Spirit Daily

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When Bad Things Happen To Good People, Good People Avoid Poison Of The Devil 

We make a mistake not only when we put God in a box, but when we put ourselves in a box as well. We have to be open in life to do great things, and that means anything is possible -- including self-deliverance.

We especially have to be open to the Will of the Lord: When we fill ourselves with God, there is no room for darkness. This begins the process of cleansing that expels the enemy.

Ask the Holy Spirit what spirit may be blocking you, afflicting you, or dragging you down. When He identifies it, cast the spirit away (gluttony, lust, greed, depression) by name -- and expect miraculous results!

Mainly, love in all circumstances. Such is the surest route to Heaven and deliverance while on earth, which is the domain of the enemy.

Be careful not to harden (or darken) your hearts. We do that not only when we sin, but also when we are closed-minded, judgmental, and negative.

Each time we react to negativity without love we place cement in our hearts.

We are called to love in all circumstances, and when we don't -- when we react to the negativity of someone else, or some circumstance -- concrete pours inside (and then more concrete) and pretty soon we have lost our capacity to love in a way that would draw us close to God.

And this is a lesson for today: how to avoid hardness, how to avoid the devil's poison, how to avoid darkness, which are all the same. For whenever we transgress, we invite hardness in. We can also do this through hatred, bitterness, or jealousy.

Such emotions rise in a special manner when we are ill or otherwise hurt. A deep wound is both an opportunity and a danger. Satan stands at the door of our wounds, and tries to pour his cement through them. It is like the gall he offered to Jesus on the Cross. When St. Teresa of Avila was given a vision of hell, she saw mud that trapped those who wallowed in it.

When we become bitter, we too are trapped and when we sin we have a blotch in our spirits that may then transmit to the physical (making us sicker still or ill if we are well). Blotches add up until they blind us -- until they calcify. Slowly but surely, we build a wall between ourselves and God.

This "hardness" may come not just through illnesses or accidents but also when we are having financial or emotional distress. During an upset in a marriage, the devil is only too quick to tell us how bad things are, how they will not improve, how it is over for us. If we succumb to a negative expectation, and bitterness, we curse ourselves. When we are angry, despairing, resentful, or jealous, we also curse others. We spread the poison.

When we are hurt, when we get a new suffering, when we are in pain, it opens up a wound in our hearts, like a hole: a void within us. If Christ is not allowed to fill that void, the devil does.

He knows that wounds are an opportunity to enter our souls and he speaks to us so that we can hear him (louder than all else). The first sign of Satan's presence: confusion, anxiety, and frustration -- especially frustration with God.

When we use the wounds as an offering to the Lord, on the other hand -- as an opportunity for growth, and maintain our faith -- they become a ticket to deliverance here and Heaven after.

Don't let the devil pour in his poison. Halt him from feeding your thoughts. Resist the temptation to misery. Cast him away in the Name of Christ.

Christ also stands at the door to our wounds and He wants to fill them. He guides us to self-deliverance.

Are we really qualified?

Many are those who question deliverance and whether anyone can do it. When it is a full-scale exorcism, the answer is clear: such must be done only through a priest -- and one who has the express permission of his bishop.

But for infestations? For attachments? For those cement walls?

Let us look at a recent Mass reading (Mark 9:38-43, 45, 47-48): "At that time, John said to Jesus, 'Teacher, we saw someone driving out demons in your name, and we tried to prevent him because he does not follow us.' Jesus replied, 'Do not prevent him.'"

He was making a statement that evil is cast out when we use His Name. We do this during the Lord's Prayer! And we do it in a special way through strong use of the sacraments.

Confession breaks through concrete. So does the Eucharist. The Host is a beacon of Light. Each prayer chips away at the hardness that has built around you.

Resist the devil and he will flee. Accept nothing he has to say or offer. Halt him before he has a foothold.

And expel what he has injected.

Is there something in your life that is holding you back? Are you bitter, hardened? Is there a block you can't figure out?

Ask the Holy Spirit to peer through your soul and reveal the wound and then let the Name above all names blast away the concrete with a power that neutralizes all poison and dispels all darkness -- that cleanses the wounds of the leper.

10/20/06

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