A few nights ago one of my daughters poked her head into my room as I was helping my littlest one prepare for bed. She informed me that she needed to talk with me about something. She was very vague. I was exhausted, so of course my brain shifted to the worst scenarios. Confident it was a massive issue that would take more than the drop of energy and patience I had left, I quietly sighed and promised her that we would chat in a few minutes, after I had finished helping her little sister. She seemed satisfied with my answer. As I finished assisting with the bedtime routine, my brain raced. Tears came to my eyes, I was feeling overwhelmed with the busyness and stress of that day. I took a deep breath, pushing back the tears, because frankly, I did not have time for tears. What needed to occur was laser focus on the tasks at hand so I could sit, pray, and read, or so I thought.
With a forced smile on my face and shakiness in my voice, I helped my kindergartener brush her teeth, say her prayers, and snuggle in for the night. She was teary as well, as she had a battle with her environmental allergies that day that was causing her exhaustion, an itchy throat, and seriously swelled, itchy eyes. It was all I could do to wrap her in my arms and reassure her that the Antihistamine would kick in shortly, offering her relief. She settled. I left her cozy and comforted in search of my older daughter.
She had been waiting for me. Following me into my room, she closed the door and I inquired. Holding out a tight fist, she said I need to show you something. My breath caught in my throat, I could not fathom what was in her hand, but I was sure it was bad news. Before I could process any further, she turned over her hand, revealing a withered, busted balloon. My confusion was evident from the baffled look on my face. Quick to answer my confounded look, she stammered, “I popped Carly’s balloon.” I let out an audible laugh filled with a sigh of relief. Now she looked confused. She explained that she planned to apologize but she would need help buying her sister a new balloon. After Carly’s long day and current restful state, I asked her to wait until the next morning to apologize. I assured her I would pick up a balloon from the store. Sharing an embrace and offering her reassurance that it was an accident, along with kudos for choosing to do the right thing, I felt blessed. What had grown to be a monumental issue in my head in a matter of minutes, was actually not even an inconvenience for me, and an opportunity for virtue growth. It was small potatoes, but to my sweet daughter, it was big because she was sad to have hurt her sister.
Somehow, I had successfully turned an everyday minor mess up into a catastrophic event in a matter of minutes. Knowing nothing more than my daughter’s desire to talk with me, I had led myself into a whirlwind of emotion. My mind had created a multitude of panic worthy scenarios causing my anxiety to escalate and my patience and emotional state to plummet. I had allowed the devil to get in my head and take hold of me.
This is how the devil works. He enters in through seemingly simple situations, working his way into our minds, causing us to doubt and worry, pulling our minds and hearts from all things holy and good. He shifts our focus away from the work God is asking of us. The evil one seeks to occupy our time and our minds to keep us from what is truly our call and that which warrants our attention. St. Paul reminds us in his Letter to the Philippians, “ whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”(4:8)
Last week I was listening to one of my favorite podcasts, Abiding Together. In the show three Catholic women discuss a variety of spiritual topics, occasionally inviting a guest speaker to join them. In this particular episode, they were discussing untying the knots of bitterness and unforgiveness and one woman shared how she had been at a recent retreat and heard a priest describe how Satan uses the very ways God calls us to serve Him to pull us away, working in our unique woundedness. She went on to describe how Satan snipers to distract us from the work God calls us to, attacking us in our weakest areas, however, if we turn to the Lord, we can bear even greater fruit out of these wounds. One of the other women explained how she had been under siege recently. She described a situation where she had a breakthrough in healing and then her emotions had risen and she was unable to see which direction she was going. Able to detect that something was awry, but unsure of the root, she prayed asking God to reveal the source of the issue. He made it abundantly clear that she was being snipered. Under attack, Satan was attempting to take her down in her woundedness, in her weakness.
Doesn’t this make you think, sister? It makes me aware that Satan never rests. He is always lurking, waiting for an opportunity to take me down, to drag me away from the work Christ calls me to. The evil one does this to each and every one of God’s children. Do not let yourself be snipered. In your weakest moments turn to the Lord. Do not fear. Ask Him to guide you and lead you. And then surrender to Him and His will. Follow St. Paul’s lead. “yet I live, no longer I, but Christ lives in me; insofar as I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God who has loved me and given himself up foe me.” Galatians 2:20.
Call to Act: Where is Satan attacking me? What is my weakness? Where is God calling me to bring Him glory right now and how can Satan interfere with this? Am I aware of Satan’s attacks? How can I be aware of the evil one laying into me? What is God asking me to trust Him with right now?
Sister, I encourage you to take some time in the next week to journal, reflect, and pray on where Satan attacks you. Ask the Lord to reveal to you how He wants you to give glory to Him in these moments and turn to Him in your woundedness. God can breathe life even into the darkest places. Allow Him to enter, invite Him. Satan only attacks when he knows we are working on kingdom work. Keep your eyes on Christ and do not allow yourself to be blinded or snipered. When you are attacked, turn to Our Lord. He is always there waiting. Give Him the glory.
St. Padre Pio, pray for us that we might have the strength to fight the battles the Lord is asking of us, but also that we will have the wisdom to turn to Our Heavenly Father in our darkest moments, confident that He is always at our sides. Beg Him to come to our aid, lifting our eyes heavenward. Ask the Lord to allow us to be aware of Satan’s attacks, granting us the courage we need to persevere. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Savior. Amen.
Saint Padre Pio of Pietrelcina
St. Padre Pio grew up as an extremely devout and serious young boy. He was born in Italy to peasant farmers with 6 siblings. He was known for his great sacrifices for our Lord, even at a young age. He received the gift of stigmata after he became a Capuchin priest and was known for levitating during mass as he became so enthralled in the sacrifice. He is known for preaching, “Pray, hope, and don’t worry,” and for uniting himself with the suffering Christ. He died in 1968, making him a modern saint. Read more about him here.
https://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=311