Praying for Holy Souls and Engaging in Battle

The Prayer of St. Gertrude:  Eternal Father, I offer Thee the Most Precious Blood of Thy Divine Son, Jesus, in union with the masses said throughout the world today, for all the holy souls in purgatory, for sinners everywhere, for sinners in the universal church, those in my own home and within my family. Amen.

Why pray for the dead? The Catechism of the Catholic Church tells us: “This teaching is . . . based on the practice of prayer for the dead, already mentioned in Sacred Scripture: ‘Therefore [Judas Maccabeus] made atonement for the dead, that they might be delivered from their sin.’ From the beginning the Church has honored the memory of the dead and offered prayers in suffrage for them, above all the Eucharistic sacrifice, so that, thus purified, they may attain the beatific vision of God. The Church also commends almsgiving, indulgences, and works of penance undertaken on behalf of the dead” (CCC 1032). Since we can’t really know whether the souls of our deceased loved ones are in heaven with God or are being purified in purgatory, it’s a good idea to pray for them every day. It’s also one of the spiritual acts of mercy.

I’ve heard many times that all Christians must face spiritual warfare in some way. Here’s what I learned from an EWTN special about spiritual warfare.

As in any war, we must know our enemy: Satan, a fallen angel (who still retains angelic powers), is a liar, an accuser and a tempter. Let’s look at those traits. He lied to Eve in the Garden of Eden (“You will be like God”) and Jesus called him, “The father of lies.” Jesus also called him a murder, because after the evil one tempted Adam and Eve, all made in the image and likeness of God were doomed to die. He also wants to kill the life of our souls. Satan’s name means “the accuser,” and he can accuse us before God, ourselves and others and try to shame our consciences. Satan also can try planting negative thoughts in our heads, thoughts that say, “You’re worthless”, or “Nothing you do ever amounts to anything.” Contrary to the late Flip Wilson’s famous excuse, “The devil made me do it,” Satan can’t make us do anything, but he can tempt us to sin, sometimes by using illusions and other tricks. He even tempted Jesus, which brings up our first weapon: praying with scripture.
How did Jesus defeat Satan’s temptations? He quoted Scripture. Priests and theologians recommend praying with Scripture every day, and memorizing verses to use during times of temptation and doubt. For instance, Revelation 12:10 “The accuser of the brethren is now fallen.” A close friend of mine has been memorizing some of the Psalms. That’s an excellent way to pray with Scripture. Also, in Ephesians, Chapter 6 St. Paul talks about the sword of Scripture being our offensive weapon.

The second weapon: praying for each other. One theologian mentioned how Roman soldiers were equipped. They had some sort of armor or defensive material on the front of their bodies, but not the back. Why? Because they were trained to fight back-to-back. Heard that expression, “I’ve got your back”? Praying for each other is an important way that we help and defend each other in spiritual warfare.

Third, keep sacramentals handy and use them. Sacramentals “are sacred signs which bear a resemblance to the sacraments. They signify effects, particularly of a spiritual nature, which are obtained through the intercession of the Church. By them, men are disposed to receive the chief effect of the sacraments, and various occasions in life are rendered holy” (CCC 1667). Examples are holy water, religious medals, rosaries, scapulars, blessed salt. It’s the priestly blessing of these objects that gives God ownership of them so that He can work through them to protect us and give us graces. It’s interesting to note that anytime a priest or bishop blesses us, for instance at the end of every Mass, we’ve received a sacramental. All sacramentals should be treated with dignity and respect.

Fourth, the rosary is also a very powerful spiritual sword. Praying the rosary is transformative and it makes the mysteries in the Word of God (the other sword) present to us. It also calls upon Mary, who crushes Satan’s head. Another weapon more recently cited by some priests is the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, which asks our Eternal Father to have mercy on the whole world because of Jesus’ Passion.

Fifth, receiving the sacraments often, especially the Eucharist, because it joins us to Christ at His moment of victory over Satan. Making a good confession in the Sacrament of Reconciliation is also a great weapon. It heals the wounds of sins. Fr. John Hardon said, “Our misery never outweighs God’s mercy.” Jesus has great tenderness and compassion for us in our human frailty. God’s forgiveness and mercy put our sins away from us, “as far as the east is from the west” (Psalm 103:12), and erases their effects. Regarding penance, Fr. Hardon said, “Every act of charity that we can perform is like a little exorcism… When you leave the church, do some extra act of charity… [that way] the absolution penetrates and your good resolutions become stronger. Do something heroic… it can be something very small and ordinary in which we go beyond ourselves and outside ourselves [see the seventh point below]. Do it every day… that, too, is a protection against evil, because we stop being self-absorbed. And if you fall, repent, go to Confession [again]… The weapons are never exhausted!”

Sixth, have and maintain a personal relationship with Jesus. He is Truth and speaks Truth, unlike His adversary. A good way to develop our personal relationship with Jesus is to spend some time in Adoration each week.

Seventh, remember that it’s our own pride that can cast us into Hell. The names of the most dangerous demons are “I”, “Me”, and “Myself”. Love (Charity), which is our vocation, is selfless. The battle is around us, but also within us. We need to know ourselves well, our strengths and our weaknesses, the ways in which our tendencies to sin may make us cooperate with the enemy.

Eighth, keep focused on God, listen to Him and do His will. Prayer, meditating on Scripture and doing our best to love in each moment will help us do His will. Remember that Satan tries to entice us, using things that we find desirable, to get things or do things that are contrary to God’s will. When in doubt, refer to the Ten Commandments and Jesus’ New Commandment.

Ninth, grow in virtue and be true to our faith, but remember: the ultimate victory belongs to Christ, and it’s a victory of love and mercy. We must be humble, but also magnanimous and want to do great things for God. An example: the poor often share the little that they have.

Ten, invoke the angels, especially our guardian angels and St. Michael the Archangel. The angels are relentless in protecting us from sin. They can work on our memory, imagination and emotions, and can even put good people in our path. They try to weaken our attachment to evil (concupiscence). Demons are equally relentless in trying to destroy souls. But Fr. Mitch Pacwa said, “The more good decisions we make, the easier it is for the final decision: to be one with God.”

Eleventh, never dabble in the occult through Ouija boards, tarot cards, spells or incantations, etc. They are not harmless games. They’re like Trojan horses and can open the doors to darkness. On another ETWN program, Dr. Paul Thigpen, a Catholic convert and author, mentioned how he trifled with the dark arts as an atheistic teenager. Then he had a terrifying and dangerous encounter with demons. (He wasn’t on drugs.) He gave few details, but said that they were trying to kill him. If we’ve ever played around with the occult, taking that sin to Reconciliation will close the door to evil. Note that, although demons have power over matter and can sometimes hurt people, these occasions are rare. When it does happen, God is permitting it for a special reason… perhaps to gain for Himself a great spiritual warrior such as Dr. Thigpen.

Last, remember we’re all in this together. We must never think that we’re alone or that we have to go it alone. Having a prayer buddy, prayer group or spiritual director can provide additional support. Meanwhile, please know that, while following this advice myself, I’m praying for you, too.