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?” He then cried out, “Brothers, implore the aid of Mary for me; in her I confide; she will give me the victory.”  On hearing this his brethren recited the Litany of our Blessed Lady, and as they said “Holy Mary, pray for him,” the dying man exclaimed, “Repeat, repeat the name of Mary, for I am already before God’s tribunal.”  He was silent for a moment, and then added, “It is true that I did that, but I have done penance for it.”  And then turning to our Blessed Lady, he said, “O Mary, I shall be delivered if you help me.” Again the devils attacked him; but he defended himself with his crucifix and the name of Mary.  Thus was the night spent; but no sooner did morning dawn than Arnold exclaimed with the greatest calmness, and full of holy joy, “Mary my sovereign Lady, my refuge, has obtained me pardon and salvation.”  Then casting his eyes on that Blessed Virgin who was inviting him to follow her, he said, “I come, O Lady, I come!” and making an effort to do so even with his body, his soul fled after her to the realms of eternal bliss, as we trust, for he sweetly expired.

PRAYER
Behold at your feet, O Mary my hope, a poor sinner, who has so many times been by his own fault the slave of hell.  I know that by neglecting to have recourse to you, my refuge, I allowed myself to be overcome by the devil.  Had I always had recourse to you, had I always invoked you, I certainly should not have fallen.  I trust, O Lady most worthy of all our love, that through you I have already escaped from the hands of the devil, and that God has pardoned me.  But I tremble lest at some future period I may again fall into the same bonds.  I know that my enemies have not lost the hope of again overcoming me, and already they prepare new assaults and temptations for me.  Ah, my Queen and refuge, do you assist me.  Place me under your mantle; permit me not again to become their slave.  I know that you wilt help me and give me the victory, provided I invoke you; but I dread lest in my temptations I may forget you, and neglect to do so.  The favour, then, that I seek of you, and which you must grant me, O most holy Virgin, is that I may never forget you, and especially in time of temptation; grant that I may then repeatedly invoke you, saying, “O Mary, help me; O Mary, help me.”  And when my last struggle with hell comes, at the moment of death, ah then, my Queen, help me more than ever, and you yourself remind me to call on you more frequently either with my lips or in my heart; that, being thus filled with confidence, I may expire with your sweet name and that of your Son Jesus on my lips; that so I may be able to bless you and praise you, and not depart from your feet in Paradise for all eternity.  Amen.

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’.”