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If we pray in the name of Christ, with faith in Him and in the power of His Spirit, we can be sure of holding 'outside' our souls those thoughts, temptations, demons and fears which sometimes attack us. With Christ, we are safe from them, as if behind castle walls - no matter how terrible the 'noise' of the warfare being waged by our spiritual enemies.

If we pray in the name of Christ, with faith in Him and in the power of His Spirit, we can be sure of holding 'outside' our souls those thoughts, temptations, demons and fears which sometimes attack us. With Christ, we are safe from them, as if behind castle walls - no matter how terrible the 'noise' of the warfare being waged by our spiritual enemies.

If we pray in the name of Christ, with faith in Him and in the power of His Spirit, we can be sure of holding 'outside' our souls those thoughts, temptations, demons and fears which sometimes attack us. With Christ, we are safe from them, as if behind castle walls - no matter how terrible the 'noise' of the warfare being waged by our spiritual enemies.

Each priest should be 'another Christ' for us; yet we should not be surprised if we are treated unjustly by a priest. Christ Himself was hustled towards the edge of a cliff by men who were pillars of the local synagogue. Christ escaped, then; but until we die, we are in danger of treating others unjustly, and must resist temptation.

As God the Father looks down upon the whole world, He sees that only a few of His children today have guarded the Kingdom of their souls. Many have let in the smoke and stench of worldly influences, and even Satan himself, the enemy.

For as long as life on earth endures there will always be demons gibbering in the darkness, trying to drag souls into sin. Whoever calls out to the Immaculate Virgin Mother of God, Mary, and asks for her prayers, will receive grace from God and be drawn towards the light of Heaven.

If we are tempted to be proud or self-satisfied, seeing the good work we achieve for God, we need only remember Christ's Passion, by which He won for us all the graces we enjoy, and the blessings of the spiritual life, and we shall be able to serve Him as He deserves, in humility and gratitude.

We are right to pray for people who are torn between love of God, and selfish behaviour - and for everyone. There is a battle for souls going on, as Satan tries to influence us all, and our Guardian Angels act to protect us.

Christ urges us all to go to Him at the tabernacle and to ask for His help, in our fight against temptations. With His powerful graces, He can give us new hope and strength, and save us from Hell. With Him, we can do good and avoid evil.

When we feel threatened by spiritual forces that would disturb our souls, or try to draw us away from Christ, the prayers we offer 'in Christ', and the prayers we request of the Saints and Angels, are so powerful that it's as if, by Divine grace, a strong, beautiful wall is built around us, protecting us from spiritual assaults.

They are close to God, and safe; yet like the Chinese statues hidden from sight, the Holy Souls wait in a dimly-lit place, enduring their purification, as they think about their past lives, and suffer heartache because they were lukewarm in the Faith, or lacked faith in some of the Church's teachings - or prayed only occasionally, or made little effort to resist temptations, or to become really holy.

Just as a branch is gradually weighed down by snow, which has arrived quietly, one snow-flake at a time until a great burden of snow causes the branch to bend, so a person can become weighed down, through carelessness, by one venial sin after another, so that he scarcely notices when he commits a mortal sin, and forgets about his salvation.

If we are determined to withstand temptations and spiritual assaults, we will use holy water, which is a sacramental, blessed by the Church. It drives away demons. It is more than a reminder of our Baptism. Wise people keep it by them, as well as a crucifix, and a rosary. They know the help received through the prayers of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and through the name of Jesus.

A person who has successfully struggled against sin or temptation might expect to feel joyful, not tearful and half-dead. Yet he is like a man who is just leaving a battlefield, who only then sees his ragged uniform, and his wounds. It takes time to recover, and to regain equilibrium.

We cannot save ourselves; but if we hold on to Christ and His Church, as if to a life-line from a pit, we can allow Him to draw us up to Heaven - so long as we are not so distracted, or tempted to clutch at sin, that we let go, and fall into the depths, through our own fault.

It is too easy, in making decisions about everyday life, to weigh up the personal benefits and to forget the spiritual realities. Pregnant women deserve to be reminded that it is never God, or good angels, at work, urging women to destroy their own babies in the womb. Mothers must ignore selfish desires, or evil influences.

The evil one, like a great serpent, has been thrashing about in fury. Though he tries to drag Christ's people into Hell, Christ has won the entire battle. By the prayers of Christ's Virgin Mother Mary, His followers can arm themselves against Satan's tricks, assaults and temptations.

When a person is torn between serving God as any Catholic ought, and succumbing to wrong-doing, he will be fortunate if he hears a friend say to him: "God will give you real joy, and real peace-of-soul, when you stop trying to seize the pleasures of human life, and decide to aim for the joys of heaven."

The attraction of sin often masks the danger further ahead. It's as if Satan prepares a trap for us: like a bright entrance to a tunnel, promising great pleasures - though a careless person will find himself on a sloping path with no handholds. It leads straight to Hell.

Satan is a liar. Satan clearly disguises temptations, so that sinful behaviour is made to seem attractive and safe, when in reality it is like following a pathway which leads to doom: a path through an attractive entrance, but which soon slopes downwards, to Hell.