‘Spiritual combat’ is another element of life which needs to be taught anew and proposed once more to all Christians today. It is a secret and interior art, an invisible struggle in which [we] engage every day against the temptations, the evil suggestions that the demon tries to plant in [our] hearts” (St. JPII, Apostolic Visit of His Holiness Pope John Paul II to Azerbaijan and Bulgaria).
Thank you to my newest Friends of the Show, Cynthia C; Samantha L; Jill E; and Jennifer H, for loving and lifting me! Friends of the Show get all Premium Content and monthly meet-ups with Sonja in our Bible study on the Book of Romans!
LOVE the Word® is a Bible study method based on Mary’s own practice: lectio without the Latin. Get the book based on Sonja’s method in the right margin, How to Pray Like Mary.
L | Listen (Receive the Word via audio or video.)
O | Observe (Connect the passage to your life and recent events.)
Aquinas once said that since no man can live without joy, one who is deprived of spiritual delight goes over to carnal pleasures. What does that say about your sins of the flesh, of desire?
St. Gregory said, “We crush the serpent’s head when we extirpate from our heart the beginnings of temptation.” How is this related to the prophecy in Genesis 3:15 in which the Woman’s Seed will crush the serpent’s head? What about, also, Romans 16:19-20: “For while your obedience is known to all, so that I rejoice over you, I would have you wise as to what is good and guileless as to what is evil; then the God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.”
V | Verbalize (Pray about your thoughts and emotions.)
Remembering that He loves you and that you are in His presence, talk to God about the particulars of your O – Observe step. You may want to write your reflections in your LOVE the Word® journal. Or, get a free journal page and guide in the right-hand margin.
E | Entrust (May it be done to me according to your word!)
Sts. Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, Holy Archangels, pray for us. All you Holy Angels, pray for us. Angel of God, guardian dear, to whom God’s love commits me here, ever this day be at my side, to light and guard, to rule and guide. Amen. +
It’s Time for You to Be Healed
Connect
Join me in the Sacred Healing community for healing prayer live streams, Bible studies, LOVE the Word® takeaways, a healing masterclass and other courses, a dynamic phone app, and a flourishing community to help you experience deeper healing.
What We Discussed | Show Notes
John of Damascus, An Exposition of the Orthodox Faith, Book II Chapters 3-4
St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae, First Part Question 108
Dionysius the Areopagite, The Celestial Hierarchy
Overview:
Minutes 00:00-12:00 – Acknowledging that the enemy is both within and without; 2/3 of sin is not directly related to demons, it’s the “desire” within us
Minutes 12:01-24:00 – The world, the flesh, and the devil; the answer to the world – secular and sacred – and the flesh (carnality, concupiscence) is detachment
Minutes 24:01-36:00 – The Four D’s of the demons’ strategy: deceive, divide, distract, discourage; authority as the #1 issue for demons; temptation as a ‘good thing’
Minutes 36:01-48:00 – St. Augustine’s Three Stages in the Pattern of Sin