“I gave them your word, and the world hated them, because they do
not belong to the world any more than I belong to the world. I do
not ask that you take them out of the world but that you keep them
from the Evil One.” John 17:14–15
Unfortunately, the evil one is real. He is the highest of the
fallen angels who retain their natural spiritual power given them
at their creation. God created all angelic creatures with the
purpose of serving His holy will. The Scripture reveals that there
are nine levels or “choirs” to which these angelic creatures
belong. Among the fallen angels, the highest of them directs the
others, and he is traditionally given the name Lucifer or “the
devil.”
One of the natural spiritual powers that these fallen angelic
creatures retain is the power of influence and suggestive thought.
They were created to be messengers of God’s truth to us; but, in
their fallen state, they seek to communicate confusion and lies
instead. Therefore, it is very helpful to understand the way the
evil one and the other fallen angels communicate to us so that we
can reject their lies and listen only to the voice of God.
In his rules for the discernment of spirits, Saint Ignatius of
Loyola explains that when a person is going “from mortal sin to
mortal sin,” the evil one and the other demons continually propose
to their imagination the “apparent pleasures” and “sensual
delights” that they obtain from their sin as a way of keeping them
firmly controlled by that sin. However, when a person is “intensely
cleansing their sins and rising from good to better,” the evil one
and the other demons act in a contrary way. They will “bite, sadden
and put obstacles, disquieting with false reasons, that one may not
go on” in their pursuit of holiness. God and the good angels will
act in the opposite way. For those immersed in sin, God and the
good angels will use “the opposite method, pricking them and biting
their consciences through the process of reason” so as to draw them
away from sin. And when a person is, in fact, growing in holiness,
God and the good angels will “give courage and strength,
consolations, tears, inspirations and quiet, easing, and putting
away all obstacles, that one may go on in well doing” (See
mycatholic.life/ignatius).
These spiritual lessons on the discernment of spirits are of great
value and will assist you on your daily struggle with sin and your
daily pursuit of holiness. Understanding the deceptions of the evil
one and discerning the promptings of grace given by God bring
clarity to our daily lives and direction to all of our actions. The
good news that is revealed by the Scripture passage above is that
our Lord is fully aware of the working of the evil one, has prayed
for you and will assist you as you seek to combat these lies and
deceptions in your life.
Reflect, today, upon the importance of learning how to discern both
the voice of God and the lies of the evil one. Work to discern the
voice of God so that you may follow Him more faithfully. And seek
to discern the lies of the evil one so that you will not be
influenced by him and can directly reject him. Commit yourself to a
more rigorous discernment of these spiritual experiences in your
life and allow this prayer of Jesus to direct you into His holy
will.
My all-powerful Lord, You have conquered the evil one and
provide all the grace I need to overcome his lies and deceptions.
Open my mind to discern Your voice and give clarity to the voice of
the evil one so that I may choose You with my whole heart and
reject all that the evil one tries to say to me. Jesus, I trust in
You.
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Featured image above: Temptation of Christ By Philips
Augustijn Immenraet, via Wikimedia Commons
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