During my college years, for a brief time, I spent my Saturday mornings at the local athletic center. Dressed in sweats and t-shirts, the other young women and I gathered together to learn the fundamentals of self-defense. A basic tenet of that class was that the best defense was a solid offense, and key to that offense was having the right information.
Most of the information provided helped me to make simple changes. I adjusted how I carried my keys, made sure I parked under the streetlights when the parking lot was dark, and I started scanning my surroundings whenever I walked alone. “Eyes up, straight back, walk confidently and don’t look like a victim.” People who act like easy prey often become, well, easy prey.
At the heart of not being a victim lies cultivating an awareness. This is also true when it comes to the spiritual life. Having spiritual awareness requires that we be in relationship with our Triune God, and stay connected with Him in daily prayer. We need to cultivate an external and an internal awareness—what is happening around me and within me throughout the day.
By becoming masters at prevention, detection, and protection, we can firm up our defenses from spiritual attack. The devil loves to tailor his temptation for each of us, but he isn’t creative. Once you have figured out his play for you personally, it’s easier to see how he attacks.
Prevention
Practically speaking, the best offense for spiritual attack is simply to avoid the danger. If we can learn to steer clear from things and behaviors that invite trouble, we can reduce the likelihood of being blindsided. Particularly among youth, there is a resurgence in popular culture of things like Ouija boards and tarot cards. Streaming services are making demonic shows accessible and available to any interested viewer, regardless of age. Culture is confusing what is good versus evil, and what is make-believe versus true. The proliferation of the occult in everyday society needs to be met with a strong rejection of all that is not good, true, and beautiful.
The first step in prevention is an avoidance and rejection of evil. The second step is the active pursuit of virtue. Avoiding demonic doorways that are clearly occult in origin is much easier than actively seeking to grow in virtue, but both are important. It is not enough to simply stay away from bad things. Rather, seek the good, and work to increase the good within, so that you are able to resist the temptations to sin which surface every day.
Each evening, practice your examen prayer. The evening examen is an essential aspect of the spiritual exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola, who believed we must know our own thoughts and feelings so that we can align our actions with God’s will. Thank the Lord for being present throughout the day and for any good you experienced, then give Him an honest accounting. Recognize the times when and things with which you struggle: gossiping, judging, unforgiveness, pride. These are common failings for many who strive towards holiness. Thank the Lord for showing you the areas where you have struggled and ask for His forgiveness.
It is important that this exercise remain primarily focused on gratitude, not self-criticism. We cannot love God and others without His grace and help. We need His help to love. We need His help to get up when we fall. Be sure to express gratitude whenever you recognize that He is helping you on this journey to heaven.
The final step is to be clear about what needs to change. What do you need to focus on doing differently tomorrow? Ask the Holy Spirit to give you wisdom and guidance in the coming day. If the situation or circumstance has led you to sin, even sin of the venial nature, go to confession. Remaining free from sin and in a state of grace gives you an increased receptivity to receive more heavenly grace.
Detection
Even when we manage to stay on the narrow path, we can find ourselves subject to spiritual attack. There is no way to prevent it completely. The next step is to cultivate the ability to recognize spiritual attack when it happens. If you are doing an evening examen and reviewing your imperfections, you will know when and how you are most susceptible to spiritual attack.
In the moment when you feel agitated, anxious, angry, distracted, or disturbed, try to stop and evaluate those feelings. Is there a legitimate reason (i.e. you are faced with a legitimate and immediate crisis), or are your feelings being blown out of perspective?
Another helpful practice that St. Ignatius recommends is to bring things to the light by sharing them with a trusted and spiritually grounded friend or mentor. For instance, we will all encounter challenging situations where we struggle to act with virtue, are tempted with a vice, or feel confusion over what we should do. Sharing our struggles with a trusted brother or sister in Christ can help us gain perspective on the situation and help us discern if the struggle is of a spiritual nature.
Finally, always take the struggle to the Lord in prayer, and ask for clarity, wisdom, and strength.
Protection
Once you have carefully discerned that the struggle you are encountering is spiritual in nature, take the experience to the Lord with a simple renunciation prayer:
In the Name of Jesus…I reject all Anxiety…and I invite the Lord’s peace to fill my soul. I invite His angels to be with me…and help me to overcome these anxious thoughts if they are the result of evil spirits.
Respond confidently when attacked. The devil and his demons have already lost. Jesus won the victory, and they were defeated. But for now, God has called us to be part of His army to fight against evil.
We are the Church Militant. So pay attention, be on guard, and be ready. Make your morning offering daily, spend time with the Lord every day in mental prayer, and close your day with an evening examen. Call upon the Blessed Mother and your guardian angel for further protection and recognize that the Lord has already won. Keep your eyes on Him and walk confidently in His light and protection.
Editor’s Note: For more tips on spiritual warfare, check out Mary Ruth Hackett’s new book, co-authored with Dan Burke: Discernment of Spirits for Beginners: Learning to Hear God and Defeat the Lies of the Enemy.
Photo by Nik Shuliahin 💛💙 on Unsplash
