Facing temptations while fasting

By Lora Goulet

Painting by Robert Kemm (Wikimedia Commons).

Prayer and fasting cause a holy peace to flourish deep within our souls. Therefore, during a fast, it is not unusual for the evil one to attack with external (usually interpersonal) disruptions, provoking an internal "crankiness". Our obligation to forgive others coincides with a necessary examination of our own conscience.

Our hearts must be willing to repent. How humbling it is to confront that for which we require forgiveness! This can be more painful than the struggle against cravings for things of this world. We may even be tempted to give up praying and fasting. The strength to persevere comes from total reliance on Jesus. We are then free to experience the peace that comes from forgiveness and acceptance of God's will.  

"And Jesus said, 

'Father forgive them 

for they know not what they do.'"

Luke 23:34 

Douay Rheims Roman Catholic Bible

Lora has written a short series on prayer and fasting for Lent at her blog mommynovenas.

The cockle in our lives

By Barbara A. Schoeneberger

Kiss of Judas, Fecamp Psalter

Wikimedia Commons

The Gospel for the Fifth Sunday After Epiphany in the Extraordinary Form is the parable of the man who sowed good seed in his field, but his enemy came in at night and sowed cockle seed over it. Now what kind of person would do such a thing? The farmer’s crop not only provided his living, others needed it for survival too, and future crops depended on the seed. The malicious act of a hateful heart would hurt many.

This is exactly what Satan is about. Create as much pain and suffering as possible in ways that have far reaching effects. Discourage all kindness. Choke the light of Christ out from the midst of God’s children. Seize their water and make them shrivel and die, all the while masquerading as one of the authentic stalks of grain until the very last minute when the reality of being a fake naturally emerges.

Cockle and wheat look alike when growing until the heads mature. At harvest the cockle is uprooted, bound and burned. The wheat is harvested and stored in the barn, protected from the elements, safe. We can see the obvious spiritual reference to the Last Judgment here, but let’s back up a bit and consider the time of the two growing along side each other. If we identify ourselves with the wheat, what is God showing us here of how we are to live in this very imperfect world? Why not just rip up the cockle wherever it appears so that it can’t hurt any of the wheat?


Continue reading at Barb's blog  Suffering With Joy.

Don't crack open the door to the devil

 By Mary N.

The Vine Dresser and the Fig Tree by Tissot
(photo credit: Wikimedia Commons).

Ever have days when you feel as if you are trudging through deep water?  And you wish the day would hurry up and be finished already?

Well, it happens to me. Over the years, I've learned to recognize the patterns of thought that bring it about and how Satan uses it to oppress me. As aware as I am of what brings about the oppression on these days I have to admit that I sometimes wallow in it for a while.

Call it self-pity if you will.

Let's use insomnia as an example since this is a problem for a number of people, including me. I'll have a sleepless night and feel "foggy", tired, and irritable by 7:00 in the morning. Since we are physical as well as spiritual beings, in prances "Old Slewfoot" determined to get a foothold into my day.

And it always starts with the mind.

 If you can overcome these attacks quickly you have a good chance of having a smooth day. If you don't put them down quickly? Well, things will probably just spiral downwards from there.

Usually I am the one who starts the mess with an internal dialogue that might go something like this:

"Oh, how am I going to get through the day? I'm exhausted and of course it's a work day!" (You can fill in things other than work - the point is that we sometimes set ourselves up for bad days.)

"Why can't I sleep normally like other people? Great, just great!  I really needed a good night's sleep, too. Oh well! Another day of walking around in a daze I guess!" (I say this to myself but sometimes secretly wonder if I'm really announcing my displeasure to God. After all, I already know I'm tired so there would be no point in mentioning it to myself, right? Think along the lines of telling others all about your exhaustion to elicit sympathy from them...lol)
                 
If I let thoughts like these fester instead of ripping them out I can almost guarantee that they will get worse:

"I look haggard! Sheesh! Look at those dark circles! And to top it off my head is pounding. I can't go to work like this!"


Continue reading at Mary's blog The Beautiful Gate.

Don't bother summoning the devil

By Dennis P. McGeehan

St. Michael with the Dragon by Rafael (photo credit: Wikimedia Commons)

So the other day I was channel surfing trying to find something worthwhile to watch (I failed miserably) when I came upon a movie whose current scene caught my eye. I paused and watched for a few minutes.

It turns out the gist of the movie was that a rare book collector wanted to obtain an ancient text that held the secret to summoning Satan (A.K.A. the Devil, Beelzebub, Lucifer, The Father of Lies, The Prince of Darkness, etc.)

I changed the channel as I quickly lost interest. Then it occurred to me, what a worthless waste of energy and money that would be. There’s really no need to summon Satan. Scripture tells us he roves around like a hungry Lion. Satan and his minions are actively involved in battle against God and the people on Earth who are striving to do God’s will. Those people who are clueless about the true reality and existence of Satan and who are doing his work unwittingly he leaves alone or he even prospers their work.

Movies (or books) like the one I happened on distort the reality of the spiritual world. Incorporeal beings exist. They were created by God at the moment of Creation. They are powerful beyond comprehension. The Devil and his cohorts are locked in combat with God and the Angel’s who remained faithful. The story lines of such movies always follow the same plot, some person or group uses incantations, sacrifices, etc. to garner power over supernatural beings so they can profit from their control over them. You would be more successful in your efforts to control the weather.


Continue reading at Dennis's blog Warrior's World Dad.