We all know the Blessed Mother is unusually powerful -- uniquely potent -- against the enemy.

But why is that?

Do we simply think of it as another one of what the Church calls "mysteries"?

Perhaps.

But in his groundbreaking book on generational deliverance (The Healing of the Families), Father Yozefu-B. Ssemakula of Uganda (widely known as "Father Joseph") takes a stab at an explanation.

Mary's power over the devil? He answers that question with another question. "Have you ever wondered why former sports stars always turn into coaches later in life?" writes Father Yozefu. "It is because there is something about the game that they know how to do that their peers did not know and they want to impart that to future players. They have a specific power in the game.

"And so does Mary in the battle with Satan, and she imparts that power through intercession.

"There is, therefore, no place where Satan is defeated on earth without that unique intercession of Mary -- the intercession that only she can offer. A unique role that if she doesn't play, no one else can, because no one else ever had or will ever have what she got and has.

"This is why when we are thanking God for His deliverance of us, we also turn to thank Mary for her fervent intercession for us to Christ her Son, which happens wherever this activity happens, regardless of whether those involved knew or know about her involvement or not."

One has to be cautious; the main player here is Jesus. In His Name, demons are cast out. He is the chief upon Whom everything is predicated -- including the power of the death. With Jesus, we have everything. We have deliverance. We have mercy. Mercy drives away evil!

But the point is well-taken: Here is a woman who witnessed her Son battle Satan for 33 years -- culminating in that fantastically historical victory at Calvary.

She saw the spiritual battle before He was born, right after, no doubt during His Childhood, certainly even before the desert. One can only wonder at the direct manifestations she witnessed. Great are the odds that she saw much such conflict after His Resurrection (as the earliest Christians, including those martyred, fanned out). And so the question is answered by that other question (one worthy of meditation):

How could she not be an expert at spiritual warfare?

[resources: The Healing of the Families]

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