LENT AND THE SPIRITUAL BATTLE FOR YOUR FAMILY

We have come again to the holy season of Lent! What if these next 40 days could be an incredible time of renewal or even a miracle for your marriage and family? In Luke Chapter 4 today, we see Jesus led by the Holy Spirit into the desert to begin a 40 day intense period of fasting and prayer. Why did Our Lord choose to endure this time of privation before doing battle with Satan?

Many of our families and those we know and love are struggling, and the culture is not on our side. Depression, anxiety, loneliness, addiction, and division within our families – these are just a few of the common maladies of modern life. Psychology and healthy living are all important components in overcoming these heartaches, but the Church has a treasure trove of tools that we often forget to employ. These tools can bring us to a far deeper peace and fulfillment than anything our culture offers.

In her 2020 book, The Family Guide to Spiritual Warfare, author Kathleen Beckman reminds us of the fact that in addition to the visible struggles of modern life, there is also at play the invisible struggle against powers and principalities are fighting for our destruction. She discusses the importance of actively participating in spiritual warfare for our own soul and those of our loved ones. Rather than being a radical new idea, the concept that we are in a spiritual battle goes back to the Fall, but many Catholics have been lulled into either forgetting this or just as often, lacking faith in the power Christ has given us.

So what are these tools? Mrs. Beckman first reminds us that we must be always striving in our own relationship with God and growing in holiness. (Put our own oxygen masks on first!) We then use our “weapons,” which include the sacraments, especially frequent reception of the Eucharist and Confession. These “weapons of defense and offense are essential to the spiritual life of a soldier for Christ.” Confession is an incredibly powerful tool. “The deliverance power of the sacrament of reconciliation cannot be sufficiently stressed. A thorough confession is often in the key to complete liberation from evil.” She next includes Scripture, reminding us that Christ himself used Scripture to combat Satan in the desert. We should read Scripture daily and even consider memorizing key verses this Lent. She also lists the weapon of sacramental spousal authority, and encourages spouses to call upon their sacrament of matrimony and to bless and pray for each other daily. Then there is the weapon of prayer, and the author recommends that our family life be steeped in prayer, both individual and family prayer. The family rosary is particularly powerful. There is also the weapon of fasting, which we see Jesus himself use in today’s Gospel. “Foster the practice of offering up little sacrifices in reparation for sins… Demons despise the spirit of fasting.” She also recommends the weapons of sacramentals, Catholic community and forgiveness in family life.

Finally, we can be confident that Jesus will act when he see great faith or “holy daring.” Let’s be encouraged this Lent to consider our most urgent prayer intentions and then with earnest faith in Our Lord to use the weapons He has given us (and used Himself) to fight for our marriages and families, all the while encouraged that Our Lord loves us and our families even more than we do.

~Elizabeth Brown, Marriage Formation Coordinator