We overcome the action of the devil, by submitting to the will of God, which is expressed in different ways. Thus, God's desire for our lives can be expressed in the advice of a good friend, in the spiritual direction of a priest, and in personal prayer. We need to pray; he who does not pray, does not need the devil to tempt him, because he already has enough with his interior disorder.
Jesus Christ asks us to fight a good fight, by unmasking the enemy, fighting him directly and defeating him, despite the fact that, in our days, there are those who allow themselves the luxury of denying the existence of the devil.
However, the Gospel shows that the direct action of Jesus against Satan is evident and continuous, even tempting the Lord himself. But he teaches us that we cannot dialogue with the devil because, otherwise, he confuses us, deceives us and leads us to perdition.
The devil "is on the loose". Even in our days the devil is on the loose; he continues to deceive one and all, and he claims a victory or two. Specifically, he sows discouragement and distrust. God calls us to full holiness and fills us with hope, but the devil continually sows in us the mistrust that you are not worthy, that it is not worth trying, so that we give up the high Christian vocation to which God calls us.
And yet the diabolical action persists; it returns even if it is discovered and defeated. For this reason, the life of a Christian is a continuous struggle against the after-effects of past sins, which incline us to evil, and against the devil who tries to turn us away from the path of goodness.
When we commit a sin, only God can forgive it. Only he, who is the One we have offended, can move us to tears for even our smallest infidelities; only he can remove from our hearts the hardness that keeps us from recognizing who it is that we have offended. So, if he ever sends us suffering, we should see it as a divine crucible to purify our soul, and as a special opportunity to show true Love and make up in some way for our previous lack of love. “If God wills that we be struck down by some affliction, take it as a sign that he considers us mature enough to be associated even more closely with his redeeming Cross."
By means of our expiation and spirit of penance -which St. Josemaría tells us “consists mainly in the fulfillment of the duty of each moment, however costly it may be" - we will be co-redeemers in the middle of the world.
Our Mother, Refuge of sinners: obtain for us from your Son true contrition for our sins and for the sins of all mankind.
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