Spiritual Warfare--Helping the Holy Spirit by keeping the mind clear

I was relating the many trials that so many people known to me are currently experiencing, to a friend at church last Sunday when she suggested that we are "under attack." I admit to not having thought of that, and of being oddly comforted by that thought. For, Who can beat the Evil One but God Himself, and "if God is for us, who can be against us?" (Romans 8:31)

At any rate, when I read the following passage from Diadochus of Photica on Universalis this morning I remembered my conversation.

Those who are struggling in battle ought always to keep their souls free of the tumultuous waves of distraction. If they do this, the mind will be able to distinguish among the thoughts that come to it. The good thoughts, sent by God, they can store in the treasure-house of their memory. The evil thoughts, sent by the devil, they can throw out.

Clearing and purifying the mind is the task of the Holy Spirit alone – just as when a house is being burgled, the spoils can only be recovered if a strong man bursts in and despoils the burglar. Therefore we ought to keep our souls at peace so that the Holy Spirit is welcome there, so that the lamp of knowledge will always be lit – for when it is, the dark and bitter impulses of the devil will be easy to see and they will be reduced to creeping helplessness as they are caught in that holy and glorious light.

This is why St Paul says ‘Do not extinguish the Spirit’ – that is, do not sadden the Holy Spirit with evil acts and thoughts, or his light may cease to protect you. Of course the eternal and life-giving Spirit is not actually extinguished: rather, it is the sad turning away of the Spirit that leaves the mind wrapped in gloom and without the light of knowledge.

~Diadochus of Photica, "On Spiritual Perfection"

Let us use the twin gifts of prayer and spiritual reading (Lecto Divina) to refresh our minds and keep them attuned to the promptings of the Holy Spirit.

Here is an essay on Lecto Divina and Haiku. It talks about slowing down and letting a passage of Scripture speak to your heart. I think this is important in letting the light of the Holy Spirit into our sometimes dark and frightening lives.

The Christian Response to Inner Pain

From His inmost being will flow rivers of living water.
~John 7:38

As we travel on this earth, we encounter pain. How is a Christian to respond to pain? This website on Catholic psychology gives us four steps to deal with pain and frustration.

1. Acknowledge the pain. Christ suffered openly and publicly for our sins. It is healthy and healing to follow Our Savior and acknowledge when we are suffering. We need not necessarily hide our sufferings in order to be a Christian.

2. Be transparent. Let your pain pass through you onto Christ and His justice. Become transparent like a beautiful piece of stained glass or a clear mountain stream, letting your suffering pass through you, and onto Christ. Jesus suffered the most unimaginable physical pain and public humiliation FOR US. He took our sins and our pain onto His Sacred Body. Meditate on His suffering on the Cross and let Him carry your pain.

3. Relax. Accept the frustration as being sent to you by God. Follow the advice given to us by Saint Margaret Mary (see the post that follows) to, accept this as sent to you by the Sacred Heart of Jesus in order to unite yourself to Him.

4. Pray for everyone in the situation, whether they be family, friends or strangers. Pray for the person who treats you rudely. Pray for the person who endangers others' lives on the road. Pray for the person who misunderstands your motives. Pray for everyone in every situation.

Years ago, I read this advice on prayer: "If someone should vex you, pray for that person. And you, yourself, practice the opposite virtue."

Suffering with Christ

The psalm for yesterday's Mass was taken from Psalm 69.

For your sake I bear insult,
and shame covers my face.
I have become an outcast to my brothers, a stranger to my mother’s sons,because zeal for your house consumes me, and the insults of those who blaspheme you fall upon me.

Obviously, we see this psalm as pertaining to the shame and humiliation Jesus suffered while on this earth.

But the last 2 lines jumped out at me while at Mass last night.

Does "zeal for the house of the Lord" consume us? Do we hunger for the Jesus in the Eucharist?

When someone blasphemes Christ, do those insults "fall on us"? When someone insults God, do we feel it? Do we hurt? Do we flinch in pain when we watch or hear something in the media that makes fun of Christ, His Church, or His values?

Do we ever consider making reparations for all the times when Christ is insulted and ignored?

The late Holy Father, Pope John Paul II asked the faithful for reparation in his letter, “Mane Nobiscum Domine” or “Stay with us, Lord”.

Eucharistic adoration outside Mass should become a particular commitment for individual parish and religious communities. Let us take the time to kneel before Jesus present in the Eucharist, in order to make reparation by our faith and love for the acts of carelessness and neglect, and even the insults which our Saviour must endure.

There is a lot going on during Holy Week. Many Masses and services, which many find difficult to attend. What better time, and in what better way is there to offer our sufferings with our Crucified Lord?

What happens when we are suffering?

SpiritDaily paints an interesting picture of suffering in an article I just read. When we are wounded, two things happen--2 "people" immediately come around. The first is Jesus. Jesus stands "at the door of our wounds" ready to heal them and fill them with His Love.

Unfortunately, when we hurt, Satan also rushes to the place of our suffering, tempting us to give in to bitter hurt. Satan pours in his poison, and tempts us to despair.

Resist the devil, and he will flee from you, Saint James advises in James 4:7.

How can we resist the devil's temptation to despair during times of trouble? Jesus gave us the answer.

And when He was come into the
house, His disciples secretly asked
Him:Why couldn't we cast him out?

And Jesus said to them:
This kind can go out by nothing, but by prayer and fasting.
~Mark 9:27-28

Stay close to God through prayer, the sacraments and sacramentals and the devil will flee.