‘Catholic Spiritual Warfare’ talk focuses on need to fight the devil

CEDAR KNOLLS  Though many people, including some Catholics, have been downplaying the perils of all things evil, such as the devil, hell, and practices of the occult, the Church reminds the faithful that the spiritual battle between Christ and the Evil One for our souls is still very real and has never stopped raging. For this fight, the faithful need to arm themselves with several types of spiritual weapons, such as prayer, but more importantly to be armed with an eternal optimism: that Jesus already has claimed their victory over sin with his Resurrection.

That’s what Father John Gordon, coordinator of the Office of Evangelization of the Newark Archdiocese, reminded an audience of faithful, from high-school age to seniors, in Notre Dame of Mount Carmel Church here Nov. 18 in his talk on the emerging topic of “Catholic Spiritual Warfare.” He spoke about how the spiritual battle remains relevant even in an increasingly secular world, how Satan tempts us today, and how we can be proactive in our struggle to maintain our relationship with God — but without undue fear. Father Gordon also warned Catholics to avoid the pitfalls of occult practices, such as psychics, palm readings, Tarot-card, and mind readers, and the Ouija board. After his hour-long presentation, he answered the audience’s questions.

“Life is a spiritual battle. We are in need of God’s mercy, because we are always messing up. Even St. Paul writes about the battle in himself — between what he wants to do for the Lord and what he wants to do for himself,” said Father Gordon. He noted that in Genesis, Adam and Eve break their bond with God by disobeying his command to not eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. But then, God turns to the devil, personified by a snake, and tells him, “I will put enmity between the seed of the woman and your seed. The priest said, “The devil will try to break into our souls if we let our guard down. If we have a proactive relationship with God, then the devil isn’t happy. But remember, Jesus fulfilled that victory over sin for us.”

Because we humans have the natural proclivity to sin, we need the help of God when engaging in spiritual warfare, so evil does not overtake us. Therefore, “We must do everything under the Lordship of Jesus,” Father Gordon said. During his talk, the priest also suggested that Catholics take up the following types of spiritual weapons in their fight with the devil:

• Prayer. Let the “Our Father” remind us that it is God’s kingdom as revealed in the words “Thy kingdom come” and that he ultimately will “deliver us from evil.”

• Scripture. Pray the psalms. Gain some spiritual strength in reading the story of the devil tempting Jesus in the desert (Matt 4:1–11).

• Rosary. “If we bring out the rosary, the devil will run away. It kicks him in the teeth spiritually. Pray with all of your hearts, even though sometimes you can get distracted,” Father Gordon said.

• Sacraments, especially the Eucharist and Penance. Engage in the sacraments regularly. “It’s spiritual medicine, because of the decisive victory of Jesus. Christ directly engaged the enemy, the Devil, and defeated him with his Resurrection. Death has no power over us. We are free. We have nothing to fear,” the priest said.

• Fasting.

Despite our confidence in the truth: that Jesus already has won our salvation, there are the practices of the occult, such as Tarot cards and psychics that could hinder our relationship with God and give the devil a way to break into our souls, Father Gordon said.

“The devil tempts us away from God. We need to choose to be engaged in the spiritual battle. We can’t do that unless we know what’s at stake — [living eternity in] ‘smoking’ [hell] or ‘non-smoking’ [heaven],” Father Gordon said in a bit of humor. “We are fallen but are redeemed by Jesus. He gives us graces to help us resist. Jesus tells us, ‘I will be with you always’ through the Holy Spirit in the Church. God wants to claim what’s his: our souls. We are the prize,” the priest said.

In the question-and-answer part of the presentation, one man asked Father Gordon if focusing on spiritual warfare was relevant in this increasingly secular society.

“Our union with God and righteousness could reach even the godless people of society,” said Father Gordon, who encouraged the faithful to engage people in discussions about faith — but only if they are receptive. Any influence could bear spiritual fruit, for instance, in those final moments before death, when people have that last opportunity to turn toward God. “Praying for other people also can benefit them,” he said.

Before Father Gordon’s talk, Father Alex Nevitt, Notre Dame’s parochial vicar, welcomed the audience and gave them a short preview by saying the presentation will be about “the battle for our souls between the Evil One and the Father, who loves us and wants to protect us.”

Laura Balogh, Notre Dame’s Faith Formation director, told the audience that the “Catholic Spiritual Warfare” talk is the start of a series of presentations on special topics that will be planning “for Faith Formation families and the entire parish to learn about our unique faith outside of the regularly scheduled lessons of Faith Formation.”

Afterward, Father Gordon’s talk generated much discussion among Notre Dame’s parishioners in the worship space of the church. One of them, Caterina Viscomi, said that the priest “confirmed the power of the rosary — one of the things that separate Catholics from other Christians.

“It is our armor. We should engage Jesus and also lead by example — not telling people but showing people,” said Viscomi, who is involved in the Alpha adult faith-formation program at Notre Dame.