God
Faith
Yesterday, my mom told me an astonishing story. I'm going to make up a fake last name to describe myself within it, but the rest of it is verbatim what was said.
At one of my school's "Fall Festivals" in the 1980s, a very elderly man walked up to my mom. She said he wasn't particularly tall; had a round face; was a bit overweight; had a full beard, but shaved very short; and had short gray hair. He said, "Are you Mike Johnson's mom?" Perplexed, she answered, "Yes, I am. Do you know Michael?" He chuckled and smirked, "Well, he killed himself. Or, he will." Then he turned and walked away.
My mom kept this a secret for decades, too afraid to tell anyone. But with my mental health issues lately, she felt compelled to share this with me. And I'm glad she did, because it increases my awareness of the spiritual risks in the path I walk, with regards to the diaconate.
My friend Dan, who is also entering the diaconate formation with me, warned us aspirants as a group: "There is a significant chance we and our loved ones are going to be under enormous spiritual attack as a result of what we're doing. We need to stick together, share with each other, and pray for each other constantly."
I think this old man was either Satan, or under Satan's direct influence. Nothing of God would approach a young mother and tell her that her little boy was going to die from suicide. Furthermore, this could be directed at not just my mom to give her despair, but towards me to cast doubt on myself, for my future with God.
Of course, Satan can only operate because of the side effect of the pure love God has for us, in having given us free will-- he's a patsy. Read about the lives of the Saints-- a huge part of what forged them into states of such holiness was that Satan's temptation to sin turned them towards God, not away.
And then, when Satan does manage to cause evil in the world, God turns right around and creates good from the bad. Pray the rosary; pray the St. Michael prayer; do the sign of the cross; say truths out loud, like "God is the source of all light and truth", or "...and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus."
At one of my school's "Fall Festivals" in the 1980s, a very elderly man walked up to my mom. She said he wasn't particularly tall; had a round face; was a bit overweight; had a full beard, but shaved very short; and had short gray hair. He said, "Are you Mike Johnson's mom?" Perplexed, she answered, "Yes, I am. Do you know Michael?" He chuckled and smirked, "Well, he killed himself. Or, he will." Then he turned and walked away.
My mom kept this a secret for decades, too afraid to tell anyone. But with my mental health issues lately, she felt compelled to share this with me. And I'm glad she did, because it increases my awareness of the spiritual risks in the path I walk, with regards to the diaconate.
My friend Dan, who is also entering the diaconate formation with me, warned us aspirants as a group: "There is a significant chance we and our loved ones are going to be under enormous spiritual attack as a result of what we're doing. We need to stick together, share with each other, and pray for each other constantly."
I think this old man was either Satan, or under Satan's direct influence. Nothing of God would approach a young mother and tell her that her little boy was going to die from suicide. Furthermore, this could be directed at not just my mom to give her despair, but towards me to cast doubt on myself, for my future with God.
Of course, Satan can only operate because of the side effect of the pure love God has for us, in having given us free will-- he's a patsy. Read about the lives of the Saints-- a huge part of what forged them into states of such holiness was that Satan's temptation to sin turned them towards God, not away.
And then, when Satan does manage to cause evil in the world, God turns right around and creates good from the bad. Pray the rosary; pray the St. Michael prayer; do the sign of the cross; say truths out loud, like "God is the source of all light and truth", or "...and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus."