kansas monks
September 2024
Dear Friends in Christ,
For centuries, the feast of Michaelmas was celebrated as one of the great holy days in the life of the Church. While the feast originally commemorated the dedication of an ancient basilica to the patronage of St. Michael on September 29th, it was extended to all the Archangels in later generations.
Although the liturgical celebration of this year’s feast is superseded by a Sunday in Ordinary Time, my brother monks and I still felt it was timely and appropriate to reflect more deeply on the spiritual power of the angels this month.
In this edition of Kansas Monks, Fr. Marion continues his three-part reflection on the scriptural stories of the archangels, focusing on the Archangel Michael. That series continues on the next page. Fr. Jay Kythe also reflects on spiritual warfare in another article — obviously a fitting subject in this edition so focused on the angel who led the force to cast Satan and the rebel spirits out of heaven.
In keeping with Michael’s patronage over law enforcement, lawyers, and the justice system, we also chose to reprint an article from our archives about Fr. Matthew Habiger’s work leading spiritual outreach to prisoners. Our culture’s focus on retribution sometimes overlooks the redemptive power of rehabilitation, and Fr. Matthew’s work in that arena is an “angelic” mission.
There is one further thing that I, personally, would like to invite you to do as you read and reflect on this month’s articles. If you have not yet seen this year’s speeches from our spring
Abbot’s Table event, I encourage you to watch the video of our Lumen Vitae Award honorees, Syl and Vicki Schieber. So often when we reflect on issues related to God’s justice, we lose sight of the redemptive power of God’s mercy. Syl and Vicki are inspiring witnesses to the transformation that comes from sharing with others Christ’s sacrificial forgiveness towards us all. Their testimony about extending that grace to the man who took their daughter’s life can be seen online at www.kansasmonks.org/schiebers. They have truly lived out how Christ taught us to love and forgive amid our battles for justice.
Since we entrust our prayers and veneration to St. Michael this month, let us also ask him to inspire that same spirit of Christian mercy and forgiveness in us. As his angelic intercession strengthens us in the fight against evil, I pray that we may strive just as valiantly to uphold that which is good, virtuous, and holy in all that we do.
IN THIS ISSUE
Feature | From His Cell to Theirs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Fr. Matthew Habiger and the Oblates in Prison
Up Next | Michael, warrior and protector . . . . 2
Part II of III on the Archangels
In Christ,
Abbot James R. Albers, O.S.B
St. Michael, Warrior and Protector The Archangels, Part II
Part II of III on the subject of the angels named in scripture — the Archangels. In the September edition, Fr. Marion reflects on St. Michael, the vanguard of the heavenly host and a powerful intercessor in our spiritual battles.
By Fr. Marion Charboneau, O.S.B.
This month, we continue our examination of the archangels, turning our attention now to St. Michael from last month’s look at St. Raphael. Most of our knowledge of Michael, whose name means Who is like God?, comes from the books of Daniel and Revelation. However, Michael, often called the “Chief Angel,” receives also a tiny but crucial mention in the Letter of Jude, where he is specifically identified as an archangel.
St. Jude’s reference comes as he deals with false teachers whose sins included reviling “glorious beings,” likely the fallen angels. Recalling an old apocryphal tale, Jude references the Assumption of Moses, when Michael argues with Satan over Moses’ body. In that dispute, Michael refused to revile even the Devil, instead saying to Satan simply, “The Lord rebuke you!”
It’s a passage worth noting in our day as people publicly revile one another for the slightest transgressions. Jude reminds us with this story of St. Michael that nothing of God’s creation is to be reviled, and certainly not persons made in the image and likeness of God. Our baptismal vows instead govern our attitudes toward the Devil: we are called to reject Satan, all his ways, and all his empty promises. Baptismal faith is believing in Jesus as the Son of God and loving him single-heartedly. Faith does not lead one to revile Satan or anything or anyone else of God’s creation. Faith teaches that Satan is to be entirely ignored, and his ways and works utterly renounced.
Turning from Jude, the tenth chapter of Daniel retells how the prophet received a vision from an angel, likely St. Gabriel, explaining that the vision had been delayed for three weeks because of an interfering malevolent guardian spirit of the Kingdom of Persia. At
that point, Michael came to the angel’s aid, opposing the evil spirit and allowing the angel to come to Daniel with his prophecy. The angel foretells terrible wars fought by people often noted in history: successors of the Persian King Cyrus, Darius I, Alexander the Great, the Ptolemies of Egypt, Cleopatra, and the especially unsavory Antiochus IV Epiphanes, a tyrant, blasphemer, and persecutor of the Jews.
The last mention of Michael in Daniel presents these conflicts as preliminary skirmishes of the Great Tribulation at the end of time — but in that future era, Michael will arise as Israel’s protector, the sufferings of God’s people will end, and all those written in the Book of Life will receive salvation.
Raphael, circa 1504-1505, Saint Michael, oil
In the twelfth chapter of the Book of Revelation, we see the first stage of that ultimate victory has already taken place in a story likely familiar to many of us: Michael and faithful angels war against the dragon, Satan, and the other fallen angels, driving them out of heaven to the earth as Jesus himself declared, “I have observed Satan fall like lightning from the sky.”
It is a story that reminds us that Satan’s defeat has already begun. Jesus, of course, completely rejected him in the desert and on the cross, and, entirely victorious in the Resurrection and the Ascension, he communicates the grace of victory to us in the sacraments. God deserves every praise for that, and, as for Michael, the Church honors him as the protector of the New Israel, just as he was rightly honored by the first Israel down to the present day. As a Church, we honor Michael through our annual Feast of the Archangels on September 29th (this year it falls on a Sunday). As one heading celestial armies, he is venerated by the Church with soldiers and law enforcement under his particular protection. (Radiology and the nation of Italy also fall under his patronage.) Yet Michael’s service is to the whole people of God, and we can all give thanks to God for him.
May the name of St. Michael be revered and honored, and may all the faithful praise God for his great archangel’s help and protection!
Fr. Marion is a priest and a fly fisherman. His passion for fishing started early in life; his passion for the faith came later on. He is an adjunct instructor of history for Benedictine College.
Next Month: Watch this space for a continuation of the series, when Fr. Marion will turn his attention to St. Gabriel the Archangel.
Editor’s Note: In June and July, Br. David Bissen, O.S.B. published the first two parts of a series on The Art of Living. His third installment will appear in this space in the November edition. Scan the QR code at right to re-read Parts I and II.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Fr. Matthew Habiger, O.S.B. has helped to carry forward a ministry of service to Oblates in Prison that was launched by an abbey in Colorado.
Reflect on the readings for this month’s Sunday and Holy Day masses.
In day-to-day life, many people feel the weight of spiritual battles at work in their souls. Fr. Jay Kythe, O.S.B. provides some insight into how to understand these struggles.
The mission of St. Benedict’s Abbey is to glorify God by seeking him through joyful self-sacrifice, by embracing fully the monastic and apostolic ideals, and by leading others to encounter Jesus Christ, who brings us all together to eternal life.
The Kansas Monks newsletter is a monthly publication of the monastic community of St. Benedict’s Abbey to help fulfill this mission.
Read our archives at www.kansasmonks.org/newsletter
I arise today...
Through the strength of the love of cherubim In obedience to the angels, In the service of the archangels, In hope of resurrection to meet with reward.
From His Cell to Theirs
Fr. Matthew and the Oblates in Prison
This piece by Rebekah Firestine, abridged and reprinted from a 2017 article, details an important ministry of the Abbey: spiritual service to Oblates in prison. As we approach the feast of St. Michael at the end of this month, we recall his spiritual patronage of the justice system and seek his guiding light to bring Christ to prisoners seeking God’s grace and mercy.
By Rebekah Firestine
From the confines of the monastery, reaching out across the country, one monk is doing what he can to bring the Good News of the Gospel to men and women living on America’s periphery: the nation’s prisons.
Fr. Matthew Habiger has taken the reins of the Abbey’s Prison Oblate program — an effort to spread the love of Christ to the incarcerated. “It is a challenge, and I don’t have the benefit of meeting prisoners face-to-face. But it is heart-to-heart. You can imagine how correspondence goes. These men and women have to articulate what’s on their minds and hearts and handwrite it.”
Listening to their sentiments by reading their letters has become the center of Fr. Matthew’s apostolate.
The history of this Oblate program is rich. Fr. Louis Kirby, O.S.B., as a monk of Holy Cross Abbey in Colorado, developed a special program for the prisoners in his diocese of Pueblo. Within a 20-mile radius of Cañon City, there are 11 prisons where monks of Holy Cross were involved in prison ministry. By taking the precepts of Benedictine monasticism and the call of Oblates to live in the world, Fr. Louis designed a program specifically for incarcerated men and women to reclaim their dignity and to experience God’s love amid serving a prison sentence.
Holy Cross Abbey closed in 2004, and Fr. Louis transferred his vow of stability to St. Benedict’s Abbey where he continued his ministry until his passing in 2013.
“After Fr. Louis died, the whole program fell into limbo. Two of the Oblates from Delta, Colorado, wrote me — I don’t know how they got my name,” Fr. Matthew said with a grin conveying total trust in God’s Providence. “They asked if there were any way to revive this program because
it had done so much good in the past.” His response bore the true markings of a father: “How do you say no to that?”
Fr. Matthew took the idea to heart. One thing led to another, and today, he receives handwritten letters each week from Oblates in prisons across the country.
“By its very nature, the priesthood is geared to bringing other people closer to God, but I never thought I’d be involved in this work.” He’d had his share of visiting jails, prisons, and the federal penitentiary in Leavenworth, Kansas, but his experience and knowledge of a life behind bars was limited. “Before this work, I was kind of a babe in the woods! It takes time to get to know a system, but people are people. Wherever the need, interest, and desire to discover their faith are, we have to respond.”
But the life of an Oblate in prison is vastly disparate from the life of a monk of St. Benedict’s Abbey. Or is it?
When tackling how the prisoner (or a monk, for that matter) ought to spend his time in his cell, Fr. Matthew offered a simple but provoking thought, “If a man can discern that he’s to use his time well, he can make a retreat out of his cell.” With the help of Fr. Matthew and the whole community of Oblates, led by the Holy Spirit, these men and women can go through true rehabilitation or true conversion to grow into the virtues they hadn’t developed before and become the persons they were meant to be.
“It’s to unlock the grip of vices on their lives and to grow into the virtues using all the available means, also helping others discover what they have discovered,” Fr. Matthew said.
Following the Rule of St. Benedict, the Oblate program is a natural fit for a man or woman living in close quarters with others in confinement. Fr. Matthew explains
that St. Benedict wrote his Rule for groups of men who were dedicated to their search for God as a community. Benedict understood human nature, with its strengths and weaknesses. He found a way to apply the principles of the Gospel to those living a communal life, while also serving the larger community. The Rule sets up regular times for prayer and work, spiritual reading, meals, and recreation. It stresses obedience to legitimate authority, humility, and growth in all virtues. It gives meaning and purpose to their lives, and many express their pleasure in discovering a regular prayer life, using the Liturgy of the Hours.
Prisoners can identify very much with a monastery. “They have a tighter regimen than I do!” Fr. Matthew quipped.
Oblates faithfully pray Lauds (morning prayer) and Vespers (evening prayer), read Scripture and the Catechism, try to build community, and see Christ in the needs of their fellow inmates. They attend Mass when available. They understand the meaning of the Cross and attempt to carry their burdens as followers of Christ.
Fr. Matthew works diligently to provide free resources for the prisoners in the form of books and materials to help them grow in their daily prayer lives and relationship with God. Along with these resources, the Oblates receive a monthly newsletter that keeps the community strong and connected through reflections, story sharing, and prayer.
“Everyone has problems, but you might say prisoners have an additional set. You adjust yourself to the needs of
the people you’re dealing with: faith needs, human needs, family needs, all of them.”
The Oblates in prison are real people who come from troubled pasts — but don’t we all? The prisoners deeply appreciate the fact that a personal interest has been taken in them. God’s love has been shown to them in a world where the light is often difficult to see.
Fr. Matthew says it’s just about responding to the call to serve others where they are. “The more you get to know a person, the more you appreciate them, and you find out that there’s more to discover.”
In the spirit of St. Benedict, Oblates in prison show us what it means to be close to the Father. Their steadfast commitment to prayer in the midst of opposition, hostility, and lack of support from other inmates is inspiring. Through this program, men and women in prisons from sea to sea are encountering the love of God through volunteers and pen-pals.
One inmate’s words sum up the blessings of the program: “Let me tell you what you can give. You can give hope to men who have none. How do you do that? You come within these walls, build a house of love through your presence, and invite the homeless, loveless to live there. You give Living Water to men who are dying of thirst. You can help those who have never had any sense of meaning in their lives discover their purpose. You can help those who are lost and have never belonged to anything, to anyone, find a way to a place where they are loved and wanted. You can take men who are destitute, who believe they have no value, and help them discover the greatest treasure this world has ever held.”
Filippino Lippi Cappella Brancacci, circa 1424-1428, St Paul Visiting St Peter in Prison, fresco
Living the Liturgy Commentary on the Liturgical Year
September — When Sundays and Feasts Coincide
TBy Tom Hoopes
here are several remarkable coincidences at Sunday Masses this September. First, each September. Sunday — five in all this year — coincides with other important holidays or feast days in the Church. Below, I’ve done my best to show how providential these match-ups are.
But the other coincidence is that this is both the Church’s unofficial month of St. James and its official month of the Seven Sorrows of Our Lady. In Year B of the Church’s Sunday cycle, James is the Second Reading for five consecutive Sunday Mass readings — all five in September this year.
It’s good that St. James and Our Lady share the month this year because the two figures share a practical spirituality. One line from St. James sums him up, I think: “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God and the Father is this: to care for orphans and widows in their affliction and to keep oneself unstained by the world.”
This is the Jamesian complementarity of faith and works that sola fide Protestants find so awkward. Martin Luther and early Reformers wanted to say that faith alone saves, apart from a holy life. They were right to try to protect the primacy of God’s action in salvation — but they overcorrected, and ended up understating the power God’s grace has to change lives.
Meanwhile, Our Lady’s approach has united the wo all along. Her “Be it done unto me according to thy word” is a high expression of faith — and it is followed immediately by her rush to serve Elizabeth, the first Christian apostolate. Jesus highly praises her by saying, “Blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it!”
So, embrace the coincidences this September, and know that, with God, “coincidence” is providence.
circa 1454, Stauffenberg Altarpiece, oil on wood
VIRTUE SIGNALING DOESN’T IMPRESS GOD
September 1 | 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B
God rejects virtue signaling. What he wants to see instead are loving actions done in conformity with his loving will.
That’s the theme throughout the Old Testament, as Jesus points out when he quotes Isaiah, saying, “This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.” We also pray it in today’s Psalm four times, saying, “The one who does justice will live in the presence of the Lord.”
We think our faith requires a flurry of devotions and a mighty effort. But Moses himself says in the First Reading, “You shall not add to what I command you nor subtract from it.” Just do the basics.
This is great advice on Sept. 1, the Sunday of Labor Day weekend — or “ora et labora” weekend, if you will.
“Pray and work” this weekend the way St. James recommends: “Humbly welcome the word that has been planted in you and is able to save your souls. Be doers of the word and not hearers only, deluding yourselves.”
“BE OPENED!” LIKE MARY
September 8 | 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B
Sunday’s First Reading gives a mighty prophecy that we will see fulfilled in more ways than one at Mass. Isaiah prophesies, “Thus says the Lord: Say to those whose hearts are frightened: Be strong; fear not! Here is your God; he comes with vindication, with divine recompense he comes to save you.” He is telling the world that Jesus will come. And what will he do? “The ears of the deaf [will] be cleared … then the tongue of the mute will sing,” he says.
Certainly, this prophecy is fulfilled in the Gospel when Jesus heals a deaf man with a speech impediment by touching his tongue and ears, saying “Ephphatha!” — “Be opened!’”
But we each personally experience it too. At every Mass, the Word “clears” our ears and the host touches our tongues. This makes us ready to “Listen with the ears of your heart” and “control our tongues” as St. Benedict put it — or to speak and listen to the rich and poor equally, as St. James instructs. when Jesus heals a deaf man with a speech
impediment by touching his tongue and ears, saying “Ephphatha!” — “Be opened!’”
But we each personally experience it too. At every Mass, the Word “clears” our ears and the host touches our tongues. This makes us ready to “Listen with the ears of your heart” and “control our tongues” as St. Benedict put it — or to speak and listen to the rich and poor equally, as St. James instructs.
But Sept. 8 is also the Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and this is highly appropriate: Mary exemplifies the virtues Jesus is looking for when he commands: “Be opened!”
Mary listened, “pondering in her heart,” and the words she spoke — her Fiat and Magnificat — changed the world. Pray to be open like her: Open to listen when the Lord speaks, and to speak where his words need to be heard.
TO LOVE IS TO SUFFER
Saturday, September 14 | Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross
Explaining suffering is a major concern of every religion, but when Christians encounter suffering, we see the Cross — and that means we see love.
As Pope Benedict XVI put it: “Anyone who really wanted to get rid of suffering would have to get rid of love before anything else, because there can be no love without suffering, because it always demands an element of self-sacrifice.”
But don’t forget the reality that transforms the suffering of love: The Resurrection. The Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross celebrates the historic discovery of the true cross, and the historical truth that Jesus rose from the dead is what makes the cross mean “love” and not “horror.”
MISSION: SELF-SACRIFICE
September 15 | 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B
The Gospel today shows the precise moment that everything changes for the apostles. Peter proclaims Christ’s true identity and Jesus announces that he must “suffer greatly … be killed, and rise after three days.”
Imagine being the apostles as they realized that Jesus’s mission, and therefore their mission, is a mission of self-sacrifice, not easy victory. Jesus’s proclamation means that he is Isaiah’s Suffering Servant from the First Reading; the one who accepts beatings, humiliation, and torture.
That realization is hard to accept. We should know. It’s our mission, too. St. James explains how: If someone is in need, we can’t simply wish them well — we have to sacrifice to “give them the necessities of the body,” food, shelter, and clothing.
After all, Sept. 15 is normally the memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows.
There is no better example of what the Christian is called to than the Blessed Mother, who was told in her son’s infancy that “a sword will pierce your heart also” and who became our mother at the cross.
When you hear Jesus’s words for us this Sunday, think of Mary, Mother of Sorrows: “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and that of the Gospel will save it.”
MY WORST OPPONENT IS ME
September 22 | 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B
This Sunday’s readings describe three different groups of opponents Christians have.
In the Book of Wisdom, we meet the secular opponents. They say: “Let us beset the just one, because he is obnoxious to us; he sets himself against our doings [and] reproaches us for transgressions.”
In the Gospel we meet religious opponents, who like the disciples are forever arguing about who is the greatest — this group or another one? This form of the Mass or that one? My devotion or hers?
In the Second Reading, though, we see who the worst opponent is: ourselves. “Where jealousy and
Rogier van der Weyden, circa 1443-1445, Crucifixion Triptych
selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every foul practice,” up to and including war, says St. James.
Jesus answers all of the complaints with one image: “Taking a child, he placed it in their midst,” saying, “If anyone wishes to be first, he shall be the last of all and the servant of all.”
Providentially, Sept. 22 is also the first day of the Novena to St. Thérèse of Lisieux. It’s one of the most popular novenas in the Church, and it happens to fit like a glove with this Sunday’s readings. St. Thérèse believed that “It is your arms, Jesus, which are the lift to carry me to heaven,” and so “I must stay little and become less and less.”
PUT THE BEAT-DOWN ON PRIDE
September 29 | 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B
This Sunday’s readings are a sustained warning against worldly pride.
First, a meeting of Moses’s elders receives a dose of the Holy Spirit and prophecy. But Joshua thinks it’s unfair that two elders who skipped the meeting receive the same gift. Moses disagrees, saying, “Would that all the people of the Lord were prophets!”
Spiritual Warfare
In the Life of a Christian
In the Gospel, Jesus teaches the same lesson of humble inclusion when an outsider drives out demons in his name. “Do not prevent him,” he says. There is no one who performs a mighty deed in my name who can at the same time speak ill of me.”
In fact, there is only one way to lose the favor of the Lord: To serve a rival God instead of him. St. James spells it out in a long diatribe that begins: “Come now, you rich, weep and wail over your impending miseries!”
Appropriately, Sept. 29 is also the feast of the Archangels, the ultimate warriors against pride.
In the twelfth chapter of Revelation, we see how one angel, Satan, reacts in fury when a vision of the Blessed Virgin Mary, a type of the Church, appears in heaven. Too proud to bow to a woman, he lashes out, and the Archangel Michael has to put him in his place.
In Luke 1, we see a model of humility to follow when the Archangel Gabriel makes himself the servant to the handmaiden of the Lord.
The Abbey’s retreat master offers a reflection on five key teachings and ideas for Christians to keep in mind about the spiritual struggle they encounter in their own lives.
By Fr. Jay Kythe, O.S.B.
“Something strange is happening — there is a great silence on earth today, a great silence and stillness … The earth trembled and is still because God has fallen asleep in the flesh and he has raised up all who have slept ever since the world began. God has died in the flesh and hell trembles with fear.”
Ibegin with the first paragraph of a text printed in the Office of Readings for the Liturgy of the Hours for Holy Saturday. This ancient homily for Holy Saturday is one of many similar texts that, throughout the centuries, convey a truth that we confess in the Apostles Creed: “He descended into hell.” St. Melito of Sardis, St. Irenaeus, St. Ephrem, St. Maximus the Confessor, St. Gregory of Nyssa, St. Augustine, and others all convey the same truths of our salvation, that Christ is the Victor over sin and death. By his death on the Cross, He defeats death. By his descent to the abode of the dead, he rescues
fallen humanity from the domain of evil, a mission that begins with His Incarnation and concludes with His Resurrection.
Every discussion on the topic of spiritual warfare must begin somewhere here, with the truths of the faith. Without these axiomatic assertions, we tend to “Hollywoodize” the topic of spiritual warfare. We see things in dualistic terms, that there is a good side and an evil side and that they are fighting against each other in a cosmic battle. Yet, this is completely incorrect. The good side is the side of the omnipotent God, who created everything and “saw that it was good” and who strives to bring fallen humanity back into a right relationship with the Father. The side of evil cannot stand up to this, yet it tries to drag down His creation, the greatest of which is the human person. Because of free will, demons, which had been created as angelic persons, chose to follow the angel of light, Lucifer, who asserted himself above God
by his words, “I shall not serve.” God could have created them without free will, yet He desired to create persons who would choose to serve Him. He gave the same gift to human persons. It is His goodness and His love that would draw them back to Him, and it is those demons who despise Him that would strive to draw human persons away from Him.
Spiritual warfare is the spiritual reality of the fight over our souls. We are that important to the Father! The Second Person of the Trinity comes to us in the Incarnation to rescue us from the clutches of evil. That reality is why the enemy tries to pull us away from the work of the Trinity. We are that important! The battleground is the field of human relationships.
There are two resources that I turn to in understanding the topic of spiritual warfare. First of all, C.S. Lewis’ book The Screwtape Letters is perhaps the best treatise on this topic, imaginatively written from the perspective of demons. The second resource comprises the writings of Fr. Gabriele Amorth, who was an exorcist in Italy for many decades until his recent death. His understanding of the work of deliverance is very clear and based on the foundation mentioned above.
We must be clear on the fundamentals of spiritual warfare, lest we enter a “Hollywoodized” version that usually captivates people’s imaginations. Such a false vision would delude us into seeing demons everywhere and missing the theological foundations that guide our lives. Therefore, we must keep in mind the fundamental elements, with respect to spiritual warfare:
1. God has the victory. This reality is always our starting point. And we must keep in mind how He won that victory: it was the surrender of Christ to the will of the Father. This surrender brought Him to His death on the Cross and His Resurrection. Likewise, we see the perfect fiat of Mary surrendering to the Father’s will. The method of victory isn’t warfare in the sense that we think; surrender to God is what always wins the battle. The martyrs are powerful examples of this; the enemy despises such powerful witnesses of Christlike surrender.
2. The modus operandi of demons is to “divide and conquer.” Christ prays for unity in John 17; the
Michelangelo, circa 1487-1488, The Torment of Saint Anthony, oil and tempera on panel
entire chapter is His prayer for us to stay united in Him. The enemy desires to break this apart. Think of Christ’s words about how a house divided against itself cannot stand (Matthew 12:25-26). Therefore, victory is always Christ’s, especially as He defeated the abode of the enemy by His Passion, Death, and Resurrection. As the demons try to divide people, they themselves live in a world of hatred.
3. Demons don’t want to be seen. They do their work best in secret, under the surface. The moment they are noticed, they have lost ground. Many a crisis in which our emotions are unreasonably enflamed are caused by the enemy. The enemy sows confusion and discouragement, landing the person in spiritual desolation (see the works of St. Ignatius of Loyola for more information on spiritual consolation and desolation). However, when the cause of such darkness is clearly the works of the enemy, then they are brought into the light.
4. Once the enemy is seen, we can address the situation. Notice I said to address the situation, not to combat them directly. There is a distinction between deprecatory prayers (asking God to cast out the demons) and imprecatory prayers (commanding the demons to leave). The former type of prayer is the most typical. Untrained laity are not encouraged to command the demons directly. Demons are subtle and can cause much damage; therefore, we must rely more on God and His omnipotence. Therefore, prayers such as the St. Michael prayer and the Hail Mary (see below) and prayers of surrender to God are most powerful.
5. Demons hate the holy. They hate the Church. They hate sacraments. Fr. Gabriele Amorth was known to say that one good confession is worth more than many exorcisms. They will try to create doubt about the efficacy of the sacraments. The sacraments unite us with the Father and prepare us for heaven. Therefore, they hate all those who are the ministers of the sacraments, especially priests. Sacramentals are also very efficacious, such as the use of holy water and blessed salt.
They hate people striving for holiness, not just priests, but also all those in consecrated lives, such as monks and religious sisters. They hate the saints, especially the Blessed Virgin Mary. They particularly hate Mary because she was a created being who surrendered to the Father’s will so perfectly by her fiat. They hate the prayer “the Hail Mary.” Fr. Amorth explains in his writings that one Hail Mary prayed well can defeat the enemy. Praying the Holy Rosary is indeed a powerful attack against the evil one! In addition, invoking St. Joseph is also powerful, for one of his titles is “terror of demons.” We call upon him who protected the Blessed Mother and the Son of God as they fled into Egypt.
As a Benedictine monk, I recall in The Life and Miracle of St. Benedict by Pope Saint Gregory the Great a retelling of how he combatted the enemy. His prayer always revealed what the enemy was up to. Therefore, it is good to pray for clarity and to have spiritual insight into life. We must invoke St. Benedict often, as well as carry a St. Benedict medal, blessed with the exorcism blessing. He becomes a powerful patron and intercessor for us, encouraging us to grow in faith and receive his fatherly protection.
We are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses and called upon by the Holy Trinity in our journey to the eternal kingdom! Let us stay close to the angels and the saints in the struggle against the enemy.
Fr. Jay converted to the Catholic faith from Hinduism as a young man. After ordination as a diocesan priest, he sought out the monastic community of St. Benedict’s Abbey to become his lifelong home.
JAY KYTHE,
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MINISTRY TO OBLATES IN PRISON
On page 4, read about the St. Benedict’s Abbey ministry promoting Benedictine spirituality among men and women in prison. To go deeper, learn how you can get involved at: www.kansasmonks.org/prison-oblates