In a reflection entitled “Devils Big and Small”, Blessed Louis Brisson, OSFS observed:
My children, we read in the Gospel (for the First Sunday of Lent) about the temptation of Our Lord in the desert. He willed to undergo temptations of various kinds – the temptation to sensuality and ease, the temptation to pride and the desire to be the master, and finally the temptation to amass riches.
Everyone experiences temptations of one kind or another. Whatever your temptation is, my children, you must stand firm and dismiss it courageously.
Sometimes it happens that temptation does not spring entirely from us. I know at times we have the temptation to do something that is forbidden, but this is not all our doing. The tempter, the devil, has a great part in it. Consider what we must do then. Following the example of Our Lord, we must say to the devil, ‘Begone, Satan!’
When this big devil leaves, a little devil stays behind. This little devil seems less annoying and he is more easily accepted than the big devil. He is not so readily dismissed. We willingly listen to him, because he does not suggest very big things. He merely flatters the little, secret inclinations of our self-love.
Be very generous, my children. Send away this little personal devil as quickly as the big one. He is more dangerous because he is more suggestive and persistent. He does not appear so bad, but take care. Do what Our Lord did. Say, ‘Begone, Satan!’ Do not listen to big devils or little ones.
So today, be it big or small, what bedevils you that you would like to be gone?
We’ll be talking about freedom from spiritual evil during our chat session on Sunday. Here are some questions that will guild our reflection:
- Lent is first and foremost about growing closer to God. In what ways do you allow the devil to squeeze a wedge between you and Jesus? Positively stated, in what ways can you grow closer to Jesus?
- This reflection can make us think of Luke 11:24-26 where Jesus tells us that when an evil spirit departs from a man he will return with seven other spirits. What might the reflection above and this Scripture passage teach us about spiritual warfare? Especially with keeping in mind that ultimately spiritual warfare is the work of God in us, not something we do alone.
- Jesus tells us that some demons “cannot be driven out by anything but prayer and fasting” (Mark 9:28). In connection with this verse, the above reflection, and the season of Lent, what are ways we can say ‘Begone, Satan!’ by our prayers and actions?
- The Church begins Lent by reminding us of the reality of evil. How can we engage in spiritual warfare simply by acknowledging that the devil is at work in trying to cause us to sin and lose our salvation?
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