St. Teresa of Avila and The Battle with evil

From The Collected Works of St. Teresa of Avila, Volume 1, Chapter 31, parts: 7-11 : 

7. It is certain that what I shall now tell happened to me. (And there are many witnesses to this, especially the one who is now my confessor since he saw it written in a letter; without my telling him who the person was to whom the letter belonged, he knew very well who it was.)

A person came to me who had been in mortal sin for two and a half years. It was one of the most abominable I've heard of, and in all this time he hadn't confessed or made amends; and he was saying Mass. Although he was confessing other sins, of this one he asked how he could confess something so ugly. He had a great desire to give it up, but he wasn't able to help himself. He made me feel great pity, and my seeing that he offended God in such a way caused me deep sorrow. I promised him I would beg God very much to liberate him and that I would get others better than myself to do the same, and I wrote to him through a certain person he told me I could give the letters to. And so it happened that after receiving the first letter he went to confession. For God desired (through the many very holy persons to whose prayers I recommended him) to grant this soul that mercy; and I, although miserable, did what I could with great care. He wrote to me that he was so much better that for days he had not fallen into the sin, but that the torment the temptation gave him was so intense it seemed from what he suffered he was in hell; he asked me to commend him to God. I in turn recommended him to my sisters through whose prayers the Lord must have granted me this favor, for they took the matter very much to heart. No one could guess who the person was. I begged His Majesty to mitigate those torments and temptations and that those devils would come to afflict me, provided that I would not offend the Lord in anything. As a result, for a month I suffered severe torments; it was during this time that these two things I mentioned happened.

8. The Lord was pleased that they leave him; this he wrote to me, for I told him what I was going through during that month. His soul was fortified, and he was left completely free. He didn't have enough of thanking God and me as though I had done anything. But the reputation I had from the fact that the Lord granted me favors benefitted him. He said that when he found himself very distressed he read my letters, and the temptation left him. He was very impressed by what I had suffered and how he had been freed. Even I was amazed, and I would have suffered many more years to see that soul free. May the Lord be praised for everything, for the prayer of those who serve Him (as I believe do these sisters in this house) can do much. But since I sought these prayers, the devils must have been more angry with me; and the Lord on account of my sins permitted this.

9. Also one night during this time I thought they were choking me; after much holy water had been sprinkled around, I saw a great multitude of them go by, as though they were being thrown down a precipice. There are so many times that these cursed creatures torment me, and so little is the fear I now have of them, seeing that they cannot stir unless the Lord allows them, that I would tire your Reverence and tire myself if I told about all these instances.


10. May what was said be of help that the true servant of God might pay no attention to the scarecrows the devils set up in order to cause fear. We should know that each time we pay no attention to them they are weakened and the soul gains much more mastery. Some great benefit always remains, which I won't go into so as not to enlarge. I shall only mention what happened to me on the night of All Souls: while I was in the oratory after having recited a nocturn and while saying some very devotional prayers that come at the end, a devil appeared on the book so that I couldn't finish the prayer. I blessed myself, and he went away. When I began again to recite the prayers, he returned. I believe it was three times I began, and until I threw holy water at him I couldn't finish. I saw that some souls left purgatory at that instant; little must have been lacking to their freedom, and I wondered if he had aimed at preventing this.


A few times I've seen him in physical form, but many times with no physical form-as for instance in the vision mentioned above in which without seeing any form one knows he is there.

11. I also want to tell the following because it frightened me a lot: one day on the feast of the Trinity, being in the choir of a certain monastery and in rapture, I saw a great battle of devils against angels. I couldn't understand what that vision meant. In less than fifteen days it became easily understandable on account of a certain conflict that arose between people of prayer and many who were not, and a lot of harm was done in the house in which it took place. It was a battle that lasted a long time and caused much disquiet.

At other times I saw a large multitude of devils around me, and it seemed that a great brightness encircled me, and this prevented them from reaching me. I understood that God was watching over me so that they could not get to me in order to make me offend Him. From what I sometimes saw in myself, I understood that it was a true vision. The fact is that now I have understood so well the little bit of power he has provided I'm not against God, that I have almost no fear . The powers of devils are nothing if these devils do not find souls cowardly and surrendered to them: it is with such souls that they show their power. Sometime, in the temptations I already mentioned, it seemed to me that all the vanities and weaknesses of the past were again awakening within me; I had really to commend myself to God. At once the torment came of thinking that since those thoughts arose in me the favors I experienced must all be from the devil. It seemed to me that there shouldn't have been even the first stirrings of a bad thought in one who was receiving so many favors from the Lord. But then my confessor put me at peace.

The Collected Works of St. Teresa of Avila, Volume 1, Chapter 31, part 4.

I often experience that there is nothing the devils flee from more without returning than holy water. They also flee from the cross, but they return. The power of holy water must be great. For me there is a particular and very noticeable consolation my soul experiences upon taking it. Without a doubt my soul feels ordinarily a refreshment I wouldn't know how to explain, like an interior delight that comforts it entirely. This isn't some fancy or something that has happened to me only once, but something that has happened often and that I've observed carefully. Let us say the relief is like that coming to a person, very hot and thirsty, when he drinks a jar of cold water; it would seem that he felt the refreshment all over. I consider everything ordained by the Church to be important, and I rejoice to see the power of those words recited over the water so that its difference from unblessed water becomes so great.

* Let us pray for our Priests and not criticise them or condemn them. We can see above in St. Teresa's writings the power of Praying for Priests and that the Lord wants us to pray much, offer sacrifices and intercede for them regularly. 

St Maria Faustina Kowalska - Saint of the Divine Mercy; The Devotion for our Times

5th October, the Feast Day of St. Faustina Kowalska secretary of Jesus Divine Mercy.  Born Helena Kowalska on August 25th  1905 in Glogowiec, Poland. –  At the age of 33, Sister Faustina died in Krakow of tuberculosis. She went home to the Lord on October 5, 1938. In 1968, the process of beatification was started in Rome. On April 13, 1993, after completion of the beatification process, Pope John Paul II declared that Sister Faustina would be known as Blessed Faustina.

It was just seven years later — on April 30, 2000 — that Sister Faustina was elevated to the title of Saint Faustina. The declaration of her sainthood was scheduled on a Sunday of particular importance to Sister Faustina. April 30th was the Sunday after Easter which was also the Sunday Sister Faustina said Jesus would like dedicated to his Divine Mercy.  St. Faustina wrote about her spiritual experiences and her conversations with Jesus in her Diary. 


"I am to write down the encounters of my soul with You, O God, at the moments of Your special visitations. I am to write about You, O Incomprehensible in mercy towards my poor soul. Your holy will is the life of my soul. I have received this order through him who is for me Your representative here on earth, who interprets Your holy Will to me. Jesus, You see how difficult it is for me to write, how unable I am to put down clearly what I experience in my soul. O God, can a pen write down that for which many a time there are no words? But You give the order to write, O God; that is enough for me." (Diary, 6).


"[April] 26. On Friday, when I was at Ostra Brama to attend the ceremony during which the image was displayed, I heard a sermon given by my confessor [Father Sopocko]. This sermon about Divine Mercy was the first of the things that Jesus had asked for so very long ago. When he began to speak about the great mercy of the Lord, the image came alive and the rays pierced the hearts of the people gathered there, but not all to the same degree. Some received more, some less. Great joy filled my soul to see the grace of God.

Then I heard the words, You are a witness of My mercy. You shall stand before My throne forever as a living witness to My mercy." (Diary, 417)

Jesus makes great promises to those who spread this devotion and trust in Him...

"But God has promised a great grace especially to you and to all those... who will proclaim My great mercy. I shall protect them Myself at the hour of death, as My own glory. And even if the sins of soul are as dark as night, when the sinner turns to My mercy he gives Me the greatest praise and is the glory of My Passion. When a soul praises My goodness, Satan trembles before it and flees to the very bottom of hell." (Diary, 378)

"Souls who spread the honor of My mercy I shield through their entire lives as a tender mother her infant, and at the hour of death I will not be a Judge for them, but the Merciful Savior. At that last hour, a soul has nothing with which to defend itself except My mercy. Happy is the soul that during its lifetime immersed itself in the Fountain of Mercy, because justice will have no hold on it. " (Diary, 1075)

" The Lord said to me, My daughter, do not tire of proclaiming My mercy. In this way you will refresh this Heart of Mine, which burns with a flame of pity for sinners. Tell My priests that hardened sinners will repent on hearing their words when they speak about My unfathomable mercy, about the compassion I have for them in My Heart. To priests who proclaim and extol My mercy, I will give wondrous power; I will anoint their words and touch the hearts of those to whom they will speak." (Diary, 1521)

Jesus also warns those who do not recognise the Message of Divine Mercy which is His work to save souls from eternal damnation.  Let us pray to St. Faustina that all Priests will become more open to this work of Mercy of Jesus and establish the Feast Day properly in their Churches for the next Divine Mercy Sunday May 1st 2011 and that His Image of Divine Mercy be placed in a prominent place in our Churches and be properly venerated so that all souls may have access to it.  We must never undermine the importance of this great devotion to save souls and to free souls from their suffering in purgatory. 

When once I asked the Lord Jesus how He could tolerate so many sins and crimes and not punish them, the Lord answered me, I have eternity for punishing [these], and so I am prolonging the time of Mercy for the sake of [sinners]. But woe to them if they do not recognize this time of My visitation. My daughter, secretary of My Mercy, your duty is not only to write about and proclaim My Mercy, but also to beg for this grace for them, so that they too may glorify My Mercy. 

The Time of Mercy.....

From the Diary of St. Faustina...the words of Jesus

"Before the Day of Justice, I am sending the Day of Mercy... " (Diary 1588) "I am prolonging the time of mercy for the sake of [sinners]. But woe to them if they do not recognize this time of My visitation..." (Diary 1160)

"While there is still time, let them have recourse to the fount of My mercy...." (Diary 848) "He who refuses to pass through the door of My mercy must pass through the door of My justice." (Diary 1146)

Our Lord gave us the Chaplet of Divine Mercy through Saint Faustina, and He made it clear to her that it was for the whole world. He also attached extraordinary promises to its recitation. He said, "Encourage souls to say the Chaplet which I have given you...(Diary, 1541). Whoever will recite it will receive great mercy at the hour of death... (Diary, 687). When they say this Chaplet in the presence of the dying, I will stand between My Father and the dying person, not as the Just Judge but as the Merciful Savior..(Diary, 1541).. Priests will recommend it to sinners as their last hope of salvation. Even if there were a sinner most hardened, if he were to recite this Chaplet only once, he would receive grace from My infinite mercy... I desire to grant unimaginable graces to souls who trust in My mercy.(Diary, 687).. Through the Chaplet you will obtain everything, if what you ask for is compatible with My will." (Diary, 1731).

The Lost Sheep and the Shepherds.....

During the last week we had readings in the Divine Office speaking about the Shepherds and below is just one which comes from Ezekiel.  It was appropriate during the recent days when a meeting in Ireland of an Association for Irish Priests took place . It was said that there were 300 Priests at that meeting which was not the case.  There were less than two hundred.  While we are called to pray and not criticise our Priests, I would just say that this Association's ideals has nothing to offer me, or any lay Catholic, Religious or Priest who wishes to follow Christ and His Church.  I will leave the words to the Lord in Ezekiel...

Ezekiel 34:1-6,11-16,23-31

The word of the Lord was addressed to me as follows: Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy and say to them:

Shepherds, the Lord says this: Trouble for the shepherds of Israel who feed themselves! Shepherds ought to feed their flock, yet you have fed on milk, you have dressed yourselves in wool, you have sacrificed the fattest sheep, but failed to feed the flock. You have failed to make weak sheep strong, or to care for the sick ones, or bandage the wounded ones. You have failed to bring back strays or look for the lost. On the contrary, you have ruled them cruelly and violently. For lack of a shepherd they have scattered, to become the prey of any wild animal; they have scattered far. My flock is straying this way and that, on mountains and on high hills; my flock has been scattered all over the country; no one bothers about them and no one looks for them.

For the Lord says this: I am going to look after my flock myself and keep all of it in view. As a shepherd keeps all his flock in view when he stands up in the middle of his scattered sheep, so shall I keep my sheep in view. I shall rescue them from wherever they have been scattered during the mist and darkness. I shall bring them out of the countries where they are; I shall gather them together from foreign countries and bring them back to their own land. I shall pasture them on the mountains of Israel, in the ravines and in every inhabited place in the land. I shall feed them in good pasturage; the high mountains of Israel will be their grazing ground. There they will rest in good grazing ground; they will browse in rich pastures on the mountains of Israel. I myself will pasture my sheep, I myself will show them where to rest–it is the Lord who speaks. I shall look for the lost one, bring back the stray, bandage the wounded and make the weak strong. I shall watch over the fat and healthy. I shall be a true shepherd to them.

The Need for Confession

Recently I was informed that at a pilgrimage site in Ireland, a Priest was heard to say that there was no need to confess one's sins when going to confession...no just go for a chat and get a blessing, he said.  It is very sad to hear that a Priest actually said this in a place where people go for penance and prayer.  It was also a lost opportunity for many if they did what he had said. 

Confession is a beautiful and very necessary Sacrament that restores us to Christ and rebuilds and breathes new life into a soul that is dead in sin.  It restores us to grace, refreshes and cleanses us again and brings healing to our souls and also to the whole body of Christ.    For someone to say we don't need to confess our sins when we go to Confession is an absolute lie, it is false and leads many down a dangerous path.  What is the Sacrament of Confession for but to confess our sins and be sorry for them ?  May the Lord have mercy on us and let us pray for our Priests. 

Here below is what our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI said on a reflection of the Gospel of Mark in 2009.  Sin is what puts distance between the believer and God, and it's the sacrament of confession that brings the two back together, says Benedict XVI.

The Pope said this in a Gospel reflection on Mark's account of the healed leper, which he delivered before praying the midday Angelus with those gathered in St. Peter's Square. 

In the Gospel account, recalls the Pontiff, the leper "gets on his knees and says: 'If you wish, you can make me clean!' Jesus, moved, stretches out his hand, touches him and says: 'I do wish it. Be made clean!'"

"According to the ancient Jewish law," the Holy Father explained, "leprosy was not only considered a sickness but the gravest form of 'impurity.'"  He continued: "Leprosy thus constituted a kind of religious and civil death, and its healing was a kind of resurrection. We might see in leprosy a symbol of sin, which is the true impurity of heart, distancing us from God. "It is not, in effect, physical malady that distances us from him, as the ancient norms supposed, but sin, the spiritual and moral evil."

Benedict XVI reflected: "The sins we commit distance us from God, and, if they are not humbly confessed, trusting in the divine mercy, they will finally bring about the death of the soul. This miracle thus has powerful symbolic value.  "In the Sacrament of Penance Christ crucified and risen, through his ministers, purifies us with his infinite mercy, restores us to communion with the heavenly Father and our brothers, and makes a gift of his love, joy and peace to us."

"Dear brothers and sisters," he concluded, "let us invoke the Virgin Mary, whom God preserved from every stain of sin, that she help us to avoid sin and to have frequent recourse to the sacrament of confession, the sacrament of forgiveness, whose value and importance for our Christian life needs to be rediscovered today."

And From the Diary of St. Faustina, Jesus said
 

Come with faith to the feet of My representative...I myself am waiting there for you. I am only hidden by the priest... I Myself act in your soul... Make your confession before Me. The person of the priest is, for Me, only a screen. Never analyse what sort of a priest it is that I am making use of; open your soul in confession as you would to Me, and I will fill it with My light...

Were a soul like a decaying corpse, so that from a human standpoint, there would be no hope of restoration and everything would already be lost, it is not so with God. The miracle of Divine Mercy restores that soul in full... From this fount of mercy souls draw graces solely with the vessel of trust. If their trust is great, there is no limit to My generosity.

Pray for the Church and our Priests

We can see around us a great spiritual battle going on in the world...the forces of evil seem very strong but God is greater than all this.  The world is in a pretty awful state and the Church has been shaken to its foundations.  But we are called to pray and remember that Christ is victorious.  Through the Cross, Our Lord Jesus broke the chains of death.  He has given us the Church, the Sacraments, the Holy Eucharist and has called men out to minister to His people.  These men are human, are open to many temptations, they need our assistance and our prayers.

Again I cannot empahise more the need to pray for our Priests.  It is too easy to criticise them for their shortcomings but we must pray for them instead.  They are very special to Jesus and Our Lady and we need to encourage them, love and respect them and their ministry.  Perhaps you can pray this prayer below for your own Priests in your Parish.  Or maybe you could start praying for your Priests with someone else.

As I said before, my friend and I started a small Divine Mercy meeting where we pray the Rosary, Chaplet of Mercy, read some of the Diary of St. Faustina and we pray this prayer for Priests and we also include the Holy Souls in Purgatory and those who need prayer very much.  But our Rosary and Chaplet are offered for Priests specifically.  We also have a book where we have put the names of all the Priests we know of, who we pray especially for. This little meeting only takes an hour.  It is not too much to ask considering that our Priests have given their whole lives to the Church for us to have the privilege of the Sacraments that we too often take for granted. 

St. Faustina's Prayer for Priests

"O my Jesus, I beg You on behalf of the whole Church: Grant it love and the light of Your Spirit, and give power to the words of Priests so that hardened hearts might be brought to repentance and return to You, O Lord. Lord, give us holy Priests; You yourself maintain them in holiness. O Divine and Great High Priest, may the power of Your mercy accompany them everywhere and protect them from the devil's traps and snares which are continually being set for the soul of Priests.

May the power of Your mercy, O Lord, shatter and bring to naught all that might tarnish the sanctity of Priests, for You can do all things."  -  St. Faustina's Diary  1052

Laity and the role of the Priest

While there is of course a place for the laity in the Church where they work closely with the Bishop or Priest in a Diocese or Parish, there are also some instances where the laity can overstep their boundaries.  They can become the administrators who make all the decisions which can affect the other Priests and the laity in a very negative way.  When a community starts to fall apart and the fruits of a Priests work become less and less, it should be obvious what is happening.   I have seen this happening in a particular Parish which should be blossoming and full of life. A lay person has been given too much control and it has caused many problems for the Church and its community. 

A Priest is called by God especially to serve Jesus and his people, to minister to His flock, to be a Shepherd. The laity who work in the Church are not the Shepherds, they cannot do what a Priest can do.    The laity need to know their place, to serve the Priest and the Church and not to dictate or make decisions which should be made by the Priest or Bishop alone. 

In 2009 Pope Benedict XVI said.on the clericalisation of the laity.

It is important to avoid the secularisation of clergy and the 'clericalisation' of the laity", Pope Benedict said in his address at Castelgandolfo, to a group of Bishops from Brazil, who had just completed their 'ad limina' visit.

Highlighting the functions of the various members of the Church, the Pope explained how "the particular identity of priests and laity must be seen in the light of the essential difference between priestly ministry and the 'common priesthood'. Hence it is important to avoid the secularisation of clergy and the 'clericalisation' of the laity".

Benedict XVI indicated that "the lack of priests does not justify a more active and abundant participation of the laity. The truth is that the greater the faithful's awareness of their own responsibilities within the Church, the clearer becomes the specific identity and inimitable role of the priest as pastor of the entire community, witness to the authenticity of the faith, and dispenser of the mysteries of salvation in the name of Christ the Head".

Praying for Our Priests

If we could at least pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy each week with even just one other person for our Priests in our Parish and Priests we know, we would be helping so many.  Remember the promise of Jesus regarding the Chaplet of Divine Mercy

"Oh, what great graces I will grant to souls who say this chaplet..." (Diary, 848)

"Through the chaplet you will obtain everything, if what you ask for is compatible with My will" (Diary, 1731).

The Year of the Priest

The Year of the Priest ends in June this year and will be marked by special ceremonies with the Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI in Rome  from 9th - 11th June. 

I was priviliged to be able to visit the St. Jean Vianney relics which were brought to Knock Shrine on 27th April last.  Almost one hundred Priests came for the special Mass at 3pm in the Basilica in Our Lady's Shrine.  It was a wonderful sight to see so many Priests all together at this holy shrine to venerate this great Saint.

My friend Rhonda and I continue to pray for Priests in our Divine Mercy prayer meeting for Priests each week and we include especially the Priests we know and meet.  Rather than criticising or giving out about certain Priests we may disagree with or dislike, we need to pray for them even more.  Our prayers can help them a great deal.  Especially I believe the Prayers of the Divine Mercy and also the Rosary. 

We were delighted to hear that a Priest we had been praying for who had left the Priesthood has now gone back.  So we give thanks to God in whom all things are possible. 

For those who would like us to pray for a particular Priest you can email me at my contact details and we will be happy to do so. 

Praying for Priests

We can all perform spiritual works of mercy which mostly involves prayer. A friend of mine suffers a debilitating illness which prevents her doing physical work but she loves to pray for others.  So the two of us started a small prayer meeting on the Feast of the Transfiguration in 2008 especially for Priests, the Holy Souls and the dying. This prayer meeting is centred around the Divine Mercy devotion.


We start by praying always the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary.  We then pray some of the prayers from the Divine Mercy prayer book 'Will You Help Me'  and pray first the Consecration Prayer to the Divine Mercy, then the Prayer for Priests from St. Faustina, also St. Gertrude's Prayer for the Holy Souls, and the prayer to St. Joseph. 

We then have a reading from the Divine Mercy diary which we reflect upon and talk a little on. Then we see where we can do some additional spiritual or corporal work of mercy for the week. We also have intercessory prayers for Priests that we know, our families and those who are dying. Then we finish with the Chaplet of Mercy which we offer for our Priests especially. We also invoke at the end our patrons, who are Our Lady of Mercy, St. Faustina, Bl. Fr. Michael Sopocko, Servant of God John Paul II and St. Michael the Archangel and for this year we also included St. Jean Vianney as the patron of our Priests.


It just takes one hour and we try to have our meeting every week. So if you and another friend or member of the family would like to do something like this, it doesnt take much of your time and it is important that we always pray and support our Priests as they are so special to God and we need them.