Spirituality is different from religion, but sometimes those who have a well-developed personal spirituality turn to religion to name what they observe in the world and in themselves.
A person I respect once told me that very occasionally, the devil is allowed to directly torment good people, and an example is John Vianney, the parish priest of Ars, France, who was reportedly pushed down some stairs by the devil, and who had his bed set on fire.
The point was also made that the devil tempts us at our weakest points, pushing us toward sin and so we bring misery on ourselves. The devil has power over our imagination but not over our wills. The devil's power is counteracted by grace and providence, so by undertaking the necessary struggle to resist, and persevering, we become stronger. Needless to say, we should not go down any path that arouses our imagination in a negative way. That's being foolhardy.
The devil uses evil people such as Goebbels and Hitler, but is shrewd and prefers the "hidden hand". The devil can poison friendships of those who never pray, that is, of those who never examine their conscience.
My friend stressed that the devil is powerless against a person who does not want to cooperate. For the Christian, that concept is reinforced by knowing that Christ is Lord - "In the world you will have trouble, but be brave: I have conquered the world".
No comments:
Post a Comment