["Joan of Arc at the Coronation of Charles VII," Jean-Auguste Dominique Ingres, 1854. Note: St. Joan of Arc was a true warrior for Christ in the face of seemingly impossible odds.]
Tough case. It's been going on for a long time although with a lot of progress, but still....a long time. The demons have been regularly taunting me and team members via text, including last night. Hundreds of them. A recent one was signed: "666."
The first level of attack is to the sin of impurity. It is rather obvious. They send salacious photos and make suggestive comments. These are often paired with photos of the demon Baphomet. These comments should not be repeated. I walk away from such encounters feeling slimed. And it affirms my belief that exorcists should normally be older priests. A few younger exorcists have succumbed to such demonic onslaughts against purity.
The second level is to the sin of pride. The incessant taunting feels like I am being jabbed. It is a regular barrage of demonic texts, often arriving just when I am trying to fall asleep: "You've lost." "She's supposed to be my daughter." "The end [for her] is near." "She'll be dead tonight." The subtle temptation here is for me to respond in kind. And the demons try to wear us down by not letting us sleep.
It would indeed be easy to respond with my own jabs and taunts, telling them with an air of superiority that they will suffer in the final judgment. I could gloatingly say that they have lost. The latter is true and is often said in the Rite itself. But, in this context, I would be acting no better than they. It would be arrogance on my part. Interestingly enough, the demons feed off our upset and anger, which they are trying to provoke. Rather, I respond in tranquillity with a prayer. I also send a picture of St. Michael in response to the photo they regularly send of Baphomet.
The third level of temptation is to the ultimate sin of despair. They sent many texts telling us to give up: "You can't help her;" "Nice try- but you can't keep it up;" and "She's given herself away [to evil]. It's over with." This battle has been going on for many, many months. The demons expect us to give up, just as they despaired of God and gave up. This is the real core of every spiritual battle; it is a test of faith.
The demons want us to believe that evil wins. They are convinced that we will give up on God, just as they did. But we profess that Jesus is Lord and ultimately He will triumph. Faith is the ground of every spiritual battle. We pray that we will persevere until the end.
But, frankly, the barrage of texts is getting wearisome. So, at times, I have taken to turning off my phone at night, which I did last night. Demons don't need to sleep. But I do.
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