40 days for (celebration of) Victory

The weapons for battle

Thew Word of God tis Sunday reveals against who we fight and its strategy. To win like Christ and with Him, we will need: 1. To identify the enemy and its strategy. 2. Know the remedies. 3. Use weapons to fight it.

I. The devil tactics:

We can’t be naive! The devil does exist. But be peaceful, there is a little devil and a great God. Jesus won over evil!

– The tactics:

* To isolate us… “An isolated Christian is a fool!”

* Search and attach the weak spot! T We all have one or several weak spots! And temptations are all made to fit them!

* Attack us through our thoughts with temptations!

* As a deceiver, lead us to doubt God and His promises.

* P Lock us in the secrecy: “Say nothing, no one will know!

* Use our fears. Fear is contrary to faith!  

* Crush us with life’s worries. “I can take it, alone!”

* Tempts us with what is easier, immediate, that gives us pleasure!

* Causes discouragement: “For what? You will never make it!”

* As a seductor, minimizes sin “and so what? Everybody does it!”  

* After the sin, as an accuser, maximizes sin, blaming us: ” you are really evil… What you did is really bad… you are worth nothing!

– 3 mistakes about temptations:

– “If you were a real Christian, you would not be tempted ” => False! It is normal to be tempted, even Jesus was!

– “Temptation is a sin=> False! Jesus was tempted and he did not sin.

– “I can’t resist temptation” => False! You can!

– The 3 stages of temptation:

1º Suggestion: o the devil suggests something related to our weak spots. “Look at this desert. Don’t it seem good and appetizing?”

2ª Seduction: We get a little closer. We verify that the “thing” seems tasty, pleasant, desirable.

3ª Acceptance: we break, we fall in the trap, too late, we give in!

If we don’t react, we relapse, “lost by 100, lost by 1000”. And the devil increases our despair.

To resist and win… 3 remedies and 2 weapons!

II. The remedies:

– In the suggestion phase => The remedy, the key element is speed! Perform a diversion movement quickly. Think about something else, immediately!

– In the seduction phase => The remedy is: don’t come close, run away!

“the devil is tied like a dog to a chain, can only hurt those who get close to his mouth”

– In the acceptance stage, when I snap: The remedy is: to grow in self-knowledge and strengthen our weak spots.  

Ask yourself: When? Circumstances or interior state? Where, with whom?

– In the phase of relapse or addiction => The remedy is: talk with someone.  

III. Weapons for life:

– The shield of life:  to repel the blows of the malign renouncing seductions, lies, doubts and all kind of sin. A The faith is the affirmation of the certainty that God is with me, that He loves me and that He does everything to take care of my wellbeing. (Romans 8:28).

– The word of Spirit which is God’s word: We switch to attack. As for Jesus, the Word of God shall be our primary weapon in this fight. For that, it is necessary:

* To train: learn how to use the Word of God. We need to learn by heart some versicles and know where to find it in the Bible.

* Repeat with our mouth the Word of God. We need to repeat it: what we repeat is engraved in our heart and in our mind!

* To believe with our Heart in the Word of God. Finally, we need to choose to believe in it with all heart, that is, to trust, and take the chance to follow this Word and compromise our life with it. 

– Prayer, Fast, Sharing and Sacraments (Confession and Eucharist)

Battle Plan:

– Analise the enemy: “Which temptation attacks me more frequently?

– Use the remedies: “In temptation, run quickly! Talk with someone”

– Use the weapons:

* The shield –  “In the name of Jesus I renounce (…) “

* The Sword of Spirit – Lear a versicle “by heart” and repeat it.

* Prayer, Fast, Sacraments (Confession and Eucharist)