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The Greatness of the Power of Mary to defend those who invoke her when tempted by the Devil.

STORY
In Reichersperg, in Bavaria, there was a canon regular of the name of Arnold, surnamed the Pious on account of the sanctity of his life, and who had the most tender devotion to our Blessed Lady.  When at the point of death, and having received the last sacraments, he summoned his religious brethren, and begged that they would not abandon him in his last passage.  Scarcely had he uttered these words, when, in the presence of all, he began to tremble, to roll his eyes, and bathed in a cold sweat, with a faltering voice said, “Ah, do you not see the devils who are endeavouring to drag me to hell?” (more…)

Ave Maria!– July’s Theme: Temptation

“The fury of satan, from whom you sometimes hear so many threats, must not at all amaze you or frighten you. He, as you know, persecutes to the death the souls who do not want to listen to his pessimistic insinuations, and his hatred grows all the more when he sees his hopes vanish of possessing them and making them his. You, meanwhile, continue to not pay attention to him; strengthen yourself with prayer, with humility, and with unlimited trust in the Divine help.”

Ave Maria!– July’s Theme: Temptation

“Flee with all your might the perturbations and anxieties of the heart, otherwise, your every work will bear little or no fruit at all. Let us be sure that if our spirit is disturbed, are more and more frequent and direct are the assaults of the devil, who profits by this natural weakness of ours to be able to succeed in his intentions. Let us be on our guard about this point, which is not of little importance for us: as soon as we have realized that we have fallen into discouragement, let us renew our faith and abandon ourselves in the arms of the Divine Father, Who is always ready to welcome us, always to those who sincerely run to Him.”

Ave Maria!– July’s Theme: Temptation

28- “God does not want to lose a soul that has fallen and gets back up. If He wanted to lose it, as the soul would justly merit, He would not give it the grace to get back up. Therefore, take heart and muster up a little more courage and faith, and do not doubt that all the rest will serve for giving confusion to satan, who was relying on you; for giving glory to God; for your own benefit, and for the edification of others.”

29- “Never grow tired […] of asking the Divine Spouse, with the spouse in the sacred Canticles, the kiss of peace, which is a true paradise of joys: with it you will defy the vain fears of the world, the suggestions of the devil, the allurements of the flesh and, without losing a drop of your calm, you will ground them and be victorious over them.”

Ave Maria!– July’s Theme: Temptation

“How can you not rejoice in seeing yourself engaged in so many battles, knowing that for every victory you carry off, a degree of glory corresponds?”

Ave Maria!– July’s Theme: Temptation

“Jesus wants to agitate you, shake you, beat you and sift you like the grain, so that your soul arrives at that cleanness and purity that He desires. Could the grain ever be placed in the granary if it is not free of every darnel or chaff? Could the linen ever be conserved in the master’s chest if it has not first become candid? And thus it must also be for the elect soul. I understand that the temptations seem to stain rather than to purify the soul; but it is not thus.”

Ave Maria!– July’s Theme: Temptation

19- “Trust with unlimited trust in the Divine Goodness, and the more the enemy increases the violence, the more you must trustingly abandon yourself on the most sweet bosom of the heavenly Spouse, Who will never permit you to be overcome. To persuade oneself of the contrary is an infidelity, and God forbid us from falling into a similar monstrosity.”

20- “The best remedy for defeating our enemy is that of despising him in the name of Jesus and to laugh loudly at him. He makes himself strong with those who are weak, but with those who confront him their weapons in their hands, he becomes a coward. Fear him, too, but with that holy fear, I mean to say, with that fear that is never separated from love.”

21- “Who agitates you and torments you is satan; Who enlightens you and consoles you is God. The soul which is lead ever more to abase itself and to humble itself before its Lord, and at the same time is driven to suffer all, to support all with the aim of encountering the approval of its heavenly Spouse, cannot but recognize that this comes from God. The ardent desires of love of the soul towards its Lord are not and cannot be hallucinations or illusions.”

Ave Maria!– July’s Theme: Temptation

“You must in no way fear that the Lord will leave you in the power of satan. He is faithful and will never permit that the temptation be superior to your strength. He gives to your enemy as much faculty to molest you as serves for His paternal designs for the sanctification of your soul, and for that which will be the greater glory of His divine Majesty. Therefore, be strong and cheerful in spirit because the Lord is in your heart; He fights for you and with you.”

Ave Maria!– July’s Theme: Temptation

“Let us listen to what the language of the saints is regarding temptations and for you it will be enough to know that which the great St. Francis de Sales says: that temptations are like soap, which when diffused on the clothes seems to dirty them, while in truth it purifies them.”

Ave Maria!– July’s Theme: Temptation

“To be bombarded by temptations means that you are in the divine service and that the more you become the friend and familiar with God, all the more the temptation will inveigh against you. Temptation is a very strong sign that God is united with the soul [as God says in the Psalm]: ‘I will be with him in misfortune’.”

Ave Maria!– July’s Theme: Temptation

“The enemy can only harm you up until the point that Jesus wants it, and His Will shall be fulfilled in you and for you for His glory, for your salvation, and to the scorn of the adversary. The apostle cries out to you: cui resistite fortes in fide - “Resist him with your faith in God! Behold the resistance against the roaring lion.”

Ave Maria!– July’s Theme: Temptation

“Take courage in the hour of trial. Jesus is with you always and fights with you and for you. Let the sweet and comforting thought of drawing from this trial the complete destruction of the kingdom of satan and an incorruptible crown of eternal joy in the Kingdom of God, encourage you to sustain the war that satan wages against you.”

Ave Maria!– July’s Theme: Temptation

12- “Your temptations come from the devil, but your pains and afflictions are from God and from heaven: the mothers are from Babylon but the daughters are from Jerusalem. Despise the temptations and embrace the tribulations. […] Let the wind blow and do not think that the sound of the leaves is the sound of weapons.”

13- “Do not fight the little temptations with disputes and contentions, but rather with simple recourse to the Heart of Jesus Crucified, as if for love you were to go and kiss His side and His feet.”

Ave Maria!– July’s Theme: Temptation

“Be well aware: as long as the temptation displeases you there is nothing to fear. But why does it displease you if not that you do not want to feel it? These very inopportune temptations come from the malice of the devil; but the displeasure and the suffering that we feel come from the mercy of God Who, against the will of our enemy, draws from his malice holy tribulation, by means of which He purifies the gold that He wants to put into His treasures.”

Ave Maria!– July’s Theme: Temptation

“Do not let the temptations frighten you: they are the trials that God wants the soul to experience when He sees that it has the necessary strength to stand the battle and to weave with its own hands the garland of glory.”