Preparing for Spiritual Warfare

The last two weeks have been rough for Catholics.. Real rough.

It has been heartbreaking watching the evil in the church be exposed - and to realize how deep and wide the evil has spread. The words that the Lord spoke to Hosea seem as relevant today as they did almost 3,000 years ago:

I will strip her naked, leaving her as on the day of her birth; I will make her like the wilderness, make her like an arid land, and let her die of thirst. - Hosea 2:5

Make no mistake, the Lord is shedding his purifying light into his church in order to cleanse and restore her to her rightful beauty. The Lord uses all things, and He has chosen to use the Grand Jury report to finally drive the evil out of his church by bringing to the surface those things that were once hidden. All praise and thanksgiving to the Lord, who has not abandoned his people! 

He has come to the help of his servant Israel, for he has remembered his promise of mercy,
the promise he made to our fathers, to Abraham and his children for ever. - Luke 54-55

However, there is a caveat; we as the Church must open ourselves up to God's grace in order for it to effect true and lasting change. We are like Gideon at War, the Lord will fight with his people, but He is calling the faithful to take part in the battle. The battle lines are being drawn for all out spiritual warfare. Whereas before the attack was coming from within, unknown to many of the faithful, now the serpent and his army have been exposed.

Be prepared for a nasty battle.

While being reminded of many different biblical battles, I think that the following scene from The Avengers captures our situation rather succinctly..

The "powers and principalities" that Paul exhorts us to fight against are legion; they are attacking the Church from every side as well as within. It is long time for the Church to employ her secret weapon, which is this: We fight as One with Christ. The Body of Christ, both in the Eucharist and in the Mystical Body of the Church, is the "Hulk" we need to defeat the seemingly overwhelming forces of evil that are stacked against us.

But how do we fight as one with the Body of Christ? Well, here are some practical tips.

1. Go to Confession and receive Communion. Often. In order for us to fight with the Body of Christ, we must be in communion with the Body of Christ.

2. Prayer and Fasting. Jesus said himself that some demons cannot be driven out without prayer and fasting. Therefore, we must employ these very effective weapons against the enemy.

3. Support your Priests and fellow Catholics, and become involved in your Church community. We all need to support each other as other members of the Body of Christ. We should be especially supporting our Priests right now as they are under direct attack, since they have the special privilege of offering up the Mass.

Notice that I did not include getting angry on this list. While anger is a natural and healthy response, we do not need to act out of anger lest we mistake our passion for zeal. 

The Devil has attacked God's People, his very Church, from within. I am sure that the Holy Spirit has enough anger for us all.