C.S. Lewis once warned that “there are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them” (The Screwtape Letters, 9). He goes on to talk about how this is kind of a “cruel dilemma” to the devils. When someone doesn’t believe, the devils can influence him in certain ways. When someone does believe, but has taken an “excessive and unhealthy” interest in them, the devils can influence him in other ways. But it is difficult for the devils to influence the person in both ways, at the same time.
Today, however, our “inclusive” culture seems to have found a way to put even these two extremes together. More and more I am seeing a phenomenon where people don’t really believe in the devil and they are overly fascinated with him. We have fallen into C.S. Lewis’ two “equal and opposite” errors, at the very same time. Man, are we good … at falling into bad things! The Venerable Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen warned: “We can play with [the devil] as a myth, while he works as a reality” (On The Demonic, 15).
At this time around Halloween, when people are toying with the devil—dangerous!—even more than usual, I would like to offer three things we can do to protect ourselves from demonic influence. But before we get into the nitty-gritty, it is important to note that Jesus beats the devil; Jesus is stronger than the devil. St. Michael the Archangel, was able to cast the devil out of heaven, because of the power God gave him. The Blessed Mother is able to crush the head of the serpent, because of the power of Jesus Christ (particularly through Jesus’ “preemptive strike,” also known as the “Immaculate Conception”). And St. Joseph is the terror of demons, because of the power of God; power that he gains through his humble service. We too are stronger than the demons … when Jesus Christ is in us. So, how do we get Jesus in us? What can we do to protect ourselves from demonic influence?
3 Things Catholics Can Protect Themselves From Demonic Influence
Receive The Sacraments Regularly
First, we need to regularize the reception of the Sacraments. St. John Vianney once said that all good works combined don’t equal one Mass. Because our good works are merely our good works, but the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is the work of God. This could be said for all the Sacraments. God can work outside the Sacraments, but He does work inside the Sacraments. They are our surest way of communing and communicating with Him.
Us priests have people come to us all the time asking for an exorcism (Catholics, non-Catholics, and even non-Christians will come to us—which points to the reality of the sacrament of Holy Orders, and that deep down, people “know”). People often think of an exorcism as some priest waving his magic wand, and magically taking care of all their problems. That’s not exactly how it works. The devil uses magic; Jesus demands that we pick up our crosses and follow Him (Matt 16:24). Fulton Sheen says that the essence of the anti-Christ, is anti-cross (On The Demonic, 4-5). The devil is always tempting us toward shortcuts from the cross. Jesus demands a bit more out of us, He wants us to get to work, He wants us to frequent the Sacraments.
Really, there are only two Sacraments we can frequent: confession and the Eucharist. But we should not frequent them haphazardly. St. Paul and St. Justin Martyr emphatically warn the faithful about making bad Communions, and bad confessions can drive our sins even deeper. It takes work and humility to make a good examination of conscience, and then lay open our hearts in the confessional. Attending Mass is no easy matter. At the Offertory, we offer ourselves, we place ourselves on the altar. At the Consecration, what happens? Well, what happens to anything you put on the altar? It is sacrificed. It dies! And, at Communion, to the extent that we have lost our own lives, we can receive the Life of the Lord.
Although we can’t “frequent” the Sacrament of Marriage, we can make sure that our marriages are “regular.” If you are in an irregular marriage, talk to your priest. Anything you bring to us, we can work with. Anything you don’t bring to us, we can’t work with. If a couple is living like they are married (you know, doing that baby making thing), but are in an irregular marriage, they are living in perpetual mortal sin. Mortal sin cuts us off from God and leaves us in the devil’s hands.
Clean Up Our Morality
Which brings me to the second action we can take to protect ourselves from demonic influence: We can clean up our morality. Mortal sins break us off from God, but even venial sins hurt our relationship with God. When we love someone, we don’t want to hurt them. Your typical priest, after only a few years of priesthood has heard thousands of confessions. If you’ve been away from the Sacrament of Confession for a while, you might not know what to do, but I guarantee you the priest does! Just get those legs a movin’ and walk into the confessional. If you came into my confessional without having been to confession in 40 years and you didn’t have a clue what to do, in twenty minutes I could have you make a pretty good confession. But guess what? Your next confession will be better.
When we go to confession, we give up our sins, and naturally, we draw closer to God. Being closer to God, we will see more of our sins. So, in a month, bring those sins to confession. Then we will draw even closer to God, and we will see more of our sins. In a month, bring those. Then we will draw still closer to God, see more of our sins, and bring those to confession. Rinse, wash, repeat! Frequent confession just walks us to heaven. A huge part of keeping out of demonic influence, is just keeping our souls clean, even from “small” venial sins, so that God’s grace can shine through them.
Yet, it’s not enough to merely chase away the bad, we have to replace it with something good (see Matt 12:43-45). There is no one “good” but God alone (see Mark 10:18), and God is the One stronger than the devil. So, the only way to really keep the devil at bay, is to be filled with God. This brings us back to frequenting the Sacraments, particularly Eucharist.
Make A Daily Holy Hour
Thirdly, to protect ourselves from demonic influence, make a daily Holy Hour. The Holy Hour is an hour spent in prayer that was popularized by Archbishop Fulton Sheen. His “new” book, On The Demonic, ends with an entire chapter called “Fighting the Demonic with the Holy Hour.” In the Holy Hour, we collect ourselves, we “find” ourselves, so that we can present ourselves to God. The devil loves to attack our identity. An hour spent with Jesus will do lots for your identity. You will come to know your true identity, as God’s beloved son or God’s beloved daughter. It will give you a chance to make reparation and intercede for others. And it’s a way to actively fight the demonic.
In the Gospel of John, “hour” is always used in reference to evil. But in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus asks His disciples to reverse that evil and make an hour with Him (see Matt 26:40). Archbishop Fulton Sheen states: “While the Apostles slept in the garden, the devil was awake. The Savior now pleads that we watch so that Love may overcome anti-love. The reason for the Hour, therefore, is to combat the evil in the world and to repair the satanic influence. This is not something arbitrary. This is not a devotion. This is biblical” (On The Demonic, 193). Sheen argues that the Hour is a non-negotiable for priests, and laity really ought to do at least 15 minutes a day. (Personally, this was absolutely essential for my finding Jesus and hearing my call to the priesthood.)
It is preferable to make the Holy Hour in front of the Blessed Sacrament. In the early days of my priesthood, if I was traveling, I might make my Holy Hour in my car while I’m on the road. Now, I find that I need to be in His Real Presence. Of course, not everyone lives right next to a church like us priests do. For the lay person, try making the Holy Hour in the presence of a good Crucifix—one that shows the suffering Jesus went through to save us (again, the devil can’t stand the cross, and would never suffer for us). Crack open the Scriptures. Jesus is the Word, and is present in the words of Sacred Scripture. Be sure to make the Hour in silence. Sometimes God will speak to you, but much of the time He will be silent too, and just enjoy your company while you enjoy His.
And after spending time with the Jesus, He will begin to radiate off you; like Moses, when he came down from the mountain and had to veil his face (see Ex 34:29-35). People will be able to tell that you’ve been with Jesus. And there is nothing that scars the devil away more than Jesus.
God Love You!
