Spiritual Corner -- Levels of Spiritual Warfare

Fr. Chad Ripperger is a professionally trained exorcist and has more than ten years’ experience in exorcism. He mentioned in his “Levels of Spiritual Warfare” and “The Different Levels” that we all are called to the warfare! We tend to think of demons as the things that are detracting us from our sanctification; that is only true when we give in to them, The demons are constantly trying to get us to commit sins, to become vicious. Thus, if we have vices, we will become weak, and then, it is easier for them to combat us. But if we combat them, then what happens is we begin to develop virtue ---- “Sanctifying Grace” which means the indwelling of the Blessed Trinity in your soul, in that way, the demons actually become the instrument of our purification.

Should you, in your life, have the very area that you habitually commit sins, God is telling you what the level of perfection in that virtue He wants you to attain, so we should strive even harder in this particular area where we easily fall because it is through this struggle that you develop that virtue and that perfection.

What are the “levels of spiritual warfare”? The most elementary level is “ordinary temptation.” The demons cannot create images of things that we have never seen before. This is one of the reasons why people, never under any circumstances whatsoever, should ever view any pornography. The next level is “Dolor” which attacks the saints physically. Further on, the next level is “Oppression” which attacks you from the outside. There are two forms of oppression: direct oppression and indirect oppression. Direct oppression directly attacks your interpersonal relationships, your finances, your property, sometimes your health. For “indirect oppression”, we all suffer indirectly when other people do evil things to get demons involved in our culture, in society, and in the Church.

What most people do not realize is that the actual effect of every mortal sin is demonic possession. The more sins people commit, the more powerful are the demons. Confession is actually more efficacious in most cases than solemn exorcism. If people have unconfessed sins, they are already possessed. Once they go for confession, the legal hold the demon has on them is broken. The priest hearing confession is helping people to break the bond from the demons, free them from their hold. Thus, we have to work on “humility” which is a grace. The power of the Holy Mother is in her humility. We must pray to her for “humility”.

The above are excerpts from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43z-XuFoSEE . You are encouraged to watch it for a full understanding. (In English with Chinese captions)

Sr. Thomas Lo