"But Demons are Liars!" - Why We Can Trust What Exorcists Learn
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...if we would embrace everything Our Lord offers us.
One of the many important things that I learned while researching and writing Slaying Dragons: What Exorcists See & What We Should Know is that we can all be so much happier than we are and so much happier than we think we could be.
The distant horizons of perfection can be brought nearer to us than we think and with greater ease than we understand. The strength and security and peace and fulfillment, for which we all seem to so vainly grasp in this life, can truly be found by those who possess the wisdom and the will to do what it takes to achieve this goal.
Unending Weakness
For many, the spiritual life can be a roller coaster: we make progress and then we regress, we understand and then we forget, we receive a grace and then we squander it, we grow zealous and then we grow cold. We look forward to Lent and Advent, and make progress in the penitential works which bring a brilliant Easter and Christmas. However, when the time of fasting is replaced by feasting, we often neglect to return to those former mortifications which benefited us so much.
In the background, as I myself have experienced, when we are aware that Our Lord is drawing us closer to Him and deeper into the spiritual life, we may detect a sluggishness pulling at us: old voices nagging at us, old weaknesses flaring up, and a burden like a chain dragging behind us. The freedom we glimpse and the freedom we desire fail to materialize or remain. The stable holiness and liberation, which we know we can attain through love and obedience to Christ, simply escapes us.
War and Grace
Herein lies what is practically a secret but which should be known by all: there is a dimension to the spiritual life which many neglect to consider and address, and which must be addressed in order to truly take hold of, and be transformed by, the intimate life with Christ which we crave. Until doing the research for my book, I myself was one of those who needed this knowledge but did not possess it.
After establishing a devotional life of frequent Confession, Mass, rosaries, daily prayer, and regular penance, there is something that still must be addressed: the machinations of the Evil One. The diabolical has been at work against us from our birth and throughout any life of sin that we may have previously led. Still, now, while we are devoted to Christ, the diabolical works against us in a spirit of revenge.
The diabolical had once acquired a certain strong influence over us and they do not let go of their claims easily. They cling to us as long as they are permitted to and cleverly plant every sort of vicious seed in our lives that they may one day find a wound and a sin which will be the avenue for their return.
This must be aggressively addressed by every follower of Christ in order to find that freedom and liberation from the nagging voices of these demons. Even when we have embraced a life of faith, we are still haunted and still being hunted, still pursued and still harassed, often due to the sins of our past as well as those still in our present.
Free. Now Fight.
On a personal note, almost a year ago, I experienced, through a devout use of the sacramentals (blessed salt, blessed candles, blessed oil, and holy water), in the context of regular Mass and Confession, the gift of a liberating grace that changed my spiritual life completely. God does this. He imparted this grace to me after a time of eager desire for it, and then following His will as revealed through His Church.
Immediately after what was, for me, a typical Confession, it was as if the blinders were removed and I was able to see Satan's current plan in my life. Not only that, I was also aware of the proper way to fight against him, and was newly fortified with the courage to do so.
After a week or so of enjoying this grace, the majority of the nagging voices which had accompanied me for years were permanently silenced. This grace brought with it a true sense of liberation, strength, and understanding.
Ever since that day, my spiritual life has not been the same. Our Lord, through my devout use of the Sacraments and sacramentals that He has entrusted to us through His Church, removed certain diabolical influences from my life, and increased my sense of spiritual freedom. This was only the beginning, and it was like a weapon for battle, which must be wielded to be of benefit.
For all of those who desire greater spiritual freedom, greater spiritual strength, the removal of the nagging thoughts and temptations and weaknesses which burden us spiritually and morally, and the peace and joy of the sons of God:
the weapons that Our Lord has entrusted to us must be utilized. This is the key.
All the Sacraments and sacramentals, combined with a life of devotion, piety, penance, and prayer, will bring God powerfully into our lives. These are the channels of grace which He Himself has established. If we use them with devotion and faith, we will be renewed and transformed into the saints we all desire to be.
Sometimes we are tempted to think:
But we must remember the Voice of Christ, Who says,
"Truly, truly, I say to you, every one who commits sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not continue in the house for ever; the son continues for ever. So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed." [John 8:34-36]
and
"When you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. But then what return did you get from the things of which you are now ashamed? The end of those things is death. But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the return you get is sanctification and its end, eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." [Romans 6: 20-23]
Wield the powers of grace!
Remember the stories of the great saints!
Fight against your weaknesses!
Believe and live accordingly!
We could be so much happier than we currently are and than we currently think we could be.
We could be so much happier if we would engage in spiritual warfare and chase away all the demons, big and little, that still haunt us and limit our joy.
They plague us with negative and sinful thoughts, and wear us down in the process.
They burden us in order to make us think that we are simply doomed to be this weak.
They burden us in order to make us identify with our negative thoughts such that we think we can never be free of them.
We can have so much more freedom and liberty than we currently do -
We can be so much freer from sinful temptations and repeated behaviors and depressing thoughts and jealousy and every sort of vice and sin if we would simply do the work of a disciple.
Being a Christian will transform us into glorious men and women - if we would just do it.
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Here is a suggested prayer to begin this journey:
My Lord and my God!
How I long for the freedom of which You speak! Break, O my Redeemer, these fetters which continue to weigh me down. Fill me, and invigorate me, with the breath and life of Your Holy Spirit. Look down, Almighty God, our Father, and, in Your great mercy, pour out upon me, Your child, the graces that I need in order to run this race and achieve my salvation! Make my heart beat with Your Love and divinity. Let Your life flow through my veins. Let Your Spirit within me, O my Savior, direct all my thoughts and desires. May everything I do, in the freedom you have desired and attained for me, be directed toward You and be done according to Your will. Amen.
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Brought to you by the author of Slaying Dragons: What Exorcists See & What We Should Know - Amazon.
Charles D. Fraune was the founding Theology teacher of Christ the King Catholic High School in Huntersville, NC and has been a Theology teacher there for eight years. In addition, he has taught nearly every grade level, from second grade to adult, including on the college and Diocesan level. He spent three semesters in seminary with the Diocese of Raleigh at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Pennsylvania. This completed a nine-year discernment of the priesthood and religious life after which he discerned that Our Lord was not calling him to the priesthood. He has a Master of Arts in Theology from the Christendom College Graduate School, as well as an Advanced Apostolic Catechetical Diploma. His enjoyment of writing began over twenty years ago, and finally culminated in his first completed book, Come Away By Yourselves. In addition to this, he has been working on books related to various aspects of the Catholic Faith, and to the powerful story of his return to the Catholic Faith after a time struggling with illness and depression. Part of this story is included in his spiritual warfare book directed at teenagers, Swords and Shadows: Navigating Youth Amidst the Wiles of Satan. The most successful and very popular book that is the current focus of his attention is Slaying Dragons: What Exorcists See & What We Should Know. He writes about spiritual warfare related topics on his website, www.TheSlayingDragonsBook.com. He lives in the Diocese of Charlotte, NC with his wife and three young children.
