Flyer appearing in local churches - Peace Through Spiritual Warfare

Peace Through Spiritual Warfare

By Charles D. Fraune

author of

Slaying Dragons: What Exorcists See & What We Should Know

Spiritual warfare is the lens through which we can most properly and thoroughly understand the Catholic Faith.  Most people overlook the passage, and the others like it, that says, For this purpose, the Son of God appeared, that He might destroy the works of the devil. (I John 3:8) 

God became man to fight and destroy the devil and all of his works.  Not only that, but Our Lord came to rob Satan of all of his spoils, of those souls who had entered into Satan’s captivity and dominion.  Our Lord refers to Satan when He says, But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. Or how can one enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? Then indeed he may plunder his house. (Matt. 12:28f)

Our Savior saved us by entering into this world, which is under the power of Satan, and binding Satan and robbing him of all the souls whom he had captured.  Satan, though, was not defeated completely.  Our Lord destroyed him by introducing weapons into the world and entrusting them to His Church, which is His Bride and our Mother.

As a result, Christians are “born for combat” (Pope Leo XIII), and through Baptism are equipped for this battle against Satan by being united to Christ and partakers of the same divine nature of Jesus Christ Himself.  Thus, we can also bind the strong man and despoil him of all the goods that he has taken from us personally.  But, what has Satan taken from us?

Now we come to a very personal moment.  This is the moment that the worldly mind despises and resists with a strong, impulsive, and often vitriolic response.  Isaiah says, By His stripes, we are healed.  We are all weak.  We are all sinful.  We are all foolish.  We are all wounded.  We are all in need of God’s help at every single moment of our lives.  We enter this world wounded.  We journey through this life either pivoting from this wound or doing everything in our power to heal it and gain the strength that this wound has taken away.

We also go through this life teetering between a love of God and an indifference, if not a practical hatred, toward Him.  He is our life, our fortress, our strength, our destiny, our purpose.  If we do not daily, hourly, every second, live for Him, we will slowly die.  The wound of original sin is addressed in Baptism and the consequences are remedied, but the inclination to sin which this wound brought remains after the laver of regeneration has been given to us.

St. Peter says, Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking some one to devour.  Resist him, firm in your faith. (I Peter 5:8f)

How do you resist Satan properly?  How do you remain firm in faith against him?  The Exorcists and the great saints and Doctors of the Church are our best teachers…

Slaying Dragons: What Exorcists See & What We Should Know (Amazon)

+ compiling the wisdom of twelve Exorcists

+ and almost twenty saints and Doctors of the Church,

+ it is a sure guide to fortifying your soul with the graces and weapons of God and against the wiles of the enemy.