Eucharistic revival: Spiritual Battles
Have you wondered “why” the National Eucharistic Revival puts so much emphasis on the Spiritual battle we are facing not only as the Eucharistic Revival begins to gather steam, but also in our daily lives? It is because within our culture rarely have we seen such a disintegration of morality, ethics, and understanding of the dignity of the human soul as we have these past 50-60 years.
There are many reasons for this most certainly, however the devil focuses on six areas we should all be aware of, especially when it comes to our spiritual lives and the Eucharist in Mass:
Lie # 1: You don’t need the Mass, and you do not need to pray.
Truth: The devil hates those with spiritual discipline in prayer and the sacraments. In fact, if we are true to participating in the sacraments of reconciliation and the Mass, and have a prayer discipline of praying morning, noon, and evening, the devil flees from us. The Eucharistic Revival teams regularly experience attacks from Satan because he wants nothing more than to destroy our belief in Jesus, our Priests, and in our marriages. We need to pray for the Eucharistic Revival, and for ourselves (the Holy Face Chaplet is a wonderful way to do this).
Lie # 2: You are not good enough.
Truth: Sometimes we are overwhelmed by our past sins. Sometimes we are overwhelmed by the fear of the future. The devil wants us to believe God does not have our back, so even after confessions we sometimes fall into shame and find it hard to believe God has forgiven us wretched sinners. Balderdash. If we have given a good confession, not only does God forgive but he also forgets all sins we have committed. You are a child of God through your baptism. Never forget how much he loves you (so much so, he died for you).
Lie # 3: Be anxious; there is much to worry about.
Truth: To surrender to the will of the Father is to trust in him totally when the good, the bad, and the ugly are within our lives. We are reminded to give thanks even in difficult times, to trust, and to surrender ourselves to the will of the Father – because “ALL” things work for the greater glory of God.
Lie # 4: You have plenty of time.
Truth: Well, the fact is we do not. Some of us think we can live forever; I thought this especially when I was in the armed service. It did not take long after enlisting to realize the stark reality the good Lord can call us home at any time. Are we ready? Do we believe? Jesus asks Peter, "Who do people say that I am?" Peter's response is one we have to choose daily, sometimes every minute of each day. Do I believe Jesus is "the son of God, the one who is to come?" Answer that honestly and it can change your life.
Lie # 5: Our past sins are unredeemable.
Truth: Despair is one of the greatest weapons of the devil. He fights so that we do not place our trust in God. The devils says "I’ve got your back. Here, let’s take this one ourselves." Lack of trust in the Lord is ever prevalent in our society because we think we can do it all, from changing our sex (God does not make mistakes) to living as a same sex couple (God created man and woman to be one). These are grave sins no doubt, but even in the deepest sin, the most horrible rejection of God in our sin, God still pricks our conscience, still sends our guardian angels to call us back, still loves us. All we need to do is repent and change our ways back to the Father, through His Son our Lord Jesus Christ, and then the strength of the Holy Spirit will guide us. Do not let the world or the devil win.
Lie # 6: The devil is a made-up, a psychological issue, there is no devil.
Truth: The devil is real. I know, have seen him, experienced him, and am sure Christ has won the victory. But many people do not believe, and many people are blinded by the world to the reality of spiritual warfare being waged every day, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for our souls. We are in a battle beyond material understanding. If we refuse to understand this battle, we have lost our souls already. I say stand, fight, believe, teach, and LIVE the gospel before it is too late.
One More Truth: The Eucharist is the source and summit of our faith. Through Jesus coming into us at each and every Mass, our spiritual battles become his, and his grace and mercy become ours.
As we come approach this Eucharistic Revival, it is important to pray for the revival of all souls to believe in the Eucharist once more. Our eternal life depends on this.
