Introduction

I am a dreamer, yet there is one thing I had never dreamed I would do: write about the devil. I have never had any particular sympathy towards him, preferring to ignore him as I felt I had plenty of better things to do with my time. Preaching took up a lot of it, as well as pastoral work, mainly with youth and married couples. I always considered the hours I spent consoling broken-hearted people worth while. I also did a lot of work with the religious, especially nuns, which was very gratifying. So why write about the devil?

It was because he came in my way like an annoying pest. Have you ever been at your desk, engrossed in your work, when suddenly you had to interrupt your work to swat at an annoying fly which was pestering you? That is what happened to me. I was peacefully carrying out my pastoral work when the devil began buzzing around me! People I was counselling began telling me about the temptations they faced, curses made on them, spirits they saw at home ...

I found myself confused and sought help, but found it nowhere. It seemed that no one would (or could) give me a hand. Many people, including priests, used to believe these were problems without substance and brush them away. I, however, took these problems seriously and tried to care for those who came to me, with the result that the number of people coming to me for pastoral care kept increasing. In more dismal moments I'd say I brought up a lot of grief on myself, but how could I, a priest, send away those in distress. It would be like a doctor sending away a patient.

And the buzzing began increasing. Numerous times, I asked myself whether this was a game the devil was playing on me to distract me from the work I was doing to make me focus on him instead. I asked this question of many and was advised to "leave the devil alone and focus on more important work". I started to feel as if I was living in the Middle Ages! Many a time I feared that I was going to be perceived as a simple mind swallowing all that came my way!

Meanwhile, people continued seeking my help and not having time to take a decision, I found the decision taken for me. I found myself meeting people being oppressed by demons. On occasions I came across people who seemed to be suffering from diabolic possession. Along with pity, I felt outrage—How dare he deceive so many of God's children and trouble them when they have been paid for with the blood of Christ!—and before I knew it was in the arena, finding myself engaged in a fight with the devil.

I sometimes ask me who threw me in the arena? The devil or God? If it was the devil's doing in order to destroy me, it backfired because he forgot that I am not alone in the arena; Christ is there as well. And if it was God who got me into this conflict, then may His will be blessed. But regardless of who got me into it, the victory is always Christ's.

I am not the only one doing battle with him, though. You are in an arena too. And you need to have your eyes open and your hands out of your pockets, otherwise you risk being hurt, confused, stained, sinful, valueless .... The goal of this series is to discover our enemy, uncover his tactics, and learn to use the weapons at our disposal so that we can achieve the victory that belongs to us.

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