And we ignore this at our own peril. Througout the Church, there are many who seem almost embarassed by any reference to the supernatural and who relegate the supernatural to the realm of superstition. These misguided souls, many of whom would classify themselves as Vatican II Catholics, actually ignore what the Council had to say about Satan and the other evil spirits. The Dogmatic Constitution on the Church (Lumen Gentium) No. 16, teaches that: '..often men, deceived by the Evil One, have become caught up in futile reasoning and have exchanged the truth of God for a lie, serving the creature rather than the Creator (cf. Rom 1:21,25)."
Pope Paul VI, in a general audience on November 15, 1972, stated: "What are the Church's greatest needs at the present time? Don't be surprised at our answer and don't write it off as simplistic or superstitious: one of the Church's greatest needs is to be defended against the evil which we call the Devil....Evil is not merely an absence of something but an active force, a living, spiritual being that is perverted and that perverts others....It is a departure from the picture provided by biblical and Church teaching to refuse to acknowledge the Devil's existence...or to explain the Devil as a pseudoreality, a conceptual, fanciful, personification of the unknown causes of our misfortunes...St. Paul calls him the "god of this world," and warns us of the struggle we Christians must carry on in the dark, not only against one Devil, but against a frightening multiplicity of them..."
Is this truth acknowledged by most Catholics? Hardly. Like my name-sake, I have been fighting the Evil One my whole life. And very often, I come across (even within the Church) the resistance of the Evil One and other evil spirits who will act through others. Recently, I tried to get the local diocesan newspaper - The Catholic Free Press - to list a Marian Movement of Priests Cenacle in its "Diocesan Diary" (a calendar of events held throughout the Diocese of Worcester, Massachusetts) and was insulted by the Editor of this newspaper. You would think the Diocese would be pleased that someone was taking the initiative to promote a Marian prayer group which is loyal to the Magisterium and where members consecrate themselves to Our Lady while pledging obedience and loyalty to the Magisterium in all things. Our strange times. What could possibly be the objection? After all, most members of this Cenacle belong to a parish which has advertised the Cenacle in its Parish bulletin. If there is something "illicit" about this Cenacle, why has the parish been promoting it in its bulletin?
The Evil One is very much at work today. Even within the Church. Many of us who consecrate ourselves daily to Our Lady while remaining faithful to the Magisterium of the Church are treated with nothing but contempt.
It has always been thus. And this enmity will continue to grow as St. Louis de Montfort explains:
"God has established only one enmity - but it is an irreconcilable one which will last and even go on increasing to the end of time. That enmity is between Mary, his worthy Mother, and the devil, between the children and the servants of the Blessed Virgin and the children and followers of Lucifer...
The children of Belial, the slaves of Satan, the friends of the world - for they are all one and the same - have always persecuted and will persecute more than ever in the future those who belong to the Blessed Virgin, just as Cain of old persecuted his brother Abel, and Esau his brother Jacob. These are the types of the wicked and of the just. But the humble Mary will always triumph over Satan, the proud one, and so great will be her victory that she will crush his head, the very seat of his pride. She will always unmask his serpent's cunning and expose his wicked plots. She will scatter to the winds his devilish plans and to the end of time will keep her faithful servants safe from his cruel claws...
Mary's power over the evil spirits will especially shine forth in the latter times, when Satan will lie in wait for her heel, that is, for her humble servants and her poor children whom she will rouse to fight against him. In the eyes of the world they will be little and poor and, like the heel, lowly in the eyes of all, down-trodden and crushed as is the heel by the other parts of the body. But in compensation for this they will be rich in God's graces, which will be abundantly bestowed on them by Mary. They will be great and exalted before God in holiness. They will be superior to all creatures by their great zeal and so strongly will they be supported by divine assistance that, in union with Mary, they will crush the head of Satan with their heel, that is, their humility, and bring victory to Jesus Christ." (True Devotion to Mary).
The Demon of Corruption has contaminated everything and all the nations of the world!! The Spirit of Rebellion has seduced humanity. Human events are constantly getting worse and worse.The power of darkenss is around us now. But in the end the victory will be exclusively for Jesus and His Mother because Our Lady has already begun her victorious action together with her good and docile children. Where Satan has demolished, Our Lady is building. Where Satan has wounded, Our Lady is healing. Where Satan has conquered, Our Lady is achieving the greatest triumph.
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