When we have problems in life, we often feel overcome -- as if helpless against forces of darkness. It happens to us all, and that's because we forget that Jesus is in charge. No matter how serious (or aggravating) the situation, God is watching over us. We need only remember the biblical account of Christ coming upon a man who was possessed by demons. The evil spirits immediately acknowledged the authority of Jesus and they fled into a herd of pigs that then drowned themselves.

If Christ were not far superior, why would they not have stood their ground? Why would they have scattered the way they did? Why would they have been so terrified as to prefer drowning?

At Calvary, Christ's response to death by the hands of evil was Resurrection.

This is powerful stuff: the knowledge that there is a Spirit far above evil, with all power on earth and in Heaven, and that He is watching out for us. He not only knows us, but can monitor every hair on our heads. Christ left us the same power through the sacraments. When plagued by evil, we should rush to them. Especially we should go to Confession.

By this sacrament, clouds that hover over us are outright dispelled.

That's because when we confess our sins, the devil loses his legal right over us. We may have let him in through a transgression -- perhaps even through a bad train of thought -- and can purge that through Confession. No matter how devout you are, you need Confession at least once a month. The Pope visits his own confessor on a daily basis!

For this reason we have posted a new little booklet on Confession, especially for those who infrequently partake of the sacrament or are afraid to. It's called Confession: A Little Book for the Reluctant.

That's the sacrament that purifies us, and when we are clean, unclean spirits want far less to do with us. They don't fit. They can't meld with us. The use of Holy Water helps break their grip.

So does the Blessed Sacrament. Those of you who live in large cities where this a special problem know how it is with cockroaches: when we turn on a light in the middle of the night, they go scurrying around, fleeing for somewhere to hide.

And the Blessed Sacrament is a spiritual light. This is a real force, and we will be having story on miracles that happen with it -- faces that are seen, healings that occur. Forces of darkness hate the Light. Take it from Stefanie Huguet of Moultrie, Georgia, who writes:

"I found your article on the light of Heaven surrounding Jesus and Mary and near-death episodes very interesting. It described something that has happened to me several times, usually during Adoration [of the Blessed Sacrament]. I try to go to Adoration on the first Saturday of every month. One Advent, I was at Adoration and was praying the Rosary. It was a very bright sunny day and the sun actually hurt my eyes before Adoration. During Adoration and my private Rosary, I fixated on Jesus. I seem to do this often during Adoration, without realizing I have done this until afterward. 

"Anyway, the Church began to fill with light, except the light seemed to be like fog. I could almost touch it but I couldn't.  It was the brightest light I have ever seen. I felt a sense of peace that I still cannot describe. When I finished the Rosary, I closed my eyes and the light seemed to penetrate and get bright enough to go through my eyelids. The brightness was unbelievable! 

"When it faded, I realized that I had been weeping throughout, but there was no pain or discomfort. When I left, the sun was still out and it was between noon and one and the day seemed very dull even though there were no clouds in the sky. It was like the sunlight was 'dirty' compared to the Light I saw in the church."

[Bookstore resources: Secrets of the Eucharist and Confession: A Little Book for the Reluctant.]

July 2004

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