmanuel Maillard, Maryam of Bethlehem: The Little Arab, Children of Medjugorje, Inc., 2011.
**The next online deliverance session is Monday, January 30th, 7-8pm (New York City time). Register here or https://www.catholicexorcism.org/event-details/online-deliverance-prayer-session-10 . All of our monthly deliverance sessions are free of charge.